Through the Eras

Visual ArtsRELIEF SCULPTURE. Relief sculpture of the earlyEighteenth Dynasty followed Middle Kingdom modelsyet changed certain proportions in a way that makes itpossible to recognize them as products of the later period.The Funerary Stela of Senres, for example, depictsthe deceased Senres with his wife Hormes, seated beforean offering table. The pose dates to the Old Kingdom.Senres’ short hairstyle with rows of curls and his ear atan odd angle are based on Middle Kingdom models.Hormes wears a simple hairstyle that divides her hairinto three sections arranged over the back and on eitherside in the front. This so-called tri-partite hairstyle is veryancient, dating at least to the Old Kingdom. He wearsa simple wraparound kilt with an apron. She wears thesheath dress with a strap. Their faces also reflect MiddleKingdom models. The forms of their mouths, withsquared ends, particularly are reminiscent of earlier periods.The proportions of their bodies, however, placethe stela firmly in the Eighteenth Dynasty. Their torsosare long and slender as are their arms. These characteristicsare typical of the later period.NEW SUBJECTS. Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple atDeir el Bahri contains relief with innovative subjectmatter created in the same style that recalls the MiddleKingdom. Hatshepsut ordered an expedition to Punt(modern Somalia) to bring back incense that the Egyptiansused in religious rituals. In her temple, the variousstages of the expedition were illustrated in a series ofreliefs. They include scenes of sailing on the Red Sea,arrival in Punt, the people of Punt, the unusual housingelevated on stilts, cutting trees that produced incense,and potting them to return to Egypt. Artists must haveaccompanied the expedition where they recorded manydetails that found their way into the reliefs. This is theearliest preserved example of an historical subject inEgyptian art. Such historical reliefs were later includedin temple decoration, though the subject matter in thelater temples was war.Standing statuette of Lady Tuty. BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART,54.187, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND. REPRODUCED BY PER-MISSION.EARLY NEW KINGDOM PAINTING. Painting revivedin the early Eighteenth Dynasty along with the othervisual arts. During the previous Hyksos period, there areno good examples of painting. Artists drew inspirationfrom the Middle Kingdom in painting just as they hadin sculpture and relief. A fragment called Painting of aWoman represents the difficulties in distinguishing MiddleKingdom painting from early Eighteenth-dynastyexamples. A woman kneels before a table holding a lotusflower. She wears her hair in the tri-partite style andwears a wraparound dress with one strap. Only the detailsof her face help in dating this fragment. Like manyMiddle Kingdom faces, she wears an extended cosmetic298 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)