Introduction
The following paper objective is to present the funerary stela of Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet, kept at the Cincinnati Art Museum. The stela’s accession number is 1947.392 and is possibly from Abydos because of its imagery. The stela dates back to the Late Period of ancient Egypt, which is 664-332 BC. This funerary stela helps to provide data about the funerary practices and the responsibilities women had in ancient Egyptian society.
Description of the stela
The stela is deemed to be a round-topped stela because the top is curved while the sides and bottom remain straight. It is 33 cm high and is 24 cm wide; its thickness is estimated to be 2 to 3 cm. It was carved from limestone and has only a few traces of red and black pigment. The
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Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet is depicted wear traditional clothing for this time period in a close-fitting dress and a transparent over garment called a loose. On her head she is wearing a perfumed cone of wax; this headdress is depicted often in contemporary scenes of worship (Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum, 1996).
The hieroglyphs on the bottom of the stela are conventional for a funerary dedication. According to Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum (1996) the inscription states the following:
An offering which the king gives (to) Osiris, Foremost of Westerners, Lord of Abydos, (that) he may grant funerary offerings of bread and beer, cattle and fowl, and all good and pure things of the ka of the lady, the Mistress of the House Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet, daughter of the Scribe of the Divine Scrolls of Onuris, Pabarema (p. 166).
The hieroglyphs are an offering prayer for Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet’s ka by reciting the offering prayer her ka will receive the items listed in the afterlife. Other inscriptions were painted onto at the stela at a later time. The inscriptions under the uraei on the top of the stela refer to the Behdetite, the winged solar Horus. The engravings above Horus and Thoth in the central scene read “Words spoken by Horus” and “Words spoken by Thoth” (Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum, 1996, p. 166).
“Mistress of the House”
Middle and upper class women were frequently referred to as “Mistress of
1. "Grave stele of a little girl [Greek]" (27.45) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
On the very bottom there was a small plaque, which had strange inscriptions, which was thought to
The main purpose of this paper is to describe the visual analysis of the artwork. This paper examines an Egyptian half nude portrait art which is taken from Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fig.1). The statue characterized both male and female seated figure with a Braid hair. In this essay, I will present a complete visual description of this artwork (its preservation, costume and iconography), and then I will compare it to another artwork which is chosen from Textbook that is Akhenaten and his Family (Fig. 2).
Looking at the Stele of Iku and Mer-imat causes some questions to arise. Which class did the man and woman on the stele fall in? Was it made during the time of the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, or New Kingdom? Did the two love each other? We can answer or infer the answers to the questions by finding out more about the work. The Old Kingdom lasted from about 2686-2055 BCE and this piece was made by about 2100 BCE, which explains why the polychrome on the limestone has faded so much and the edges are chipped and damaged very badly. The man and the woman were probably in the upper class, seeing as they could afford to have a funerary stele made of them and they are painted wearing expensive outfits. As for whether or not the two were in love, it is obvious that they cared for each other deeply. The woman, Mer-imat, outstretches her arm and wraps it around his upper body, placing it on his shoulder. She is facing in his direction, ready to follow him wherever he may venture. Although he is not caressing her or even looking at her, he wanted her to be shown in the stele with him. In fact, it was very common for Egyptian men to have their arms to their sides, balling their hands in to fists to hold pegs. He is just showing his power, and the whole work is very similar to the statue of King Menkaure and his Queen.
The animal chosen is a Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) depicted on this coffin, the titled is “Painted Wooden Coffin of the Sacred Ibis of Thoth” dated between 332–30 BC in the Ptolemaic era . On the coffin is a large painting of a sacred ibis. The Ibis is sitting down waiting for judgement, it has it beak on the feather of truth . There also is a man hold his arms in the air as if worshipping. In addition, there is the god Horus holding an anuk. Furthermore, a winged sun god on the coffin above the pictures .
There are also several doves at the bottom of the painting, presumably indicating purity and perhaps symbols of love as well. (Wall Text 2012)
It is a very large piece made from Limestone. Limestone is a sedimentary rock which means it is formed by the accumulation of sediments, and it is very hard. The statue itself is not very detailed and is pretty simplistic. It is a statue of a human body. The statue is 71 in. (180.4 cm) which is
a) In the Middle Kingdom, rounded-topped stelae are decorated on their lunette with lines of in- scriptions, whereas the lower part is occupied by scenes depicting the owner of the stela. Hölz differentiates between two types of stelae; both of them were used in the Middle Kingdom.37 The rst type has “the shape of a semicircle,” and was used in the early Twelfth Dynasty; where- as the second “shows a much atter curve, which is clearly separated from the lower part by distinctive corners at the transition of both parts.”38 CG 20780 ts type 2 of Hölz’s classi cation and was attested in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties. This latter type was more common in comparison to the rst
A formal analysis, contextualizing, and compare and contrast of the Egyptian sculpture of Isis nurturing Horus and the Byzantine icon, The Virgin of Vladimir
The Egyptian Mummy Mask from the early Roman Period is unique and beautiful in every way possible. This mask that is on display in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston is about 3 feet tall to about 2 feet wide. This certain piece of magnificent art is extremely detailed with intricate designs covering it all around. The Museum of Fine Arts makes it easy to pay attention to, because of its detail and how the mask is displayed. The Mummy Mask has it’s own small alter with a spot light shining down on it creating dramatic shadows in a very dim room. The decorations include inlaid glass eyes, a gold leaf and is hand-painted and gilded glass. This mask is not paper maché like the masks that were made in this era; this Mummy Mask had been created out of cartonnage . The Egyptians decorated this masterpiece with bold vertical and horizontal lines representing rows of beads to go along with the story it tells. The Egyptian Mummy Mask from the first half of the first century A.D illustrates a gaze of innocence and acceptance while looking into the bright future of whom the mask was made for. Perfectly painted images covering the mask tell a story of the traditional funerary practices and the after life Egyptians believed in. Egyptians would create these pieces to fit over the heads of the lost lives wrapped inside the mummy. The mask represents the deceased transformed into a God . Although the face of the mask is idealized and emotionless, the decorations say and express more than a
It is moreover pyramidal in structure with the vertex coinciding with Mary’s head. The base of the sculpture depicts the rock of Golgotha and is broader than the progressive
While age has not been nice to this 700+ year old sculpture, everything luckily remains legible and coherent. You can still make out the Greek words for Archangel Michael inscribed on it, some parts of it have broke off, but
Similar to most Egyptian art, the figures in the stele are drawn with a twisted perspective – the frontal view of their faces and the profile view of their bodies. This is also seen in the relief of “King Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions.” This twisted perspective was common in most Ancient Egyptian art.
Just from looking at a few pieces of the art of the ancient Egyptians, you begin to notice many defining characteristics about it that make it unique and different from other styles of art. There are an ample amount of recurring features in the art, so this must mean that these traits and aspects are noteworthy. This next section of the essay will go into detail about a few of the many types of art and the stylistic elements that define ancient Egyptian art and make it special and distinguishable from other types of art, and why some particular aspects of the art are important.
This stela is made out of a sandstone pigment at was made in the time of Seti I or Ramses II reign. The stela stands at two feet and nine inches high, three feet and eight inches long, and four inches thick.