ramesside sculpture
TRANSCRIPT
Ramesside Egypt: Statuary
Ramesses II. British Museum
Purpose• All statues had a religious purpose• For a god or a king, it was a manifestation that might
itself be an object of worship. • For a private person, it was a means by which he or she
could exist forever. • If an Egyptian statue had been properly made and
animated by the correct rituals, it was magically capable of possessing life.
Opinions of Ramesside Sculpture• Critics • overblown, careless, impersonal, uniform• seeks to manipulate & intimidate with size
• Others • tended to vacillate between a modified version of its
immediate post-Amarna predecessors – indirectly but recognisably under Amarna influence still• after effects of Amarna and attempts to revitalise
earlier styles (Thutmose III & Amenhotep III)• (Russmann & Finn, Egyptian Sculpture, 1989)
Statue of goddess Sekhmet in the temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu
Composite statue of Seti I height 238cm
Egyptian alabaster (calcite)The type was popular in the Amarna
PeriodBuried in the Karnak Cachette
Statues of nobles• Statues were placed in temple
courtyards to participate in the daily offerings given to the god.• There were statues of family groups,
seated scribes, individuals at prayer, statues holding a naos or shrine and so called block statues.
.
Granite scribe statue of Ramessu-nakht,High Priest of Amun-Re,Karnak courtyard,75cm high,Time of Ramesses IV, V & VI
The baboon sitting on his shoulders was sacred to Thoth the god of writing & wisdom.
Kneeling statue of Panehsy, Royal scribe & treasurer,presenting a naos with Horus, Osiris & Isis, Dynasty 19
• Block statues were distinguished from earlier cuboid statues by:• the suggestion of body
contours• the carving of arms, elbows &
feet• the pleating of the garment• the rendering of a seat cushion
Stylistic Developments
Block statue of Samut,Saqqara,Dynasty 19
• the tomb owner receiving offering and rites from family members• statues of gods• standing statues of the tomb owner and his wife• servants and shabtis were placed in the burial
chambers. • the depiction of the chair in seated statues is a
Ramesside motif, previously people merely sat on cube shaped blocks.
Statues for tombs
Rock-cut statues of Nefer-Sekheru, (TT 296) time of Ramesses II
Statue of Neye & his mother Mutnofret,(Dynasty 19)
Shabtis from the tomb of Saroy
Shabti box of Henutmehyt, the Songstress of Amun, Thebesc. 1250 BCplastered & painted wood
Other Sculptural Artefacts•Amulets & elaborate
jewellery•Toys & dolls•Coffins & sarcophagi