DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0046
11
EGYPTIAN PERIOD
occurred to some one that a use could be made of it by carving
it into a likeness of the pharaoh whose tomb was near by. As a
result we have the great Sphinx, a portrait statue of Khafre
which represents a colossal recumbent lion, with outstretched
paws, bearing the head of a man who wears a linen headdress
Fig. 2.6 a. Pyramid of Sahure, Restored. Abusir. Pyramid, chapel,
and upper end of the causeway; c. 2.735 B-c- (After Borchardt)
and a ceremonial beard, now broken off. This form of represen-
tation of the pharaoh was not uncommon with the Egyptians,
as the lion’s body symbolized the royal power.
Leaving Gizeh and traveling up the river to Abusir, let us look
at the 'Pyramid of Sahure (Fig. 16), built about one hundred years
after that of Khafre. In looking at th
e valley-temple here and
into the open court of
the chapel (Pl. 4 a) we
see at once something not
found in the pyramids at
Gizeh, and that is rows
of columns, the origin
of which is the row of
Fig. z6 b. Pyramid of Sahure, Restored. rectangular pillars in
Valley-temple. Khafre’s valley-temple.
Observing nature round
about him the Egyptian selected the palm tree with its round
trunk and spreading leaves to support his roof. Brightly colored
wall decorations also appear, which soften and enrich the
effect, producing a refinement and elegance which contrasts
sharply with the austerity and simplicity of the valley-temple
of Khafre.
EGYPTIAN PERIOD
occurred to some one that a use could be made of it by carving
it into a likeness of the pharaoh whose tomb was near by. As a
result we have the great Sphinx, a portrait statue of Khafre
which represents a colossal recumbent lion, with outstretched
paws, bearing the head of a man who wears a linen headdress
Fig. 2.6 a. Pyramid of Sahure, Restored. Abusir. Pyramid, chapel,
and upper end of the causeway; c. 2.735 B-c- (After Borchardt)
and a ceremonial beard, now broken off. This form of represen-
tation of the pharaoh was not uncommon with the Egyptians,
as the lion’s body symbolized the royal power.
Leaving Gizeh and traveling up the river to Abusir, let us look
at the 'Pyramid of Sahure (Fig. 16), built about one hundred years
after that of Khafre. In looking at th
e valley-temple here and
into the open court of
the chapel (Pl. 4 a) we
see at once something not
found in the pyramids at
Gizeh, and that is rows
of columns, the origin
of which is the row of
Fig. z6 b. Pyramid of Sahure, Restored. rectangular pillars in
Valley-temple. Khafre’s valley-temple.
Observing nature round
about him the Egyptian selected the palm tree with its round
trunk and spreading leaves to support his roof. Brightly colored
wall decorations also appear, which soften and enrich the
effect, producing a refinement and elegance which contrasts
sharply with the austerity and simplicity of the valley-temple
of Khafre.