DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0047
EARLY EGYPT AND THE OLD KINGDOM
2-3
SCULPTURE
As architecture in early Egypt was employed largely to protect
the dead, so sculpture was bound up with the desire either to
perpetuate or to serve the dead. Should the body, though care-
fully mummified, by any chance perish, then a statue as near like
the original as possible might represent the body in the world
to come. Hence we are not surprised to find portraiture early
developed. In the statue of Ranofer (Pl. 3 c) we see that the fig-
ure is standing rigidly erect, facing directly to the front, with
the left foot advanced and the arms held close to the side of the
body. All these features are conventions in Egyptian standing
figures. He wears a linen kilt and a large wig, both characteristic
of the dress of the time. Notice the finely developed muscular
chest and arm and the modeling of the knees. We feel that this
man is every inch a noble, and that the sculptor, in order to em-
phasize his social class, has suppressed his individual traits and
imbued him with a serious, almost hieratic dignity.
The statue of the Princess (Pl. 43), though fragmentary,
shows the same rigid frontal pose as that of Ranofer, even though
it may have been a seated figure. She wears a tightly fitting gar-
ment of white linen, with two straps over the shoulders; a broad
collarlike necklace and the usual ceremonial wig, held by a
decorated band, beneath which appears the natural hair,
smoothly parted over the forehead. The vivacity of the Princess
is due very largely to the fact that the statue is painted in lifelike
colors. The necklace, eyebrows, and ornaments of the headband
are painted on, not carved in the stone; the flesh is a warm yellow-
ish tone because the Egyptian woman led a more secluded life
than the man, whose skin, tanned by his outdoor life, is usually
but not invariably indicated by a dark reddish color; the lips
are red; the necklace red and blue; the hair and brows black. The
eyes are made of rock crystal set into the stone and add not a little
to the lifelike expression. The figure is well modeled, and par-
ticularly noteworthy is the feeling for the form as it is suggested
under the almost transparent linen. The brightness of the color
adds a note of gayety to the charming Princess.
In Pl. 4 c we see the profile view of the upper part of the statue
of Khafre, which was found in his valley-temple where it stood
in the row of statues ranged along the side of the hall (Pl. 3 b).
It is carved from diorite, a stone so hard that it will resist a steel
tool. The character of the material has to a large extent de-
termined the modeling, which, though surprisingly accurate,
2-3
SCULPTURE
As architecture in early Egypt was employed largely to protect
the dead, so sculpture was bound up with the desire either to
perpetuate or to serve the dead. Should the body, though care-
fully mummified, by any chance perish, then a statue as near like
the original as possible might represent the body in the world
to come. Hence we are not surprised to find portraiture early
developed. In the statue of Ranofer (Pl. 3 c) we see that the fig-
ure is standing rigidly erect, facing directly to the front, with
the left foot advanced and the arms held close to the side of the
body. All these features are conventions in Egyptian standing
figures. He wears a linen kilt and a large wig, both characteristic
of the dress of the time. Notice the finely developed muscular
chest and arm and the modeling of the knees. We feel that this
man is every inch a noble, and that the sculptor, in order to em-
phasize his social class, has suppressed his individual traits and
imbued him with a serious, almost hieratic dignity.
The statue of the Princess (Pl. 43), though fragmentary,
shows the same rigid frontal pose as that of Ranofer, even though
it may have been a seated figure. She wears a tightly fitting gar-
ment of white linen, with two straps over the shoulders; a broad
collarlike necklace and the usual ceremonial wig, held by a
decorated band, beneath which appears the natural hair,
smoothly parted over the forehead. The vivacity of the Princess
is due very largely to the fact that the statue is painted in lifelike
colors. The necklace, eyebrows, and ornaments of the headband
are painted on, not carved in the stone; the flesh is a warm yellow-
ish tone because the Egyptian woman led a more secluded life
than the man, whose skin, tanned by his outdoor life, is usually
but not invariably indicated by a dark reddish color; the lips
are red; the necklace red and blue; the hair and brows black. The
eyes are made of rock crystal set into the stone and add not a little
to the lifelike expression. The figure is well modeled, and par-
ticularly noteworthy is the feeling for the form as it is suggested
under the almost transparent linen. The brightness of the color
adds a note of gayety to the charming Princess.
In Pl. 4 c we see the profile view of the upper part of the statue
of Khafre, which was found in his valley-temple where it stood
in the row of statues ranged along the side of the hall (Pl. 3 b).
It is carved from diorite, a stone so hard that it will resist a steel
tool. The character of the material has to a large extent de-
termined the modeling, which, though surprisingly accurate,