DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Kuciewicz, Ewa; Jaroni, Eliza; Kobusiewicz, Michał: Dakhleh oasis: petroglyph unit rock art research, 2006
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42092#0324
DAKHLEH OASIS
EGYPT
mannerisms — how it moves, stands, etc. —
testifies to the hand and eye of a true artist.
The giraffe in-between the pecked ones is
also noteworthy for the beauty of its
silhouette; its outline is incised, while the
rest is rubbed.
A Seth animal figure of clearly dynastic
origin is superimposed on the animals in
the central part of the panel and it is
almost like a stamp, establishing the
chronological sequence.
The 'ladies' are depicted walking with
(or leading?) the animals. There are three
of them in the lower row, all resembling
one another, their square bodies and barely
thickened heads made in sunk relief. They
have been individualized in surprising
ways. For example, the middle one has
only one hand, presumably due to poor
planning of the composition. But the third
one, for no obvious reason, has no hands at
all. Finally, there is the figure at the front
of the procession, very simple and
schematic, but with the apparently round
head being composed of a set of small dots
arranged in a circle.
A careful look at the right side of the
panel reveals an analogous figure emerging
from under the animals. It could signify
that the 'ladies' were earlier than the rest of
the animals. Another possibility is that the
artist's vision had changed as he worked.
The entire panel gives the impression of
a meticulously created composition, a kind
of gallery located in an exposed place,
inviting the passer-by to stop and rest.
As a matter of fact, there is a kind of
watch-post structure of stone on one of the
side hills and the view of the desert
stretching to the south is boundless. The
shaded shelter of the rock art “gallery”
must have been a convenient and safe
resting place.
Rock art is the work of individual
human beings, a reflection of their
emotions and needs at specific moment in
their lives, whether for better or for worse.
Behind these works of art, for that is what
Fig. 5. Tracing of the panel with petroglyphs from Site 4/05
(E. Jaroni, E. Kuciewicz)
321
EGYPT
mannerisms — how it moves, stands, etc. —
testifies to the hand and eye of a true artist.
The giraffe in-between the pecked ones is
also noteworthy for the beauty of its
silhouette; its outline is incised, while the
rest is rubbed.
A Seth animal figure of clearly dynastic
origin is superimposed on the animals in
the central part of the panel and it is
almost like a stamp, establishing the
chronological sequence.
The 'ladies' are depicted walking with
(or leading?) the animals. There are three
of them in the lower row, all resembling
one another, their square bodies and barely
thickened heads made in sunk relief. They
have been individualized in surprising
ways. For example, the middle one has
only one hand, presumably due to poor
planning of the composition. But the third
one, for no obvious reason, has no hands at
all. Finally, there is the figure at the front
of the procession, very simple and
schematic, but with the apparently round
head being composed of a set of small dots
arranged in a circle.
A careful look at the right side of the
panel reveals an analogous figure emerging
from under the animals. It could signify
that the 'ladies' were earlier than the rest of
the animals. Another possibility is that the
artist's vision had changed as he worked.
The entire panel gives the impression of
a meticulously created composition, a kind
of gallery located in an exposed place,
inviting the passer-by to stop and rest.
As a matter of fact, there is a kind of
watch-post structure of stone on one of the
side hills and the view of the desert
stretching to the south is boundless. The
shaded shelter of the rock art “gallery”
must have been a convenient and safe
resting place.
Rock art is the work of individual
human beings, a reflection of their
emotions and needs at specific moment in
their lives, whether for better or for worse.
Behind these works of art, for that is what
Fig. 5. Tracing of the panel with petroglyphs from Site 4/05
(E. Jaroni, E. Kuciewicz)
321