DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41333#0125
Slawomir Rzepka
Warsaw
An Old Kingdom Cloaked Statue
According to the title of our conference we present
here research perspectives in the field of Egyptol-
ogy. Development of our discipline depends on new
discoveries, made each season on various sites in
Egypt. But beside this newly excavated material
a huge resource of new information is the material
discovered long ago, which can - and should - be
rediscovered. This is obvious for material which was
excavated, but never published in a proper way. But
it is true also for the material which was published (in
a better or worse manner), but was left without any
attempt to interpret it. This is the case of the monu-
ment which is the subject of this paper.
Selim HASSAN in the nineth volume of his Ex-
cavations at Giza published a rock-cut tomb of
a certain Nst-tmlt, one of the numerous rock-cut
tombs in the Central Field of Giza Necropolis.'
HASSAN described the tomb rather briefly: he pub-
lished only 3 pages of text, 2 drawings and 3 photos.
One of these photos shows a quite unusual statue
(fig. 1). The statue is placed in a niche in the west
wall of the chapel. The niche is carved in the rock,
but its sides are lined with white Turah limestone. The
niche is 120 cm high, 37 cm deep and 36 cm wide.
Inside is a statue representing a striding man, wear-
ing a broad wig and dressed in a cloak completely
concealing the figure from its shoulders to the knees.
Two features of this statue are original:
- its technique of execution;
- its iconography - more precisely the dress of the
figure.
1 S. HASSAN, Excavations at Giza IX, Cairo 1960, pp. 75-
77, pi. XXXIA-C.
2 E.g. Hildesheim 16 (E. M ARTIN-PARDEY, Plastik des Altai
Reiches I, CAA Hildesheim 1, Mainz 1977, pp. 30-38).
3E.g. Cairo CG 95 (L. BORCHARDT, Statuen und Statuetten
von Konigen und Privatleuten I, Catalogue general du
Musee du Caire, Berlin 1911 (hereinafter referred to as:
Statuen und Statuetten), p. 75, pi. 21).
The Technique of Execution
As mentioned above the tomb of Nsl-lmit has
a rock-cut chapel. The statue is also cut in the rock,
but not entirely. In the rock was carved only the torso,
the part which is concealed under the cloak, while the
head and legs were carved separately of white Turah
limestone and attached to the cotpus. Thus we are
dealing here with a kind of composite statue, produced
of several separate pieces made of different materials.
It is the only example known to me of a joining to-
gether of rock and limestone in one statue. We know,
however, of statues composed of several separately
carved parts. This is the usual technique for sculpting
wooden statues, which have their arms, feet and bases
carved of separate pieces of wood. Sometimes a similar
technique was used also in stone statuary: we know of
statues with separate bases, and group statues with
separate figures (e.g. family groups with figures of chil-
dren carved from separate blocks of stone);1 2 we even
find statues with heads carved separately.3 In all these
cases, however, the mixing of different materials in one
statue is very limited. It is only the base of the statue
which could have been made of another material than
the statue proper: in the case of wooden statues it was
made of a cheaper kind of wood;4 in the case of stat-
ues made of hard stones (granite or diorite) the bases
were made sometimes of limestone.5 We should also
mention that some statues (wooden, as well as made
of stone) have inlaid eyes made of copper, white lime-
stone and rock crystal (in later statues - of black ob-
sidian).
4 E.g. statues oiMttj (R KAPLONY, Studien zum Grab des
Metheti, Bern 1976 (hereinafter referred to as: Grab des
Metheti), pp. 55-70).
5 E.g. granite scribe statue placed in wooden and limestone
bases, Louvre E 12629,12631 (Ch. ZIEGLER, Les statues
egyptiennes de VAncienne Empire. Catalogue Louvre,
Paris 1997, pp. 64-68, Nos 17-18); granite scribe statue
installed in a wooden base, Cairo JE 65907 (PM III2,
119
Warsaw
An Old Kingdom Cloaked Statue
According to the title of our conference we present
here research perspectives in the field of Egyptol-
ogy. Development of our discipline depends on new
discoveries, made each season on various sites in
Egypt. But beside this newly excavated material
a huge resource of new information is the material
discovered long ago, which can - and should - be
rediscovered. This is obvious for material which was
excavated, but never published in a proper way. But
it is true also for the material which was published (in
a better or worse manner), but was left without any
attempt to interpret it. This is the case of the monu-
ment which is the subject of this paper.
Selim HASSAN in the nineth volume of his Ex-
cavations at Giza published a rock-cut tomb of
a certain Nst-tmlt, one of the numerous rock-cut
tombs in the Central Field of Giza Necropolis.'
HASSAN described the tomb rather briefly: he pub-
lished only 3 pages of text, 2 drawings and 3 photos.
One of these photos shows a quite unusual statue
(fig. 1). The statue is placed in a niche in the west
wall of the chapel. The niche is carved in the rock,
but its sides are lined with white Turah limestone. The
niche is 120 cm high, 37 cm deep and 36 cm wide.
Inside is a statue representing a striding man, wear-
ing a broad wig and dressed in a cloak completely
concealing the figure from its shoulders to the knees.
Two features of this statue are original:
- its technique of execution;
- its iconography - more precisely the dress of the
figure.
1 S. HASSAN, Excavations at Giza IX, Cairo 1960, pp. 75-
77, pi. XXXIA-C.
2 E.g. Hildesheim 16 (E. M ARTIN-PARDEY, Plastik des Altai
Reiches I, CAA Hildesheim 1, Mainz 1977, pp. 30-38).
3E.g. Cairo CG 95 (L. BORCHARDT, Statuen und Statuetten
von Konigen und Privatleuten I, Catalogue general du
Musee du Caire, Berlin 1911 (hereinafter referred to as:
Statuen und Statuetten), p. 75, pi. 21).
The Technique of Execution
As mentioned above the tomb of Nsl-lmit has
a rock-cut chapel. The statue is also cut in the rock,
but not entirely. In the rock was carved only the torso,
the part which is concealed under the cloak, while the
head and legs were carved separately of white Turah
limestone and attached to the cotpus. Thus we are
dealing here with a kind of composite statue, produced
of several separate pieces made of different materials.
It is the only example known to me of a joining to-
gether of rock and limestone in one statue. We know,
however, of statues composed of several separately
carved parts. This is the usual technique for sculpting
wooden statues, which have their arms, feet and bases
carved of separate pieces of wood. Sometimes a similar
technique was used also in stone statuary: we know of
statues with separate bases, and group statues with
separate figures (e.g. family groups with figures of chil-
dren carved from separate blocks of stone);1 2 we even
find statues with heads carved separately.3 In all these
cases, however, the mixing of different materials in one
statue is very limited. It is only the base of the statue
which could have been made of another material than
the statue proper: in the case of wooden statues it was
made of a cheaper kind of wood;4 in the case of stat-
ues made of hard stones (granite or diorite) the bases
were made sometimes of limestone.5 We should also
mention that some statues (wooden, as well as made
of stone) have inlaid eyes made of copper, white lime-
stone and rock crystal (in later statues - of black ob-
sidian).
4 E.g. statues oiMttj (R KAPLONY, Studien zum Grab des
Metheti, Bern 1976 (hereinafter referred to as: Grab des
Metheti), pp. 55-70).
5 E.g. granite scribe statue placed in wooden and limestone
bases, Louvre E 12629,12631 (Ch. ZIEGLER, Les statues
egyptiennes de VAncienne Empire. Catalogue Louvre,
Paris 1997, pp. 64-68, Nos 17-18); granite scribe statue
installed in a wooden base, Cairo JE 65907 (PM III2,
119