Visual Analysis of Funeral Stela of Menthuhotpe from the cemetery at Abydos
Several weeks ago I visited the Museum of Man- specifically the exhibit of Egyptian artifacts. I observed the Funerary Stela of Menthuhotpe. This piece is obviously from the early Egyptians, probably during the Old Kingdom Dynasty, which spanned several thousand years around 2000 B.C.. The piece’s resemblance to the reliefs during this time period is striking (one example of similar work is the relief in Ti’s mastaba which shows him watching a hippo hunt created between 2450 and 2350 B.C.).
This is an example of a stela or stele. A stela is a carved or inscribed stone slab or pillar. This piece could be a stele carved in sandstone, or perhaps, painted limestone. Paint used in this Although the Museum of Man calls it a stela, it reminds me of a stele- which Gardner’s Western Perspective defines as a carved stone slab erected to commemorate a historical event or, in some other cultures, a grave (p. 23).
The similarity of these two definitions is striking, so obviously the two terms refer to the same type of art. Whatever it is called, it is obviously what is represented in this example.
This stela re-creation is about 2.5 feet tall which could make sense if it were simply a relief placed in the tomb of a noble person or royalty. My initial thought is that this piece seems too small. If it were in fact placed within the tomb, it is an appropriate size, although portrayals subjects in isolation are rarely found in early Egyptian art. Typically portraits of this size would be memorials to the deceased, though this was a practice more common to the Romans during the Hadriac Empire, than to the early Egyptians. I have to wonder if this re-creation is a representation of a much larger relief whose scale may have been significant enough to cover an entire wall.
Research Paper on Egyptian Gods
What caught our attention about Egyptian gods was that there were so many of them and they each served their own purpose. The Egyptian gods each were used to explain a certain aspect of nature, such as the sun, stars, or rain.Nut and GebThe sky is Nut's body, arching from horizon to horizon. Geb is the Earth, lying beneath her. During the day, Nut and Geb are separated, but each evening Nut comes ...
The composition, or arrangement of figures in this piece, focus on the individual who is centrally located. He is framed by a solid strip which borders him on three sides, and is capped by multicolored stripes which line the top of this slightly erratic piece. The multicolored stripes draw the eye vertically downward to the human depiction. These colorful elements, though interesting, seem to serve little known purpose other than to draw attention to the main feature of this piece, the man in the center.
As mentioned earlier, the subject of this work is a man depicted in isolation. He stands by himself and seems to be reading a cuneiform inscription on the wall near his head. He is portrayed in minimal clothes, a simple piece of cloth wrapped around his waist to be exact. This indicates that he is not a person of royal descent because he is not adorned with any precious stones or metals, as people of importance often were. Another indication of royal lineage which is absent is elaborate headdress and neck adornment as seen in the Death mask of Tutankhamen. One final element that would indicate importance in society during this time period is the horned helmet as seen in the Victory stele of Naram-Sin. This element is also, quite obviously absent.
The way that the artist portrayed this human figure is quite predictable for the early Egyptians. This man is shown in composite view, which shows the individual’s most characteristic attributes, though it is not necessarily true to actual physicality. In other words, his body is shown from several viewpoints. This man’s torso is shown in frontal positioning, so that his shoulders and arms are visible. A composite of his legs show a profile view of his knees and feet, as though they are being viewed from the side. He is posed in a rigid stand point that suggests movement, since he is not looking at the viewer straight on, but faces the way that his feet are pointed as though he intends to travel in that direction. He holds a tall stick, but the significance of this is unknown.
The Essay on Mystery Man Zaraa Zeba Time
Short Story 'Do we have a choice?' Laying down on the Hostels Bed, the two best Friends -Zeba and Zaraa- remembered the time they have spent together. The have been friends since the age of five. The started school together, studied together, partied together and whatever they did did it together. Now they graduated together from King Edwards, a university in Lahore- Pakistan, and had to go back ...
Further analysis of this man’s physical portrayal leads us to realize that the style which he is depicted in is extremely unrealistic. There is no muscle definition or true representation of shape. We gather that the subject was probably thin, but with no indication as to muscle tone or natural shape in arms, torso and legs, we are left to wonder whether this is an accurate depiction of his true physicality. This figure is not shown in three dimensional viewpoint, though because he is a relief, he is carved out of the stone (slightly raised).
His clothing is very simplistic and also seems to be an unreal portrayal of the actual shape of his cloth wrap. The wrap comes to a point far off his knee, which is obviously not a natural movement of cloth. Another problem with the shape of his clothes is the line that indicates a break in the cloth. It is perfectly straight, which, again, is not something that most cloth is capable of unless excessively starched and starch obviously did not exist at this time.
This figure’s location in space is relatively unclear. While it is obvious that he is standing on level ground, the viewer is left to wonder where exactly he stands. There are cuneiform inscriptions that stop when interrupted by the border, which leads the viewer to think that the subject stands in some type of room, probably one of significance since it has writing on the wall during a time when writing was relatively obsolete.
The painting on this piece, as almost every other aspect of it, is extremely simplistic. The edges of objects are clearly defined, with no attempt to shade or shadow any area of the picture. There are no apparent brush strokes, though at this point in time, artists probably used primitive tools to apply paint rather than brushes used by artists from more advanced societies.
This stele is quite typical of the early Egyptians with rigid body depiction, lack of detail, and minimal attention to the true physical state of the location and human subject depicted.
The Essay on Societies Reaction To Madness Over Time
History, has been, and will continue to be, an important part of society. Frederick Jackson Turner once said, Each age tries to form its own conception of the past. Each age writes the history of the past anew with references to the conditions uppermost in its own times. (New) Today our culture views some events as significant and others that have impacted society just as much, oftentimes do not ...
