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Source Description

To reinforce their power visually, Egyptian royal monuments often displayed depictions of groups of foreigners bound as prisoners or in defensive positions while Egyptian sovereigns attacked. Representatives of various Nubian groups were frequently included, along with Babylonians, Libyans, Syrians, Hittites, Canaanites, Philistines, Amorites, and even Greeks. While some nations were conquered and captured, others were vassal states that offered tribute or were bound to Egypt by diplomatic treaties. To depict the foreign groups, Egyptian artists standardized their clothing and hairstyles into set “types” and emphasized any perceived physical differences from Egyptians. This man has the large earring and tightly curled hairstyle typical of Egyptian depictions of Nubians. When complete, the tile showed the chieftain as a bound prisoner. Such prisoner tiles could have decorated the bases of walls of royal buildings, so the enemies of the pharaoh would be quite literally at his feet.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
18115
label
Tile: Captive Nubian Chieftain
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
18115
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tile: Captive Nubian Chieftain
description
To reinforce their power visually, Egyptian royal monuments often displayed depictions of groups of foreigners bound as prisoners or in defensive positions while Egyptian sovereigns attacked. Representatives of various Nubian groups were frequently included, along with Babylonians, Libyans, Syrians, Hittites, Canaanites, Philistines, Amorites, and even Greeks. While some nations were conquered and captured, others were vassal states that offered tribute or were bound to Egypt by diplomatic treaties. To depict the foreign groups, Egyptian artists standardized their clothing and hairstyles into set “types” and emphasized any perceived physical differences from Egyptians. This man has the large earring and tightly curled hairstyle typical of Egyptian depictions of Nubians. When complete, the tile showed the chieftain as a bound prisoner. Such prisoner tiles could have decorated the bases of walls of royal buildings, so the enemies of the pharaoh would be quite literally at his feet.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1929, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1300-1150 BCE (New Kingdom)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ceramics
tiles
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.8
height
7
depth
2.4
dimensionsRaw
3 1/16 x 2 3/4 x 15/16 in. (7.8 x 7 x 2.4 cm)
Source extras
cul
Egyptian
style
Ramesside
dynasty
19th-20th Dynasty
med
faience with polychrome glaze
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7ecd2c05b5be0771