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Source Description
Deriving from one of the most beautifully sculpted New Kingdom tombs, this small relief exemplifies the best artwork of the era of Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BCE). A scribe of the general and (later king) Horemheb is shown standing behind a chair, which is represented on a scale far larger than he. Though the scribe's social status is obviously below that of the tomb's owner, his curling, echeloned wig and his upturned nose are characteristic features favored in the period immediately following Akhenaten's death in 1336, as is the somewhat slight body, which is punctuated by a spreading belly and hips. The delicately carved and clearly defined pleating of the scribe's garments reveals that the body type is a deliberate fashion and not artistic ineptitude. The bureaucrat grasps his far wrist with his near hand in a gesture of deference to the unseen tomb owner seated before him. Tucked under his near armpit is the man's scribal palette, which identifies his profession, despite the absence of any inscription. The vertical bar behind the official indicates the end of this composition.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
4908
label
Fragment of a Tomb Relief
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
4908
sourceUrl
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Fragment of a Tomb Relief
description
Deriving from one of the most beautifully sculpted New Kingdom tombs, this small relief exemplifies the best artwork of the era of Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BCE). A scribe of the general and (later king) Horemheb is shown standing behind a chair, which is represented on a scale far larger than he. Though the scribe's social status is obviously below that of the tomb's owner, his curling, echeloned wig and his upturned nose are characteristic features favored in the period immediately following Akhenaten's death in 1336, as is the somewhat slight body, which is punctuated by a spreading belly and hips. The delicately carved and clearly defined pleating of the scribe's garments reveals that the body type is a deliberate fashion and not artistic ineptitude. The bureaucrat grasps his far wrist with his near hand in a gesture of deference to the unseen tomb owner seated before him. Tucked under his near armpit is the man's scribal palette, which identifies his profession, despite the absence of any inscription. The vertical bar behind the official indicates the end of this composition.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York or Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1925, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1325 BCE (New Kingdom, 18th dynasty)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Sculpture
reliefs
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
41.9
height
36.7
dimensionsRaw
16 1/2 x 14 7/16 in. (41.9 x 36.7 cm)
Source extras
dynasty
18th Dynasty
med
limestone, traces of paint
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8c64b525e4733fc7