Harpists Stele Egypt
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Harpists Stele Egypt
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Harpists Stele Egypt,harpists Stele,egyptian Harpist,harpist,egyptian Stele,stele,egypt,egyptian,ver
Description
The Harpist's Stele, Thebes, Egypt, c. 800 BC.
Egyptian stele of the Third Intermediate Period (1070-664 BC.) showing the musician of Amon Djedkhonsouiouefankh playing the harp in front of the god Re-Horakhty. These steles were made of stuccoed and painted wood and were designed for tombs. A few have been discovered in burial vaults.
This kind of small brightly colored wooden steles are a typical testimony of individual piety of the Third Intermediate Period. The scene portraying the deceased in front of a deity is traditional.
The originality of this stele resides in the fact that the usual image of the deceased, standing with raised arms, was replaced by that of a harpist.
The scene is framed by a visual overview of the universe. The rounded sign for the sky along the arch is painted blue. "Was" scepters on each side support this sign. A thin horizontal strip below the figures represents the earth. A series of protective symbols are placed under the arch, two wedjat eyes frame a shen ring over a stream of water and a small vase. In this scene, the adororation is not depicted by the deceased raising his arms to a god, but by the harpist, his mouth open as he recites his hymn. The harp is decorated with the head of a pharaoh. Ra-Horakhty is seated on a throne on a platform. He is wrapped in a mummy-shaped sheath and wears the sun disk crown adorned with a uraeus. He holds the flail and crook scepters in his hands. The two figures are separated by an offering consisting of an ewer and basin, and a lotus flower.
A six-column hieroglyph, painted against a yellow background, is placed above the figures. The column on the far left reveals the identity of the god: "Ra-Horakhty, the great god, lord of the sky." The other five columns include the title and name of the harpist: "the singer of Amun, lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, who resides in Thebes, Djedkhonsuiuefank".
More amazing images from Ancient Civilizations one copy-paste away at https://weston-westmoreland.pixels.com/collections/ancient+civilizations
Weston Westmoreland.
Uploaded
April 18th, 2020
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