K. Gabler, R. Gautschy, L. Bohnenkämper, H. Jenni, C. Reymond, R. Zillhardt, A. Loprieno-Gnirs and H.-H. Münch (eds.), Text-Bild-Objekte im archäologischen Kontext: Festschrift für Susanne Bickel. LingAeg StudMon 22, Hamburg, 17-39., 2020
During his excavations in the Valley of the Kings pursued between 1880 and 1899, G. Daressy recov... more During his excavations in the Valley of the Kings pursued between 1880 and 1899, G. Daressy recovered some three hundred hieroglyphic, hieratic and figural ostraca from the debris of two royal tombs, a hundred from Ramesses IX's (KV 6) and the double of this from that of Ramesses VI. (KV 9). In the case of the latter and with a noticeable difference in the usual proportions typical of such find groups, two-thirds of the ostraca were figural ones of various types. Among the subjects depicted on these ostraca many cannot be easily correlated with either the official work or the private life of the artisans of Deir el-Medina producing them. Such for instance include several pieces from KV 9 (Ramesses VI), and less from KV 6 (Ramesses IX) that relate to the theme of the “Victorious king” that in effect belongs to the repertoire of (royal) temple decoration, rather than that of royal tombs. Forming thus two discrete groups of sketch pieces, the specific purposes that they may have been made for are suggested here.
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Books by Tamás A Bács
The papers focus mainly on Ancient Egypt, the Theban necropolis, with a dashing of miscellaneous subjects.
A special section portrays graphic artwork from colleagues of the excavation team of the Hungarian Archaeological Mission in Thebes, in TT 184 and the south slope of el-Khokha; as well as other friends working in Thebes.
Published by L'Harmattan, Budapest, 2017/2019.
ISBN 978-2-343-13743-8
Papers by Tamás A Bács
The papers focus mainly on Ancient Egypt, the Theban necropolis, with a dashing of miscellaneous subjects.
A special section portrays graphic artwork from colleagues of the excavation team of the Hungarian Archaeological Mission in Thebes, in TT 184 and the south slope of el-Khokha; as well as other friends working in Thebes.
Published by L'Harmattan, Budapest, 2017/2019.
ISBN 978-2-343-13743-8
Budapest) has been excavating and documenting a concession area covering the territory of what is
known as the Monastery of Cyriacus in late antiquity and early medieval period since 1995. Situated
on the north‐eastern slope of Ilwet el Sheikh Abd el Gurna, the area under study comprises
monumental New Kingdom rock‐cut tombs (TT 65, TT 67, and TT‐NN‐24‐), shaft tombs of the same
age (Shaft ‘3’, Shaft ‘4’); as well as mudbrick features related to the aforementioned monastery. The
‘use‐life’ of the individual tombs as of the site as whole, however, is lengthier of course, as each was
reused subsequent to its original date reflective of patterns of reuse in evidence on the hill of Sheikh
Abd el Gurna and in the entire Theban necropolis resp.
Besides conservation work in TT 65, the tomb of Nebamun and Imiseba (temp. Hatshepsut /
Ramesses IX), the past seasons focused on the clearance of an area situated between TT 65 (Imiseba)
and TT 67 (Hapuseneb) that was covered by a large spoilheap left behind by previous excavations.
Originally excavation work was started here to clarify the contextual situation of our Shaft ‘3’, the
burial place of a hitherto unknown viceroy of Kush, Penre (temp. Hatshepsut), but it soon transpired
that the deposited debris covered a saff‐tomb (now designated Saff‐tomb I), not recognized
previously, despite the extent of archaeological activities in the wider locale.
The talk then after a retrospective introduction to the site in general will present some of the
problems posed by its particularities and the most recent results of our fieldwork.
Among the subjects depicted on these ostraca many cannot be easily correlated with either the official work or the private life of the artisans of Deir el-Medina producing them. Such for instance include several pieces from KV 9 (Ramesses VI), and less from KV 6 (Ramesses IX) that relate to the theme of the “Victorious king” that in effect belongs to the repertoire of (royal) temple decoration, rather than that of royal tombs. These, as I intend to show in this paper then, form two discrete groups of sketch pieces that were made for specific purposes.
This paper then attempts to understand the motives behind, or at least suggest possible readings of the particular honour roll embodied in the king-list of TT 65.
Az osztrakonok tematikus vagy lelőhely szerinti megszokottabb feldolgozási kerete helyett ezért az előadás egy más megközelítést választva Deir el-Medina XX. dinasztia végén élt vezető festője, Amenhotep figurális osztrakonjainak vizsgálatán keresztül kísérel meg értelmezési lehetőségeket felvetni.
A painter’s version: Amenhotep, son of Amunnakhte and pictorial tradition
(Abstract)
Arguably one of the most remarkable painters/draughtsmen, not only in his direct surroundings like Deir el-Medina but in the history of New Kingdom painting altogether, the Chief Draughtsman Amenhotep, son of Amunnakhte has left us a substantial body of identifiable work. These include five royal, two queenly and at least one princely tomb in the Valley of the Kings (and most likely the last decorative phase of KV 13 as well), and one or perhaps two further queenly ones in the Queens Valley (QV 51 and QV 74). In addition, the decoration of at least two private tomb-chapels (TT 113 and TT 65) can be attributed to him. Significantly enough, this artistic output is augmented furthermore by a corpus of figured ostraca numbering at present twenty known pieces including both signed and unsigned ones. It follows then that the many different types of artwork contained in his production provide an especially rich opportunity for exploring art historical themes of particular import and can inform our understanding of these in significant ways.
Within this output the importance of the figured ostraca cannot be over exaggerated, as their analysis has allowed for not only identifying the discrete style characteristics peculiar to Amenhotep, but also the stratification of his personal style. Moreover, given the presence of texts on these, a broadly defined hieroglyphic and hieratic palaeography also displaying different levels of formality could be outlined for him.
The stratification of style that ranges from the formal to the informal, however, is not confined to Amenhotep’s visual imagery or script forms on ostraca, but can be found in his works both in the non-royal and the royal tombs as well. This point is all the more important as artwork in formal contexts and styles is generally regarded as informed by decorum, a commonplace principle taken, among others to refer to the suitability of design in terms of a system of conventions (and skills). Figured ostraca, especially those of informal style, on the other hand, are often thought to be outside such a system, allied with the assumption that these works are closer to the artist’s subjectivity, or stated differently, as alternative vehicles of expression with a presumed wider artistic licence they reflect more reliably an artist’s makeup.
Moving away from the habitually confronted modern reading of decorum as a manacle of artistic freedom then, this contribution aims at drawing attention to how decorum seems to have been seen in essentially positive terms, an inference cognate with what transpires from the study of the works of Amenhotep. To qualify this conclusion first Amenhotep’s artistic training and the artistic context in which he worked has to be scrutinized from the particular point of what an artist may learn from earlier art in terms of visual forms or what workshop practice demanded him to conform to. That this has a direct bearing on the issue of Amenhotep’s personal style as well, is aptly shown by its importance for charting the development of his artistic vocabulary.
Amenhotep created a number of formal compositions using a number of Ramesside compositions found in different contexts in Western Thebes, most notably in the case of TT 65. Further examples of his engagement with these presented here are intended to show that not only compositions or parts of major scenes but motifs were also borrowed from earlier art. These borrowings on their part underscore indirectly how decorum through the sanctioning of correctness establishes authority and value. In this sense it is a legitimizing tool and source of power that can be exploited exactly for this purpose.
Finally I discuss how we confront the complex relations between artistic skill, individuality and personal style surveying some alternatives to our current practice without introducing distinctions alien to the period itself.
In its making an intriguing array of textual and pictorial material was brought together. This offers the opportunity to attempt not only the identification of some of the sources from whence these were drawn from, but also how the received material was transformed, intentionally or not, during the process.
Accordingly, questions related to modes of transmission shall also be addressed.
Some of these chapels, moreover, can be safely dated to the reign of Ramesses II. Their significance, as the lecture aims to show, can be interpreted then within the specific context of the religious policy of the early Ramessides and their promotion of their own type of ancestor cult.