The sacred treasure of Queen Amanishakheto
Alberto Ángel Vela-Rodrigo2021, Ancient Egypt Magazine, vol. 21, No.5
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Abstract
I n the course of history, various peoples have left an aesthetic imprint on the fields of architecture, sculpture, goldsmithing, painting or decorative arts as a result of their internal development and their vision of the world, all of which would come to shape their own culture. However, as kingdoms and empires expanded and came into contact with each other, cultural exchanges gave rise to hybridizations of all kinds, especially notable in the field of the arts. This fact is especially evident in the expansion of Pharaonic Egypt beyond the Second Cataract, in the region of present-day Nubia, formerly known as Kush, and which was home to three successive kingdoms-Kerma (2600-1520 BC), Napata (1000-300 BC) and Meroë (300 BC-300 AD)-creating one of the most exciting hybrid cultures in human history.. Thus, while most books on the history of Egyptian art have traditionally focused on the study of the northern, pharaonic culture, there is also a rich and little known Sudanese heritage to explore-a legacy resulting from the contact between two peoples who were tacit partners, friends and rivals. And there is one particular discovery that stands out: a treasure that caught the attention of the world even before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Housed in the Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin, the jewellery collection of the mighty Queen Amanishakheto takes visitors back to a land where pharaonic Egypt met tribal Africa-a world of alliances, wars, intrigues and luxury.
Key takeaways
- They settled between the Second and Fourth Cataracts long before 7,500 BC and were known by the Egyptians as Kash (from which Kus or Kush derived).
- Thus, the kingdom of Kush would end up detaching itself, in part, from Egyptian culture and hieroglyphic writing, although customs such as building pyramids as funerary monuments would survive until the third century.
- Ferlini knew that the Kings of Kush followed a similar tradition to Egypt's pharaohs, often being buried with treasures and food to be used by the ka, the life force that left the body when they died.
- In turn, the intricate partitioned glass work of some bracelets It is not strange that the wife of the god Amun is a recurring character in the decoration of Nubian jewellery, since the queens identified with this divinity, being queens but also wives and mothers of kings.
- The presence of the iconography of the god Amun in Nubian metalwork is constant, since he was the supreme god of their pantheon and was thought to live on the sacred mountain of Gebel Barkal, near the modern city of Karima.
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The burial of Queen Ahhotep represents one of the most significant finds in Near Eastern Archaeology. A gilded coffin and a trove of magnificent jewels and precious objects belonging to a queen named Ahhotep was discovered at Dra Abu el-Naga, in Western Thebes by Auguste Mariette in 1859. Many of the objects associated with the burial bore the names of Kings Ahmose and Kamose of the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the beginning of the New Kingdom (1600–1500 BC) and reflected the influence of the Aegean and of Nubia. Despite its importance, the treasure has never been fully published and much new research on the various aspects of the find have not been collected into a combined study until now. The volume details the circumstances of the treasure’s discovery, its history of display and publication, both the technical and artistic aspects of the individual elements of the material, a review of the history and burial practices of the period. The volume also tackles the analysis of the Aegean influence on the elements of the treasure and the Eastern Mediterranean relations at the turn of the Middle Bronze Age (1600–1500 BC). As appendices there are also maps, chronological tables, lists of the treasure and selected images.
Miniaci, Lacovara (eds), The Treasure of the Egyptian Queen Ahhotep and International Relations at the Turn of the Middle Bronze Age (1600–1500 BCE), MKS 11, London 2022
Miniaci, Lacovara (eds), The Treasure of the Egyptian Queen Ahhotep and International Relations at the Turn of the Middle Bronze Age (1600–1500 BCE), MKS 11, London 2022, 2022
The burial of Queen Ahhotep represents one of the most significant finds in Near Eastern Archaeology. A gilded coffin and a trove of magnificent jewels and precious objects belonging to a queen named Ahhotep was discovered at Dra Abu el-Naga, in Western Thebes by Auguste Mariette in 1859. Many of the objects associated with the burial bore the names of Kings Ahmose and Kamose of the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the beginning of the New Kingdom (1600–1500 BC) and reflected the influence of the Aegean and of Nubia. Despite its importance, the treasure has never been fully published and much new research on the various aspects of the find have not been collected into a combined study until now. The volume details the circumstances of the treasure’s discovery, its history of display and publication, both the technical and artistic aspects of the individual elements of the material, a review of the history and burial practices of the period. The volume also tackles the analysis of the Aegean influence on the elements of the treasure and the Eastern Mediterranean relations at the turn of the Middle Bronze Age (1600–1500 BC). As appendices there are also maps, chronological tables, lists of the treasure and selected images. Table of Contents: Kevin M. Cahail, The Internal Chronology of the Second Intermediate Period: A Summary of Old Theories and New Discoveries Anna-Latifa Mourad, Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean Area Gianluca Miniaci, The Discovery of Queen Ahhotep’s Burial at Dra Abu el-Naga (Thebes) in the Nineteenth Century AD: Between Tale and Archaeological Evidence Gianluca Miniaci, The original Inventory List of the Queen Ahhotep ‘Treasure’ from Mariette’s Papers (BIF Paris, Fonds Maspero, Ms. 4052) Gianluca Miniaci, Notes on the Journal d’Entrée Entries for Queen Ahhotep’s Assemblage Marilina Betrò, A Note to Carter Manuscripts and the Discovery of Ahhotep’s Coffin (Cairo CG 28501) Yasmin El Shazly, The Display History of the Ahhotep Treasure Marilina Betrò, The Identity of Ahhotep and the Textual Sources Peter Lacovara, The Treasure of Ahhotep in Archaeological Context Ellen Morris, Daggers and Axes for the Queen: Considering Ahhotep’s Weapons in their Cultural Context Miriam Colella, Queen Ahhotep’s Lion Heads and the Inclusion of Gaming Pieces in the Funerary Costumes of Second Intermediate Period-early Eighteenth Dynasty Peter Lacovara, The Flies of Ahhotep Margaret Maitland, Daniel M. Potter, Lore Troalen, The Burial of the ‘Qurna Queen’ Sara E. Cole, The Aegean and Egypt during the Fifteenth (Hyksos) Dynasty (c. 1650-1550 BC) and Beyond Sarah C. Murray, Aegean Consumption of Egyptian Material Culture in the Sixteenth Century BC: Objects, Iconography, and Interpretation Beth Ann Judas, The Aegeanizing Elements Depicted on the Objects from the Burial of Ahhotep Shelley Wachsmann, Ahhotep’s Metal Ship Models
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