Ramesside Egypt: Statuary

Ramesses II. British Museum

Purpose• All statues had a religious purpose• For a god or a king, it was a manifestation that might

itself be an object of worship. • For a private person, it was a means by which he or she

could exist forever. • If an Egyptian statue had been properly made and

animated by the correct rituals, it was magically capable of possessing life.

Opinions of Ramesside Sculpture• Critics • overblown, careless, impersonal, uniform• seeks to manipulate & intimidate with size

• Others • tended to vacillate between a modified version of its

immediate post-Amarna predecessors – indirectly but recognisably under Amarna influence still• after effects of Amarna and attempts to revitalise

earlier styles (Thutmose III & Amenhotep III)• (Russmann & Finn, Egyptian Sculpture, 1989)

Statue of goddess Sekhmet in the temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu

Composite statue of Seti I height 238cm

Egyptian alabaster (calcite)The type was popular in the Amarna

PeriodBuried in the Karnak Cachette

Statues of nobles• Statues were placed in temple

courtyards to participate in the daily offerings given to the god.• There were statues of family groups,

seated scribes, individuals at prayer, statues holding a naos or shrine and so called block statues.

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Granite scribe statue of Ramessu-nakht,High Priest of Amun-Re,Karnak courtyard,75cm high,Time of Ramesses IV, V & VI

The baboon sitting on his shoulders was sacred to Thoth the god of writing & wisdom.

Kneeling statue of Panehsy, Royal scribe & treasurer,presenting a naos with Horus, Osiris & Isis, Dynasty 19

• Block statues were distinguished from earlier cuboid statues by:• the suggestion of body

contours• the carving of arms, elbows &

feet• the pleating of the garment• the rendering of a seat cushion

Stylistic Developments

Block statue of Samut,Saqqara,Dynasty 19

• the tomb owner receiving offering and rites from family members• statues of gods• standing statues of the tomb owner and his wife• servants and shabtis were placed in the burial

chambers. • the depiction of the chair in seated statues is a

Ramesside motif, previously people merely sat on cube shaped blocks.

Statues for tombs

Rock-cut statues of Nefer-Sekheru, (TT 296) time of Ramesses II

Statue of Neye & his mother Mutnofret,(Dynasty 19)

Shabtis from the tomb of Saroy

Shabti box of Henutmehyt, the Songstress of Amun, Thebesc. 1250 BCplastered & painted wood

Other Sculptural Artefacts•Amulets & elaborate

jewellery•Toys & dolls•Coffins & sarcophagi