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Material : Painted limestone
Acquisition : Gift of Norbert Schimmel (1985)
| Item 37 on 40
Ancient Egypt
Sculpture
Vitrine : 4
Area related
Amarna (Egypte)
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| Description |  |
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The representations on Amarna relief blocks preserve only portions of the monumental scenes that decorated temple and palace walls. Fortunately, the tombs of Amarna were decorated with similar types of scenes, and by comparing the fragments to the more complete tomb illustrations, it is often possible to suggest their original context.
In many Amarna scenes, the royal family is followed by much smaller figures of courtiers and attendants. A block at the left center above depicts a cluster of women. The irregular groupings suggest a crowd of revellers, and the foremost figures have their arms raised and hold drinking cup to their mouths. This type of free-form composition contrasts markedly with the more regimented layout of figures that is a common feature of Egyptian art. In the fragment beneath the cluster of women, two male courtiers followed by a group of female courtiers walk in a procession carrying feathered fans. The soft curving lines of their bodies exemplify the exaggerated softness and grace with which the human body was protrayed in the art of the Amarna period.
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