Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty, ca. 2530-2500 BC.
Excavated by George Reisner, 1908
From Valley Temple of Menkaure in Giza.
This triad shows the king accompanied by Hathor and a Nome Goddess with the crouching jackal emblem of the nome of Cynopolis. Menkaure is wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt.
That is the most stunning thing I'll see in a while.
ReplyDelete4500 years ago.
Who were those people??
I agree - amazing craftsmanship/artistry! And who were those people? Time to head to the library. Any recommendations out there?
ReplyDeleteLooks like the kind of family pic the pharoahs would put up in the back window of their chariots.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, some years back ai saw a wooden carving of a servant girl (probably a palace slave) wrapped in a cotton dress. It was about a foot tall, and dated to something more than 4000 years ago. It was so detailed and precise, albeit miniature, as to make a mere 2D color photograph of the subject, had one been made in 2000 BC, seem a cheap distortion of reality by comparison. And, in all probability, it was carved for the royal court by another slave. It was mind-boggling to behold, both for its absolute timeless perfection, and its ancient provenance.
We never know what we do that may outlast us by millennia, but anyone that thinks the ancients were backwards is woefully underinformed.