What’s the significance of the Face of Amunhotep II?
Though this statue is fragmentary we can tell he is a king by his headdress, know as a nemes, adorned with a cobra called a uraeus.
We can tell that he ruled during the 18th Dynasty because of the shape his face is sculpted in.
I inferred from the description that Amunhotep II didn’t look anything like how the statue portrays him, correct? This is just an ideal image?
Kind of. Images of ancient Egyptian kings were certainly idealized to a degree. The way that kings' faces were portrayed changed over time as well.
Kings during the earlier part of the 18th Dynasty, when Amunhotep II ruled, were shown to look similar. They were also all related. So this may indicate a familial resemblance or a trend.
Are there any features of this sculpture that were atypical for the time or that are more important? (The medium used, etc.)
This type of stone, pink granite, was quite common for ancient Egyptian sculptures. Since this face is only a fragment of a larger sculpture, we don't actually have much information about what it really looked like.
The parts that we do see are all very typical.
Thank you!
Is this painting made of recycled materials?
It's made of paint and rhinestones on wood panel, but the graphic style and fragmentation are very much like collage. Thomas was inspired by home decor of her childhood in the 1970s. With that in mind, you can start to see how the patterns reference a sofa and pillows.
How does this stand up?
That's a very common question! The ancient Egyptians had pot stands for their rounded bottom vessels.
The vessels could also be nestled into the sand or sockets in the floor or simply leaned against a wall.
Cool! Thanks!
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Here you see the white crown of Upper Egypt. Throughout Egyptian history, you see royal headdresses indicating the separate geographic regions of the country.
Was Weserhat someone special?
Weserhat, who commissioned this statue for his parents' tomb to replace an earlier version that had gone missing, held the title "scribe in the treasury of Amun," which was a high ranking accounting position in the Egyptian government similar to his father's.
Scholars actually have the most information about a grandson of Nebsen and Nebet-ta and a nephew of Weserhat, a man named Sobekmose whose tomb was discovered at Rizeiquat. The hypotheses that this statue may come from nearby Dahamsha and that Nebsen and Nebet-ta lived during the reign of Thutmose III are based on this tomb.
Gustave Caillebotte, why did he chose to leave blank space of canvas showing?
His concern in this painting was primarily with capturing the feeling of the place at that moment. This was likely just a stylistic choice on his part to enhance the feel of the scene, and it's light and color.
Thanks
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This is the eighth Inca king, Viracocha. Viracocha apparently was a valiant prince in times of war and peace. His valor in battle was well known throughout the region, and it is said his enemies feared him, and his compatriots respected him.
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Yahuar Huacac Yupanqui's name means "That who weeps blood." His vassals felt negatively towards him, unlike his successor, Viracocha. He had the reputation of being a coward!
