Thutmose (sculptor)

Thutmose (sculptor) in hieroglyphics
Djehutimes (Djehuti mes) Ḏḥwtj msj (w) Thot is born

Thutmose , also Thutmose or Djehutimes , was a sculptor , sometimes referred to as a head sculptor, at the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten in the 18th dynasty ( New Kingdom ). His name and title Thutmose, darling of the good god, overseer of the work and sculptor are documented on the fragment of a small ivory blinker, which has the inventory no. 21193 is in the Egyptian Museum Berlin and was found in Tell el-Amarna in house P 47.2.

Thutmose is known for the discovery of his sculptor's workshop and the sculptures and busts found there by Ludwig Borchardt , the most famous of which is the bust of Nefertiti .

Find history

The studio and adjoining house of the sculptor Thutmosis were found during the excavation campaign of the German Orient Society (DOG) in Tell el-Amarna in 1912/1913 under the direction of Ludwig Borchardt. The complex, building remains made of adobe bricks , was given the designation P 47.1-3.

The Berlin cotton merchant James Simon financed this excavation . After the find was divided according to the then applicable regulations "in equal parts" ( à moitié exacte ) on January 20, 1913, many objects passed into his possession; Simon gave it to the Egyptian Museum in Berlin as a gift in 1920.

The sculptor's studio

Remains of the studio of the sculptor Thutmose (P 47,2)

The partially preserved inscription on a found blinker allows the house to be assigned by name: … Darling of the good God, overseer of the work and sculptor Thutmose ( … ḥzy (n) nṯr nfr ḥrj k3t sˁnḫ ḏḥwtj-msjw ).

The workshop of Thutmose not only provides a unique insight into the work of the ancient Egyptian sculptors, but also represents the largest collection of Amarna art. The statues, statue heads and busts found consist of various materials, such as limestone , quartzite , granite or stucco , and have different stages of completion. Some heads were intended for composite statues, ie statues that were not worked in one piece but put together from different parts. The Egyptologist Flinders Petrie found a similar collection of sculptures in his work in Tell el-Amarna, but these were less well preserved. The works from Thutmose's studio are among the most important groups of finds in Egypt.

The works

Thutmose's works are often referred to as sculptor studies or portrait studies, as all the pieces found are unfinished. For example, not only did the final polishing work on the surfaces or the inserts for the eyes or eyebrows on the statue heads be missing, but also some of the headgear. Other individual pieces still have the markings applied in black or red for further elaboration.

The found heads made of plaster (stucco) are unique in Egypt and can be divided into two groups:

• Life-size faces that lack the back of the head and are more reminiscent of masks. They are very realistic depictions of women and men, whose age can be seen and which sometimes appear ugly or even scornful. These heads are characteristic and show individual facial features, but do not provide any information about the person himself. These are private individuals whose identities are unknown, but who must have played an important role in the Amarna period. It is assumed that these images were taken directly as casts of living or even dead people. The motives for this type of work is unknown.

• The second group found in the studio includes round sculptural heads in which the top of the head is missing. They are only partly life size and have idealizing facial features. Because of the approaches to crowns, they can be assigned to the royal family. In comparison to contemporary representations, Amenhotep III. , Akhenaten , Nefertiti , Kija , several royal daughters or high court officials can be identified. Some of these objects have cavities for inlays, for example from faience , and are so-called models that were used for the production of statues in series. The bust of Nefertiti belongs to this group of objects.

Statues and portraits in the Egyptian Museum Berlin

• 

  Bust of Nefertiti (house P 47.2; limestone, no.21300)

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  Head of a composite statue of Nefertiti (house P 47.3; granite, no.21358)

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  Standing figure of Nefertiti (house P 47.2; limestone, no.21263)

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  Portrait study of Akhenaten (House P 47, Stuck, No. 21348)

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  Head of a princess (house P 47.1; silicified sandstone (quartzite), No. 21223)

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  Portrait study of the Kija (house P47.2; quartzite, no.21245)

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  Portrait study of Amenhotep III. (Piece)

• 

  Portrait study, probably Eje II. (Stuck, No. 21350)

dig

→ Main article : Tomb of Thutmose

In Saqqara there is the painted rock grave of several artists who were buried here together. One of these artists is the "Colonel of the Painters in the Square of Truth" (usually just referred to as the "Colonel of Painters"), Thutmose. The tomb was found in 1996 and dates to the time of Tutankhamun. It is possible that this Thutmose is identical to the sculptor. The father of Thutmose from Saqqara is called Amenramwia, his mother Mutemweschet. His wife is called Inyy. Another artist buried here was the “Colonel of Painters in Truth Square” Kenena.

literature

• Dorothea Arnold : The Royal Women of Amarna. Images of Beauty from Ancient Egypt. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1996, ISBN 0-87099-816-1 , pp. 41-84.
• Ludwig Borchardt , Herbert Ricke : The residential buildings in Tell el-Amarna. Edited by the German Orient Society in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department; Mann, Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-7861-1 147-2 , pp. 91-98.
• Rolf Krauss : The sculptor Thutmose in Amarna. In: Yearbook Prussian Cultural Heritage. No. 20, 1984, pp. 119-132.
• Nicholas Reeves : Fascination Egypt. The great archaeological discoveries from the beginning until today. Frederking & Thaler, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-89405-430-1 , pp. 134-136.
• Dietrich Wildung : The bust of Nefertiti. Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, Berlin (= Vernissage Meisterwerke. ISSN  1867-6391 ). Vernissage-Verlag, Heidelberg 2009, p. 8.

Web links

Commons : Thutmosis  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The Amarna period / fragment of the blinders with the name and title of Thutmose

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nicholas Reeves: Fascination Egypt. Munich 2001, p. 134.
2. ↑ Dietrich Wildung: The bust of Nefertiti. Heidelberg 2009, p. 8.
3. ↑ Publication of the grave: Alain-Pierre Zivie, Patrick Deleuze, William Schenck: La tombe de Thoutmes, directeur des peintres dans la Place de Maât (= Les tombes du Bubasteion à Saqqara. Volume 2). Caracara edition, Toulouse 2013, ISBN 978-2-913805-04-0 .