Bronze bust of an unknown king

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Bronze bust of an unknown king
Bronze bust of an unknown king. JPG
material bronze
Dimensions H. 39.5 cm; W. 25 cm; T. 24.5 cm;
origin unknown
time Late period , 29th dynasty to 30th dynasty , 400 to 340 BC Chr.
place Hildesheim , Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum , PM 384

The bronze bust of an unknown king (Inv.No. PM 384) is one of the most important objects in the collection of the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim . It is an absolute rarity, as only a few large bronzes from ancient Egypt have survived. The king wears the "blue crown", the so-called war helmet ( Chepresch ), with the uraeus over his forehead, the symbol of his power and office.

Site and acquisition history

Wilhelm Pelizaeus acquired the bust of a king on the Cairo art market, probably in 1906 or 1907 together with the so-called Horbeit steles from today's Qantir (Eastern Delta), the former capital of Ramses II. Pi-Ramesse, and donated it to his hometown Hildesheim. Wilhelm Pelizaeus assumed that it was Ramses II, because the art dealer from Cairo claimed that the portrait of the king also came from the place where the Horbeit steles were found. Today, however, it is used in the late period, the 29th to the 30th Dynasty, approx. 400 to 340 BC. Dated because the crown of the helmet has typical squat proportions for this period. The place of discovery cannot be determined.

Dimensions and material

The bust is 39.5 cm high, 25 cm wide and 24.5 cm deep. The hollow cast bust is made of bronze, which was covered with a green patina when it was acquired by Wilhelm Pelizaeus . Even in low concentrations, the presence of moisture can trigger progressive chemical reactions in the corrosion layer, which lead to holes in the material, so-called bronze corrosion. The bust has therefore been housed in an airtight cabinet since it was part of the Egyptian collection of the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum.

presentation

A thorough conservation investigation and subsequent lengthy restoration revealed the intricacies of this almost life-size portrait of a king, which had been hidden under a thick, green layer of corrosion. The ruler is depicted with a relatively narrow head and features marked by serious serenity. The bust shows a neckline connected to the head in the form of an Egyptian breast collar , which looks like that of a classic portrait bust. The neckline of the bust is original; he allows the conclusion that this is the head part of a composite statue made of different materials, the body of which has not been preserved. The eyebrows are in raised relief, as are the make-up lines around the wide-open eyes. The nose is narrow and straight, the mouth has full, curved lips; the ears lie flat against the skull. The uraeus on the crown is set separately. The body of the snake, whose tail reaches up to the center of the head, is engraved with finely chased scales. Her body winds in an eight-shaped double loop behind the breast shield and runs out in waves on the crown of the helmet. Iron nails that held the cast core in place sit in the ear canals. The white of the eyes was partially covered with gold foil. The noble facial features are a little impaired by the stiff, large royal beard, which is attached to the chin. It is connected to the neck and chest by a narrow web and is slightly wider at the bottom. There are no comparative pieces made of bronze, so this portrait has so far remained without any direct parallel. It represents a unique example of the highly developed metallurgical and Toreutic knowledge of the Egyptians.

literature

  • Günther Roeder , Albert Ippel : The monuments of the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim. Curtius, Berlin 1921, pp. 80-81.
  • Hans Kayser : The Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim . Cram, de Gruyter, Hamburg 1966, p. 30 and 63 (Figure 27. Bronze head of a pharaoh in a war helmet, probably Ramses II).
  • Hans Kayser: The Egyptian antiquities in the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim. Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1973, ISBN 3-8067-8002-1 , p. 70.
  • Elfriede Haslauer: Work process for statues made of stone, wood, bronze, faience and clay . In: Wilfried Seipel (Ed.): Gott, Mensch, Pharao. Four thousand years of human image in the sculpture of ancient Egypt . Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-900325-22-7 , p. 50, 54 (catalog for the exhibition in the Künstlerhaus 25 May - 4 October 1992).
  • Bronze bust of a king . In: Wilfried Seipel (Ed.): Gott, Mensch, Pharao. Four thousand years of human image in the sculpture of ancient Egypt . S. 412-413 .
  • Arne Eggebrecht : Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim. The Egyptian Collection. von Zabern, Mainz 1993, ISBN 3-8053-1579-1 , pp. 90–91 and fig. 87–88.
  • Martin von Falck: bronze bust of a king . In: Katja Lembke (ed.): Life on the Nile and everyday life in ancient Egypt (=  The ancient Egypt in Hildesheim ). tape 2 . von Zabern, Darmstadt / Mainz 2011, ISBN 978-3-8053-4285-8 , p. 96–97 (catalog for the permanent exhibition).

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