Dagger handle K 1104

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The dagger handle K 1104 is the ivory handle of a magnificent dagger from the predynastic period ( Naqada IId, around 3200 BC) of Egyptian history . He was found in the early 1990s in the U cemetery in Umm el-Qaab near Abydos .

Finding circumstances

The fragments of this dagger handle come from grave U-127. The grave is about 1.80 m wide, 4 to 5 m long and has a depth of about 1.70 m below the desert level. It is particularly badly disturbed in the south. Remains of a wooden lining and a wooden coffin were found in the pit. The grave inventory included numerous ceramic vessels and objects made of ivory, stone, flint and gold . In addition to the fragments described here, these were the fragments of the also decorated knife handle K 1103 , fragments of two other, undecorated knife handles, dice sticks, differently shaped ivory game pieces, limestone balls , a half-preserved pear leg made of calcite , a fishtail knife , several microliths , Disc pearls, gold leaf threads (possibly from a robe) as well as fragments of malachite and galena . A knife using the "ripple-flake" technique was found in the vicinity, but it could not be assigned to a specific grave. Due to the ceramic, the grave U-127 can be safely dated to the level Negade IId.

description

The dagger hilt is preserved in three fragments. The largest has a length of 13.75 cm, a width of 2.6 cm and a diameter of 1.6 cm. It makes up almost half of the original handle. There is also a small, 1.5 cm long fragment from the front and a 1.9 cm long fragment from the back. The dagger handle had a semicircular pommel in its upper part. The central part was broadly oval and the lower part is reconstructed as a crescent-shaped enclosure for the blade. The front is flat, the back is slightly curved.

The decoration consists of rows of animals and is oriented so that the blade of the dagger points upwards when looking at it. It is located in two areas: on the one hand, on the central section towards the knob, on the other hand on both sides of the handle surround. The decoration of the middle part has only been preserved on the front. It is divided into six picture strips by seven fine beaded rings, in which the remains of rows of animals have been preserved. In the top row there are two four-legged friends, probably gazelles , running to the left . In the third stripe, two lions facing to the right can be seen. No other animals have survived. In return, however, remains of cross-hatching have been preserved in the second, third and fourth stripes, which lead to tapered reliefs on the uppermost ring. It might be a web, and the entire scene would be a game of hunting.

The decor on the blade surround is divided into picture strips on both sides by cord straps. One of these ribbons can be seen on the front and two on the back. The decoration on the front has only been preserved on a small fragment. In the section below the ribbon it shows three long-necked birds looking to the right. A more precise identification of the species is not possible. In the section above the inner band, five feet of sole walkers can still be seen walking to the left. Something more has been preserved on the back. On the one hand, a row of five long-necked birds looking to the right is depicted on the large fragment of the handle on the right under the outer band. Behind them are at least five animals with twisted horns (rams?). The feet of two sole walkers can still be seen above the tape . On the left back, the remainder of a row of animals from the section between the two bands has been preserved on a small fragment. Again four long-necked birds looking to the left can be seen. They are followed by two kites . This hybrid creature is only known on the knife handles from the Gebel-el-Tarif knife . A remnant of the inner band follows above the row of animals. The strip of image above has not been preserved.

literature

  • Günter Dreyer : Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. In: Christiane Ziegler (ed.): L'art de l'Ancien Empire égyptien. Actes du colloque organisé au musée du Louvre par le Service culturel les 3 et 4 avril 1998 . La Documentation française: Musée du Louvre, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-11-004264-8 , pp. 195–226.
  • Günter Dreyer et al .: Umm el-Qaab. Follow-up examinations in the early royal cemetery. 5th / 6th Preliminary report. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) Vol. 49, 1993, pp. 23-62.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, pp. 200-202.
  2. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, pp. 205-209.
  3. ↑ G. Dreyer et al .: Umm el-Qaab. Follow-up examinations in the early royal cemetery. 5th / 6th Preliminary report. Pp. 26-27, 48.
  4. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, pp. 209-210.
  5. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, p. 209.
  6. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, p. 210.