Replacement head of Princess Iabtet

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Replacement head of Princess Iabtet
Princess Jabtets replacement head.JPG
material limestone
Dimensions H. 27.7 cm; W. 14.2 cm; T. 24.2 cm;
origin Giza , necropolis
time Old Kingdom , 4th Dynasty , around 2550 BC Chr.
place Hildesheim , Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum , PM 2384

The replacement head of Princess Iabtet (also Jabtet ) from the Old Kingdom , 4th Dynasty , around 2550 BC. BC, belongs to the Egyptian collection of the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim . The objects called " replacement heads " in Egyptology represent a shortened variant of the statues normally set up in the grave as replacement bodies. The replacement body of Princess Iabtet is reduced to its essential part, the head. More than 30 specimens, mainly from the 4th dynasty, most of which were discovered in Giza, are known to date. 22 replacement heads were found in the west cemetery at the Great Pyramid of Cheops alone . Replacement heads represent an independent group of monuments in Egyptology. As the smooth base on the neck shows, replacement heads cannot be explained as statue fragments. Instead, they are complete objects. The replacement heads were mostly found in the shaft and coffin area of ​​the grave complexes of private graves, mainly from the reign of Cheops and Chephren . So far, no replacement head has been excavated at the original site. Presumably, the replacement heads were placed on the coffin in the immediate vicinity of the dead, or they were also placed in a niche in the passage to the burial chamber. It is noticeable that many of these heads show intentional damage, including a furrow on the back of the head and, above all, the ears that are usually initially modeled but then cut off.

Location

The replacement head of the Iabtet comes from the excavation of Hermann Junker in the west cemetery of the necropolis of Gizeh from the mastaba G4650 from the year 1914. It was found in the entrance area of ​​the coffin chamber of the Iabtet at the foot of the grave shaft. The burial in the chamber behind it had been looted in ancient times and the findings were disturbed as a result. By dividing the find, the replacement head came into the possession of Wilhelm Pelizaeus , who had borne half the cost of the excavation and who handed it over to his home town of Hildesheim in 1914 .

description

The head, made of fine limestone , is 27.7 cm high, 14.2 cm wide and 24.2 cm deep. This is the only one of all known replacement heads to have a symmetrically curved line on the forehead, apparently the contour line of a woman's hairstyle parted in the middle. Underneath there is another, but thinner, incised line, which probably goes back to a different hairstyle shown on men and women. It is unclear whether this was intended to erroneously portray a different hairstyle or whether the piece was even usurped. The hairstyle is only marked to the top of the auricle; on the other hand, it is not marked in the neck. The left side of the skull may be damaged by the action of calcium nitrate . The neck, chin and cheeks are carefully modeled and, like the curved forehead line, indicate a woman. Perhaps the large, finely modeled eyes can be interpreted as a further indication of the portrayal of a woman. The right ear is missing. The accentuated nostrils and the not completely closed lips, which are worked in sharp contours, convey an appealing, individual impression. Chin and nose are slightly raised and the gaze is directed straight ahead. Remnants of the expected painting are not preserved.

literature

  • Albert Ippel , Günther Roeder : The monuments of the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim. Curtius, Berlin 1921, p. 54.
  • Hans Kayser : The Egyptian antiquities in the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim. Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1973, ISBN 3-8067-8002-1 , p. 36 and Fig. 19.
  • Martin von Falck: 9A-B replacement heads of the Jabtet and an anonymous man. In: Katja Lembke (Ed.): The old Egypt in Hildesheim. Volume 1: The Old Reich. Egypt from the beginnings to high culture. Von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8053-4073-1 , pp. 64-65.
  • Wilfried Seipel (Ed.): 33 Replacement Head. In: Pictures for Eternity, 3000 Years of Egyptian Art. Stadler, Konstanz 1983, ISBN 3-7977-0100-4 , pp. 52–54 (catalog for the Konstanz exhibition, Council March 25 to May 23, 1983).
  • Matthias Seidel: AR7 replacement head for Princess Jabtet. In: Arne Eggebrecht (Ed.): The Old Reich. Egypt in the age of the pyramids. Von Zabern, Mainz 1986, ISBN 3-8053-0936-8 , pp. 44-45.
  • Regine Schulz : Replacement head of the Princess Jabtet. In: Arne Eggebrecht (Ed.), Matthias Seidel: Die Ägyptische Sammlung / Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim, Von Zabern, Mainz 1993, ISBN 3-8053-1579-1 , p. 20.
  • Barbara Magen: Beauty: Age and Youth, Perception and Representation. In: Lembke; Katja, Bettina Schmitz (Hrsg.): Beauty in Ancient Egypt- Longing for Perfection, Hildesheim 2006 and Gebrüder Gerstenberg, ISBN 3-8067-8559-7 , p. 53 u. Cat. Fig. 22. (Book accompanying the exhibition Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim from November 25, 2006 to July 1, 2007 and Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe from July 28, 2007 to January 27, 2008).
  • Bettina Schmitz : 057 Replacement head of Princess Jabtet. In: Katja Lembke, Bettina Schmitz (Ed.): Giza. At the foot of the great pyramids. Hirmer, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7774-3481-0 , p. 162 (book accompanying the exhibition in the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim, April 16 to August 21, 2011).
  • Eva Martin-Pardey: 101 replacement head of the Princess Jabtet. In: Bettina Schmitz (catalog editorship ): Nofret- The Beautiful, Woman in Ancient Egypt, Truth and Reality. Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim 1985 and von Zabern, ISBN 3-8053-0858-2 (museum edition), p. 22. (Book accompanying the exhibition Roemer- und Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim July 15, 1985 - November 4, 1985).
  • Eva Martin-Pardey: Sculpture of the Old Kingdom 2 (= Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum. Loose-leaf catalog of Egyptian antiquities. Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim. Delivery 4). Von Zabern, Mainz 1978, ISBN 3-8053-0340-8 , pp. 59-65.

Web links

Commons : Reserve head Hildesheim RPM 2384  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual notes

  1. ^ Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim: Inventory number PM 2384