Tomb statues of Irukaptah and Neferhetepes

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Tomb statues of Irukaptah and Neferhetepes
material limestone
Dimensions H. 60.1.53.6 cm; W. 18.6.15 cm; T. 25.7.24 cm;
origin Giza , necropolis
time Old Kingdom , late 6th Dynasty , around 2200 BC Chr.
place Hildesheim , Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum , PM 417 and PM 418

The grave statues of Irukaptah and Neferhetepes from the Old Kingdom , late 6th Dynasty around 2200 BC Belong to the collection of the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim . Both statues impress with their good state of preservation, the painting and exemplify that family cohesion is important in the cult of the dead in the Old Kingdom.

Site, material and size

The two grave statues were found during the excavation campaign in 1906 by Georg Steindorff and Georg Möller in the west cemetery of Gizeh in the mastaba D61. By dividing the finds they came into the private collection of Wilhelm Pelizaeus in Cairo , who gave them to his hometown Hildesheim in 1909. The Mastaba D61 consists of a core structure that is 5 m × 9.4 m in size. In front of it is an L-shaped cult chamber made of rubble stones. The cult chamber is accessible from the north , was formerly covered and had a window. In the mastaba there were five false doors and two Serdab systems with viewing slits. The Serdab, which is south of the northern false door, was not occupied. In the southern Serdab next to the southern false door, the two grave statues of Irukaptah and Neferhetepes were found. Irukaptah stood on the right, his wife on the left, their faces facing east, facing the slit in the wall, which was closed by a stone wedge. The statues are made of limestone . That of the Irukaptah is 60.1 cm high, 18.6 cm wide and 25.7 cm deep, that of the Neferhetepes is 53.6 cm high, 15 cm wide and 24 cm deep.

description

Irukaptah was subordinate of the Wabet (embalming site or workshop ) of the necropolis of Giza and was represented as individual statues with his wife Neferhetepes. The lord of the grave symbolizes the wish for family ties beyond death. Grave statues were used as substitutes if the mummy was lost . Instead of a mummy, they were the body into which the spiritual so-called Ka-power of the dead entered and through which they could receive the dead offerings. Due to the similar representation, it can be assumed that both statues come from a workshop. Both figures stand on a base that is connected to a back plate that reaches just below the shoulders of the statues. The base and connecting bridges between the body and the back plate are painted black and are thus marked as “empty space”. The back panels, which are also painted black on the front, have been smoothed on the back.

The married couple is in natural proportions and shows the clearly different representation of male and female figures. Irukaptah is shown in the usual red-brown body color and his wife in yellow. The clear striding posture of the man and, in contrast, the standing posture of the woman are also typical.

The state of preservation of the painting on the statues is particularly good, but the sculptural quality of the statues has been assessed differently. The modern, western observer perceives the body representation of both statues to be disproportionate and rough. Irukaptah would have broad shoulders, a lush upper body, strong legs, and both statues show round faces with too short a gap between mouth and nose. Their necks look a bit stocky. The eyes are almond-shaped and the eyeballs are arched. Both statues are looking straight ahead. However, these characteristics give the couple a very special character.

Irukaptah wears the typical black, short, curly wig and tilts his head slightly forward. White traces can still be seen from a wide painted collar. The knee-length wrap-around apron has a flap and a belt and is knotted under the navel. The arms are stretched out along the body with the left arm shifted a little forward. The grave lord holds the so-called "cloth amulets" in his fists. There are remains of paint from painted bracelets over the wrists.

The grave statue of Neferhetepes is just as strictly constructed as that of her husband. The right upper arm and the right chest show minor damage. A simple, ankle-length, tight pinafore dress with a deep, V-shaped neckline envelops her body. She wears a shoulder-length strand wig with a center parting and a wide neck collar , of which the painting is still partially preserved. Her unlinked, extra-long arms with her long hands are stretched out along the body. The painted bracelets are also much better preserved with Neferhetepes than with her husband. Despite the aforementioned disproportions, the representation of the statues corresponds to the otherwise common ideal of the slim, ageless and above all well-cared for married couple.

literature

  • Albert Ippel , Günther Roeder : The monuments of the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim , Verlag Karl Curtius, Berlin 1921, p. 50–51, Fig. 8.
  • Hans Kayser : The Egyptian antiquities in the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim , Hildesheim Verlag Cramm de Gruyter & Co., Hamburg 1966, p. 47 u. Color chart 2
  • Eva Martin-Pardey: Sculpture of the Old Kingdom I (= Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum. Loose-leaf catalog of Egyptian antiquities. Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim. Delivery 1). Verlag von Zabern, Mainz 1977, ISBN 3-8053-0291-6 , pp. 74-82
  • Matthias Seidel: AR 27 standing figures of Iruka-Ptah and his wife. In: Arne Eggebrecht (ed.), Bettina Schmitz , Regine Schulz : The Old Kingdom, Egypt in the Age of the Pyramids . Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum, Verlag Philipp von Zabern Mainz, ISBN 3-8053-0936-8 , catalog 1986.
  • Matthias Seidel: grave statue of Iruka-Ptah. In: Arne Eggebrecht (Ed.): Die Ägyptische Sammlung / Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1993, ISBN 3-8053-1579-1 , Fig. 27, p. 35.
  • Martin von Falck: 35 AB standing figures of Iruka-Ptah and Nefer-Hetepes. In: Katja Lembke (Ed.): The old Egypt in Hildesheim. Volume 1: The Old Reich. Egypt from the beginnings to high culture , Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8053-4073-1 , p. 116.
  • Bettina Schmitz : 164 statues of Iru-ka-Ptah and Nefer-Hetep-es. In: Katja Lembke, Bettina Schmitz (Ed.): Giza. At the foot of the great pyramids . Verlag Hirmer, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7774-3481-0 , p. 222 (book accompanying the exhibition in the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim, April 16 - August 21, 2011).
  • Bertha Porter , Rosalind LB Moss : Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, vol. III².1 . Memphis, Oxford 1974, p. 113.
  • Wilfried Seipel : 38.39 pictures for eternity. 3000 years of Egyptian art . Konstanz Council, March 25 - May 23, 1983. Verlag F. Stadler, Konstanz 1983, ISBN 3-7977-0100-4 .
  • Georg Steindorff , Uvo Hölscher: In Alfred Grimm (Hrsg.): The mastabas west of the Cheops pyramid  : based on the results of the excavations in Gîza undertaken in the years 1903–1907 on behalf of the University of Leipzig and the Hildesheim Pelizaeus Museum. Munich Egyptological Investigations 2, Frankfurt 1991, p. 60 (note 33).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim: Inventory numbers: PM 417 and PM 418