Holy Geese of Amun
Part of the Egyptian collection of the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim is the round sculpture of the sacred geese of Amun from the New Kingdom, 19th dynasty around 1250 BC. It is made of limestone and is painted in bright red, blue, black and ocher. The object is 7.5 cm high, 17.2 cm wide and 11.5 cm deep.
Location
The painted group of the Holy Geese of Amun comes from Deir el-Medina , the artisan town in West Thebes . The Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum bought the property in 1957.
description
The object shows the Amun geese on a limestone plinth, with nine animals of different sizes, two large, three medium-sized and four small, lying next to each other, completely filling the rectangular base. An inscription is placed on the front of the base identifying the object as a votive offering. The inscription also says: "Made by the sculptor of Amon (Amun), justified in the place of truth, Keni, who says: Eternity for the geese of Amon." The goose was one of the sacred animals of Amun. The close connection between the craftsman Keni and the “King of the Gods” may have a family background. While Keni's father worked as a stonemason in the Temple of Amun in Karnak , Keni initially became a simple member of the workers in Thebes West and rose to become a stonemason while working on the grave of Ramses II . In this position, Keni achieved considerable prosperity, which, in addition to a lavishly furnished grave ( TT4 ; probably also TT337 ), is probably also referred to by this group of Holy Geese of Amun, which has so far remained unparalleled. The number of geese could be interpreted as an indication of the gods unity of Thebes, cited by Amun .
literature
- Hans Kayser : The Egyptian antiquities in the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim. de Gruyter, Hamburg 1966, p. 94.
- Arne Eggebrecht : Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim; The Egyptian Collection (= Zabern's illustrated books on archeology. Vol. 12). von Zabern, Mainz 1993, ISBN 3-8053-1569-4 , p. 74.
Web links
- Pictures and description of the "Sacred Geese of Amun" at The Global Egyptian Museum
Individual evidence
- ^ Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildeshein; Inventory number PM 4544