Knife handle K 1103

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The knife handle K 1103 is the handle made of ivory of a ceremonial knife 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 knife 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 dagger handle K 1104 , fragments of two other, undecorated knife handles, dice sticks, variously 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 handle of the knife has been preserved in six fragments, depicting human figures and rows of animals. The front and side of the knob cannot be clearly identified because, firstly, no knob has been preserved and, secondly, although the depictions of people are clockwise, the depictions of animals are not counterclockwise, but rather bustrophedon . However, due to the thematic similarity of the depictions on this handle to those on the Gebel-el-Arak handle , Günter Dreyer suspects that, like this one, the depictions of humans belong to the front and the rows of animals to the pommel side. The overall dimensions of the knife handle can no longer be reconstructed. Dreyer estimates the width to be 5 to 6 cm and, based on a height of 0.4 cm, assumes that the handle originally depicted 12 to 14 rows of animals, i.e. even more than on the Brooklyn knife handle . On the opposite side he reconstructs five to six rows of people.

Fragment K 1103b1

Fragment K 1103b1 has a length of 4.7 cm, a height of 1.0 cm and a diameter of 0.36 to 0.5 cm. It has been preserved on the left up to the original end of the handle towards the blade. The blade bed can be seen on the back.

The decor that has been preserved consists of two right-hand rows of people. The lower one starts with at least four kneeling men, there may have been more, but the area to the right of them is too worn. The men have short, curly hair that is laid in concentric circles. You have stretched your right arm in front of you and rest it on your left knee. Behind this group are two guards with sticks in their hands, each leading a prisoner with their arms tied behind their backs. Finally there is another guard without a staff with another prisoner bound. The guard carries a rope around his shoulder and puts his hand on his prisoner's back, presumably to urge him to run. All men in this row have beards. Those standing are dressed in long, smooth robes, while those kneeling wear only an apron. The prisoners wear straight, streaked, shoulder-length hair, while the two guards in front have curly hair that falls down to the chest. It either appears to be combed back or the guards have bald heads. The guard at the back wears the hairstyle of the kneeling.

The central figure in the upper row is a naked man, of whom only the lower half has been preserved and who is shown significantly larger than the other people. There is an arch in front of him. Presumably he represents the leader of the vanquished. The fact that he does not belong to the victors is firstly indicated by his nakedness, because the guards in the lower row are all clothed, secondly the bow is pointed at him and not away from him. Correspondingly, arms tied behind his back should also be added. The legs of four kneeling people can be seen behind the naked man. A minimal residue of a fifth person can be made out between the naked person and the group. The row should have continued in the same way to the end of the handle, so that a total of eight kneeling can be assumed. It is uncertain which party they belonged to, as nothing has been preserved from their upper bodies. Since they are shown behind the likely leader of the vanquished, they must have belonged to his party and were also shown tied up. The representation in front of the arch is difficult to see because of the poor state of preservation. A kneeling figure seems to be shown, who is probably also tied up, in front of it possibly another, larger kneeling person who is offering a gift. A bird's tail may follow in front of her. The lower part of a pictorial inscription could still be preserved between the arch and the kneeling figure.

Fragment K 1103b2

The fragment is 2.4 cm in length, 1.05 cm in height and 0.45 to 0.54 cm in diameter. Because of its grain, it is very likely to be placed above fragment 1103b1. A strip of at least 0.7 cm, probably more, is missing between the two, so that a completely destroyed row of people can be assumed between the two. With an assumed handle width of 5 to 6 cm, a further 2.5 cm should be added above and below the two fragments, which would add two or three more rows.

Fragment 1103b2 shows a line of five men. They are turned to the right, and they all have shoulder-length, streaked hair, beards and long robes. They all hold various gifts in their hands. The two foremost hold bulbous vessels that they transport on their heads. The third holds a crook , the fourth a kind of chain (probably fruit or pearls lined up on a string), the fifth finally an animal skin. In front of these men are three vessels, the upper one on a stand. The lower parts of the other two vessels have not been preserved, and stands can certainly be added here as well. To the right of the vessels follows an elongated object that is filled in in a cross pattern. This could be a ship's stem wrapped with papyrus stems . The remains of a row of animals can be seen above the gifts. Above the third man you can see the hooves of a four-legged friend, probably a cow. A bird can be seen above the vessels, in front of which there is a scale-like structure.

The entire representation of the fragments K 1103b1 and K 1103b2 can probably be viewed as a victory and tribute scene. The vanquished with the long, straight hair take prisoners and deliver tribute, which is loaded onto a ship. According to Dreyer, the combination of bird and mountain could be the name of a certain place. The entire scene would therefore represent a real historical event.

Fragment K 1103c1

This fragment has a length of 4.03 cm, a height of 0.55 cm and a diameter of 0.35 to 0.75 cm. It has been preserved on the right up to the original end of the handle towards the blade. The lower edge of the blade bed can be seen on the back. Two rows of animals have been preserved from the decor. In the lower one, six cattle facing to the right are clearly visible. Three other conspecifics in front of them can only be vaguely imagined because of the poor degree of conservation. The tails and legs of two birds striding to the left can still be seen above the cattle.

Fragment K 1103c2

Fragment K 1103c2 has a length of 3.35 cm, a height of 0.85 cm and a diameter of 0.33 to 0.43 cm. It's badly weathered. The blade bed can be seen on the back. Pictured is a row of six lions looking to the right . Four pairs of legs can be made out above the second and third lions. A species identification is not possible, it could be four birds or two ungulates. These animals were probably looking to the left. Below the first and below the gap between the second and third lions, horns of probably also left-handed rams or caprids can be made out.

Fragment K 1103c3

This fragment has a length of 2.3 cm, a height of only 0.2 cm and a diameter of about 0.65 cm. A small part of the blade bed can be seen on the back. Only the bodies of three left-facing mammals have survived from the decor. The lower part of their legs is lost, as is most of their heads. They are probably Caprids.

Fragment K 1103c4

The fragment K 1103c4 has a length of 2.65 cm, a height of 1.05 cm and a diameter of 0.85 cm. The decoration on this fragment is very poorly preserved. Only the head of a felid looking to the left is clearly visible . It is probably a lioness.

The exact position of the four animal row fragments to one another is unclear. Fragment c1 should belong to the lower end of the image field, which reveals the lower edge of the blade bed on the reverse. Fragment c2, on the other hand, should be placed in the middle area of ​​the handle because of its small diameter. Between the cattle on c1 and the lions on c2 there should be at least four further rows of animals. The fragments c3 and c4 cannot be classified more precisely.

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. 207, 209.
  5. ↑ a b G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, p. 206.
  6. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, pp. 206-207.
  7. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, p. 205.
  8. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, pp. 205-206.
  9. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, pp. 206-208.
  10. ↑ a b c d G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, p. 208.
  11. ^ G. Dreyer: Motifs and dating of the decorated predynastic knife handles. Paris 1999, pp. 208-209.