Pyramidion of Moses
The extensive Egyptian collection of the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim contains the pyramidion of the scribe Mose (Mes), son of the judge Mai-Nacht from the New Kingdom , 19th Dynasty , 1st half of the 13th century BC. Chr. (Inventory number: PM 2129).
Location
The design of the pyramidion indicates a possible origin from the Theban necropolis . Wilhelm Pelizaeus acquired the pyramidion in Cairo in spring 1912 and handed it over to the Hildesheim Museum in June 1912.
Size and state of preservation
The height is 53 cm, the base measures 23.5 cm × 24.5 cm. The relief depictions of the pyramidion were worked deeply sunk. The pyramidion is in a good state of preservation.
Meaning and representation
The pyramidion is the tip of a pyramid or an obelisk , which was part of the royal tombs, the pyramids, in the Old and Middle Kingdom. Pyramidia and obelisks are associated with the Egyptian culture as original creations. After the kings of the New Kingdom had decided on other forms of tombs, it became possible for the rest of the population of Egypt and Nubia to erect smaller adobe pyramids with pyramidia as a tip over the cult chambers of their tombs. They initially consisted of sandstone, later of limestone and hard stone; the pyramidion of the scribe Moses is made of nummulite limestone . The function of the pyramidia and its pictorial program are closely related to the belief in the sun as it developed in the New Kingdom. The pyramidion in general is a stylization of the Benbenstein , the four sides stand for the four cardinal points, and the tip symbolizes the central position of the sun. The pyramidion of the scribe Moses is decorated on its four sides as follows. The cult events of the four sides take place below the celestial hierarchy on earth and in this world. In accordance with the course of the sun, the sky hieroglyph is deliberately shown at an angle. To the west is the object of worship, the rising between the horizon mountains sun ball as an indication of the daily rising and setting shows the right and left of it, facing the sun, cheering each one Mantelpavian with adoring arms raised. Their caption: “May you praise daily” indicates the connection between uninterrupted cult and creation. The east side facing the rising sun shows the kneeling scribe Moses, who is looking south according to the course of the sun. He wears a long pleated apron. His head is shaved. Clear folds of prosperity can be seen on the unclothed upper body. He has pushed a papyrus roll under his left upper arm. In the uninterrupted alternation of rising and setting of the sun, the Egyptians saw a parable for life, death and rebirth in the hereafter. The people hoped to participate in this eternal cycle of growth and decay and accordingly put sun hymns and depictions related to the course of the sun in and on their graves.
literature
- Albert Ippel , Günther Roeder : The monuments of the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim. Curtius, Berlin, p. 129.
- Hans Kayser : The Egyptian antiquities in the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim. Hildesheim 1973, p. 68 u. Fig. 57.
- Alfred Grimm , Dietrich Wildung : Gods and Pharaohs. Hildesheim 1979, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, catalog: No. 184. ISBN 3-8053-0422-6 .
- Wilfried Seipel (Ed.): Egypt: Gods, Graves and Art; 4000 years of belief in the hereafter. Linz 1989, cat.-no. 100, ISBN 3-900746-14-1 .
- Arne Eggebrecht (eds.) Bettina Schmitz, Rainer Hannig, Regine Schulz, Matthias Seidel: Search for immortality: the cult of the dead and belief in the afterlife in ancient Egypt. Hildesheim - Mainz 1990, Philipp von Zabern, cat.-no. T 16, ISBN 3-8053-1224-5 .
Web links
- Entry at The Global Egyptian Museum