Seated statue of Tepemanch

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Seated statue of Tepemanch
Tep-em.anch.JPG
material limestone
Dimensions H. 45.8 cm; W. 16.2 cm; T. 27.8 cm;
origin Giza , Necropolis , Mastaba D 20
time Old Kingdom , 5th Dynasty , around 2350 BC Chr.
place Hildesheim , Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum , PM 12
The seated statue of Tepemanch is an ancient Egyptian seated statue made of painted limestone from the mastaba of the official Tepemanch
D1 G17 S34
( Tp-m- ˁnḫ ) in the western necropolis of Giza from the late 5th Dynasty (around 2350 BC).

It is now in the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim (inventory number PM 12).

Tepemanch was a court official and held the titles "Commissioner for royal affairs at the royal court", "cleaning priest", "subordinate of the companion of the royal court", "head of the two 'work areas' of the royal court", "head of the royal assistants", "official at the court "And was considered the" servant of God "of the late King Cheops . The titles that Tepemanch carried also identify him as an employee in the royal cult of the dead, who was responsible for the daily cult operations. As a result, his position allowed him to create his own grave in the western part of the large official cemetery to the west of the Great Pyramid , which dates back to the 4th Dynasty.

Location

The statue was excavated in 1905 during the German excavation under the direction of Georg Möller and under the patronage of Georg Steindorff in the brick mastaba of the Tepemanch at the Westfriedhof in Gizeh (D 20). It was located at the south end of the corridor in front of the sacrificial chamber in the south Serdab and not in the Serdab of the core building. Although the Serdab had already been broken into in ancient times, the statue was still inside, even if not in its original position. It was leaning against the north-west corner of the Serdab on the left. Since this seated statue was not found in the serdab of the core building, but was discovered in the south serdab of the corridor that was added later, it is possible that the seated statue is the son of Tepemanch of the same name. The two false doors from the west wall of the cult chamber, which are constructed similarly but show different titles, could indicate that the doors belong to two people, Tepemanch father and Tepemanch son. Since the seated statue of Tepemanch bears no inscription, it cannot be clearly assigned to the father or the son. What is certain, however, is that the Tepemanch tomb is one of the most impressive and interesting structures in the German excavation area.

presentation

The seated statue has a height of 45.8 cm, a width of 16.2 cm and a depth of 27.8 cm. This statue is a typical example of the kind of seated figure that has been part of the canonical repertoire of Egyptian round sculpture at least since the 2nd dynasty. While older examples are usually provided with a back plate, this is freely worked. The costume of the Tepemanch corresponds to that of most of the grave statues of this time. Tepemanch wears a short, evenly circumferential, curly wig that covers the ears and a knee-length gala short with a pleated flap on the right side, the end of which is pleated across the belt. His face looks round, the brows and lids are particularly prominent. His cheek wrinkles give him a lively look. He sits on a cubic plinth, his feet rest on a rounded base plate. The arm and hand posture are also harmonious, even if the left forearm looks slightly twisted. After various preliminary stages, it has been established since King Chephren to place the left hand flat on the thigh while the right hand rests on the knee with a raised fist. The shape of the upper body as well as the legs looks well modeled, but is a bit rough-boned in its overly clear indication of muscles and shoulder blades.

literature

  • Eva Martin-Pardey: Plastic of the Old Kingdom. Volume 1 (= Corpus antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum. / Pelizaeus Museum; loose-leaf catalog of Egyptian antiquities. ). von Zabern, Mainz 1977, ISBN 978-3-8053-0291-3 , pages 16-22.
  • Wilfried Seipel : Pictures for eternity. 3000 years of Egyptian art. Heidelberg Castle, June 2 to August 28, 1983. Stadler, Konstanz 1983, ISBN 978-3-7977-0105-3 , ill. P. 61.
  • Arne Eggebrecht , Bettina Schmitz , Matthias Seidel: The Old Empire. Egypt in the age of the pyramids . von Zabern, Mainz 1986, ISBN 978-3-8053-0936-3 , p. 52.
  • Katja Lembke , Martin von Falck, Bettina Schmitz: Ancient Egypt in Hildesheim . Vol. 1: The Old Reich. Egypt from the beginnings to high culture . von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8053-4073-1 , p. 82.
  • Katja Lembke, Bettina Schmitz: Giza. At the foot of the great pyramids. Giza at the foot of the great pyramids. [Book accompanying the exhibition in the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim, April 16 - August 21, 2011]. Hirmer, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7774-3481-0 , p. 168.

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