Statue of Prince Ahmose

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Statue of Prince Ahmose
Iahmes-E 15682-IMG 4239-gradient.jpg
material limestone
Dimensions H. 103 cm; L. 36 cm; D. 58 cm;
origin Unknown
time around 1550 BC, end of the 17th dynasty
place Paris, Louvre , E 15682

The statue of Prince Ahmose is an ancient Egyptian statue made of limestone, which dates to the end of the 17th Dynasty and is currently on display in the Louvre in Paris.

description

The statue is a stylized image of Prince Ahmose made of limestone . He is shown in a sitting position on a raised elevation decorated with hieroglyphics . The statue's arms and legs are damaged, the rest is in good condition. Notches can be seen on the limbs that contain remnants of red dye.

Possible interpretation

In ancient Egypt there was a belief that a deceased could live on in a statue of his body. An equivalence can be seen in the terms for corpse, body and statue, which are represented with the same characters. By damaging statues - mostly by destroying the face or the hieroglyphs of the name - survival in this form was prevented. However, on this statue, the name and face are well preserved while the limbs have been damaged. The red color in the notches is striking. The color red counts in ancient Egyptian mythology as the color of the god Seth and as a symbol of danger, evil or bad. The use of the color red protected oneself from danger from Prince Ahmose. The limbs were damaged and the notches dyed red in order to make the statue harmless - if the prince continued to live - by magically robbing him of his freedom of movement . The king and father of Prince Ahmose wanted to keep his son's favor and asks the Prince to protect him in the afterlife (mentioned in the hieroglyphs). This request from the king seems to be the reason why the name and face of the statue of Prince Ahmose were not destroyed (according to analyzes by the Louvre).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Site officiel du musée du Louvre. In: cartelfr.louvre.fr. Retrieved May 30, 2016 .
  2. ^ Paul T. Nicholson, Ian Shaw: Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology . Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-521-45257-1 ( google.com [accessed May 30, 2016]).
  3. ^ Gay Robins: The Art of Ancient Egypt . Harvard University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-674-03065-7 ( google.at [accessed May 30, 2016]).
  4. ↑ Jan Assmann: Death and Beyond in Ancient Egypt . Beck, 2003, ISBN 978-3-406-49707-0 ( google.com [accessed May 30, 2016]).
  5. ^ Alfred Wiedemann: The ancient Egypt . BoD - Books on Demand, 2013, ISBN 978-3-95580-226-4 ( google.com [accessed May 30, 2016]).
  6. ↑ a b Official Site - Louvre Guide for the Nintendo 3DS. In: louvreguide.nintendo.com. Retrieved May 30, 2016 .

Web links

Commons : Statue of Prince Ahmose  - Collection of images, videos and audio files