Feb. 28: 3rd-4th Dynasty Royal

The Met had an Old Kingdom exhibition in the late 1990s that was excellent. The catalog has many good essays, and the catalog entries are extremely helpful. I'll refer to it a lot below as MET. Various parts of it are assigned reading for this week. The catalog will also be on the reserve shelf on the 2nd floor of the Joukowsky Institute. A note for Djoser below: I've broken him into several small subtopics. I will give a brief overview of the whole complex and then those of you who choose can hit the separate parts in more detail. Lehner's Complete Pyramids is also sufficiently useful that I will put it on reserve.

Djoser:

Pyramid itself: Pete
Firth and Quibell 1935 Excavations at Saqqara: The Step Pyramid 2 vol.
MET Lauer essay
Lauer Saqqara: The Royal Cemetery of Memphis. Excavations and discoveries since 1850 Lauer Les pyramides de Sakkarah

Relief panels underground - Emily
Friedman, "The underground relief panels of King Djoser at the Step Pyramid Complex" in JARCE 32 (1995)
Friedman provides line drawings of the six relief panels and various reconstructions, showing how they appear in their architectural context, how they relate to the rest of the complex, etc. The beginning of the article provides a fairly thorough survey of earlier objects bearing representations of kings (Narmer Palette, Den labels, etc.) that we have discussed already in this class to provide a reference point for her analysis of the iconography in the panels. She then provides what I thought was a good analysis of the various emblems present in the panels, although the least clear analysis is probably given for the cultic precincts depicted in front of the king in each image, but this is mostly due to lack of information about the places itself. She provides four conclusions on her interpretations of the panels - including her idea that they depict statues of the king which I mentioned in class - at the end, which sum up her discussion well. Unfortunately the article does not include any images of the reliefs themselves, only the line drawings.

Articles from MET catalogue:

Serdab statue - Kathryn
Baines and Riggs, 'Archaism and Kingship: A Late Royal Statue and its Early Dynastic Model', JEA 87 (2001). Compares the Djoser statue with a British Museum archaizing Ptolemaic statue. Extremely interesting for questions of access. Also has excellent investigation into original painting of the statue (from authors' first hand viewing) and brings up questions of ancient restoration.

Eaton-Krauss, 'Two Masterpieces of Early Egyptian Statuary', OMRO 77 (1997). Talks about the two Leiden statues of Ankh, so concerned mostly with D3 private statuary. Good comparative material.

Fischer, 'Varia Aegyptiaca', JARCE 2 (1963). One of the 'varia' is a discussion of the use of yellow skin on males in Egyptian art- mostly talks about private people but useful comparatively for the (originally) yellow Djoser and goes some way to demonstrating why later Egyptians may have overpainted him red

Eaton-Krauss, 'Non-Royal Pre-canonical Statuary', BdE 120 (1998). Once again discussing D3 and earlier private statuary (pre-canonical seems to refer to pre-D4). Again, very interesting comparative material.

Sourouzian, 'Concordances et ecarts entre statuaire et representations à deux dimensions des particuliers de l'époque archaïque', BdE 120 (1998). Mentions Djoser's statue in the discussion with some good comparative material.

Quibell, Excavations at Saqqara: the Step Pyramid, 1935. Original publication with best pictures and discussion of the serdab in which the statue was found.

Meidum pyramid - Mike Bohl
I.E.S. Edwards – The Pyramids of Egypt This book gives a general overview of Egyptian pyramids, but does have some worthwhile information on the Meidum pyramid in particular. The book offers some ideas as to how the pyramid was built which I did not encounter anywhere else, so it was interesting to see the different perspective. The diagrams, although scarce, were also especially helpful in this book.
Petrie, Mackay and Wainwright Meydum and Memphis This is the detailed archaeological log from the excavations conducted by Petrie, Mackay, and Wainwright. It discusses all of the physical attributes of the building and includes many diagrams, photos, and drawings of the materials found during excavation. The report focuses a little more on their methods rather than their actual findings though, which makes getting through it a bit more difficult.
Miroslav Verner - The Pyramids This book tries to tackle all of the pyramids, imcluding many of the smaller step pyramids that are never really heard about. In that sense, it offers a good general overview of everything related to the Meidum pyramid. It is particularly good at pointing out how the Meidum pyramid fits in with the others - where it got some of its inspiration and what the builders learned from it that they may or may not have incorporated in subsequent pyramids.
K. Mendelssohn - A Building Disaster at the Meidum Pyramid, in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology This article contradicts some of the information found in the other books, but because it is very focused I am inclined to believe this article more. It is well-written and basically only focuses on the circumstances behind the collapse of the pyramid and when it may have happened. It doesn't talk much about the pyramid in general - in fact I can't remember but it might not have even mentioned Snefru or Huni's name at all. Rather, it offers a large amount of evidence for the claim it is trying to make, namely how the pyramid collapsed.

Bent pyramid “valley temple”
Arnold in MET '

Fakhry The Monuments of Sneferu at Dahshur'
Stadelmann in MDAIK 39 (1983) "Die Pyramiden des Snofru in Dahshur"

' Tomb of Hetepheres and its contents - Julia Troche
Reisner and Smith A History of the Giza Necropolis vol. 2 The Tomb of Hetep-Heres the Mother of Cheops: A Study of Egyptian Civilization in the Old Kingdom The report begins with a general background of Queen Hetepheres, and then describes the process of clearing her burial shaft and chamber. Reisner then provides a detailed discussion of the furniture found in the tomb followed by a section on the inlaid box and the case for walking sticks. He concludes with a chapter discussing the mud seal impressions and includes a complete appendix of the pottery forms and stone vessels found in the tomb.

- Lehner The Pyramid Tomb of Hetepheres Provides summary of Reisner’s conclusions regarding the burial of Hetepheres and offers an alternate theory. Lehner delves straight into discussion of Reisner’s evidence followed by his alternate theory. There is no introduction to the period, the site, etc. This is good for someone who is already familiar with the tomb, and the general history of the site and period. '

'Munch, Hans-Hubertus. “Categorizing archaeological finds: the funerary material of Queen Hetepheres I at Giza” in Antiquity (Dec 2000) from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3284/is_286_74/ai_n28809110/ Munch proposes a completely new interpretation of G7000x. He critiques the proposals of Reisner and Lehner, while using the work of Peter Janosi as a jumping off point for his own interpretation that G7000x was not a tomb at all but rather a deposit, part of the burial ritual. '

'MFA Educators Online PDF/slideshow http://educators.mfa.org/galleries/slideshow/739 Excellent source of images and brief descriptions of artifact finds, materials, size, etc. Little analysis or background provided. '

Great pyramid
Lehner Complete Pyramids' with extensive references
Hawass The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt' '

Khafre valley temple - Müge Durusu
MFA Giza Archives (available at www.gizapyramids.org) An immensely useful resource for anyone working about the Giza material. The MFA archives provide chapters from books and articles, as well as high quality maps, photos and the original field diaries associated with many of the excavations. '

Atiya, F. 2004. Pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty. Cairo: Farid Atiya Press. Has disturbingly little information about the Valley Temple, but there are a few good photographs. '

Lehner, M. 1997. The Complete Pyramids. London: Thames and Hudson This was a useful source in terms of the “unusual detail” it gives about the pyramids and their associated temples. What I found the most useful was Lehner’s attempt to contextualize the materials and the construction plan of the Khafre Valley temple within the symbolic discourses of the ancient Egyptian society. Although Lehner’s conclusions about the use of the valley temples for mummification processes is questionable, the way he argues the materialistic aspects of the temple was convincing. '

Hawass, Z. 1995. “Programs of the Royal Funerary Complexes of the Fourth Dynasty.” In D. O’Connor and D. P. Silverman (eds.) Ancient Egyptian Kingship. New York: E.J. Brill This chapter by Hawass is a comprehensive attempt to discuss the 4th dynasty royal funerary architecture, its iconographic counterparts, and the functional connotations that these complexes might have carried. The plans and maps were especially useful. However, I felt like Hawass makes many leaps of faith in interpretation, and preferred to use this source mainly for descriptive purposes. '

Hawass, Z. 1987. The Funerary Establishments of Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura during the Old Kingdom. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania. The main work that most of the later work of Hawass builds upon (as the chapter cited just above). This was an invaluable source in terms of the descriptive details that Hawass provides in terms of the Khafra Valley Temple and the causeway. Hawass also tries to contextualize the different elements of pyramid complexes within a functional framework regarding mortuary practices. Includes rich citations for further bibliography, and some plans. '

Hölscher, U. 1912. Das Grabdenkmal des Königs Chephren.Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung. The seminal work for the pyramid complex of Khafre. I just glimpsed through it, since it is a century old and is in German. It has detailed discussions of building technique and material, as well as rich visual material. '

Arnold, D. 1999. “Old Kingdom Statues in Their Architectural Setting.” In Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art An interesting essay regarding the function of the statues in temples. Dieter makes a survey of many royal and private tombs of the Old Kingdom (including mortuary and valley temples of Khafre, the mastaba of Mereruka at Saqqara, the temple of Harmakhis at Giza, the mastaba of Seshem-nefer IV at Giza and the mastaba of Seneb) revolving around the theme of statues as receving and participating in cult activities. '

Cwiek, Andrzej. 2003. Relief Decoration in the Royal Funerary Complexes of the Old Kingdom: Studies in the Development, Scene Content and Iconography. Ph.D. dissertation, Warsaw Institute of Archaeology. A very comprehensive dissertation addressing many issues of material, iconography, textual evidence and architectural design of the royal funerary complexes from dynasties 0 thorough VIII. This was not only invaluable for bibliographic references, but also offers a fresh standpoint for questioning the building programmes of the Old Kingdom through data-driven research questions. '

Khafre with Horus statue-Amanda - you're quick Amanda! it's REALLY poorly published, I'm finding - let me know as you're grabbing bibliography what you're finding

Borchardt Statuen und Statuetten von Königen und Privatleuten im Museum von Kairo This text, like many, gave a general overview of OK statuary private and royal, and provided me with some very grainy, old-fashioned photos, but very little on the Khafre/Horus statue itself, which would be a prevailing them thoughout my research.

Smith, William Stevenson. The art and architecture of ancient Egypt. 3rd Edition, New Haven : Yale University Press, 1998. Smith is the author who pointed out that the use of color, the very dark, polished diorite-gneiss would have been exceptionally striking against the red granite and white calcite of the Valley Temple, making it particularly noticeable to a cosmic audience or to someone who came to maintain the cult there.

Bard, Kathryn A. An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub., 2008. This included more of a general background of the Valley temple and the statues found within, much of the background material from the presentation (where it was found, the reburial, and who found it) was obtained from this source.

Robins, Gay. The Art of Ancient Egypt. Revised Edition. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 2008. Robins takes a very typically art-historical approach when describing this object, most of the discussion of the iconography came from her work, the relevance of the king's regalia, the lion throne, the sema-tawy motif, and the positioning of Horus's wings and his role as protector and the king's as a physical manifestation of the god of kingship are discussed here. She is also the one who makes the salient observation that the wings of Horus actually seem to blend into Khafra, further exemplifying the fact that they are one in the same.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. New York : Thames & Hudson, 2000. This book naturally focused on the Khafra statue in its associated context in the Valley Temple, here is also where Wilkinson suggests the idea that the statues were meant to represent the hours of the day, and obviously one was counted twice, unsubstantiated claim, but food for thought, and it does fit in with the many interpretations of the use of statues in the Valley Temple and the possible celestial connections.

'Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. Gryzmski's piece on royal statuary was particularly informative and where the author contends that the use of gneiss as a material was particulary important in making a statement on the power and resources available to the king, with diorite-gneiss primarily coming from the Nubian desert, and the author makes the further observation that the blue glow that the stone takes in natural light might have to do with its choice as a material and further suggests a possible celestial/Horus connection. Here the author also inconclusively discusses possible uses of paint on the statue, but no traces are prevalent today, and no chemical analysis has been undertaken on the work so far.

Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs. edited by Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel. Köln : Könemann, c1998. This like most texts included a very brief description of the statue itself and a more succinct discussion of the Valley Temple, but comparisions to other statuary such as the Pepi I alabaster statue and the earlier serekhs and other contemporaneous depictions of Khafre were included in here as well.

' 'Sphinx
Hawass and Lehner "The Great Sphinx at Giza: who built it and why" Archaeology 47(5) (1994)
see Lehner's Complete Pyramids for tons of refs '

' Menkaure triad - Oren
Wood, W "A reconstruction of the triads of King Mycerinus" in JEA 60 (1974) -I found this article very insightful and helpful; relative to the others, Wood brings a fairly fresh and new perspective to the role of the Triads, and highlights the possible importance of the cult of Hathor in trying to understand which nomes (and how many) were represented among the Triads. I found her reconstruction of the placement of all of the Triads (eight in her opinion) to be a little bit tenuous, but I found it the single most valuable source I read amongst the secondary literature on the Triads.
Reisner Mycernus: The Temples of the Third Pyramid at Giza (more than one of you will need this: whoever checks it out first, please bring it to the reserve shelf at the Joukowsky Institute ' ' -Obviously, this one is a classic, and provides a ton of useful information about the condition of the statues when Reisner found them. It also is the work that first stated the "two different sculptural schools during the mid-late 4th Dynasty" theory--a theory that all of the later publications that I found also referenced, adapted, or addressed in some capacity. Because it covers the rest of the Valley Temple of Menkaure as well, it is also extremely helpful and useful when attempting to understand the Triads within their broader archaeological and symbolic contexts.

Smith, W.S. Ancient Egypt as Represented by the Museum of Fine Arts- The section on the Menkaure Triads is notable for formally stating the idea that the nome deities represented beside the pharaoh symbolically represented all of Upper and Lower Egypt lending their strength to nourish the deceased king. Smith also suggests that each nome would have been represented, leading to over 30+ triads in the complex.

I found (less helpful) works by both E.L.B. Terrace and Bernard Bothmer- I'll list them below, but for the most part these were fairly short, and were not nearly as helpful as the above three sources. They provide a nice overview, but not all that much else, although Terrace's blurb in the book on the treasures of the Cairo Museum does suggest a possible location (the Wadi Hammamat) for the site where the greywacke was obtained.

Bothmer, Bernard. “Notes on the Mycerinus Triad.” Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Vol. 48, No. 271 (Feb., 1950), pp. 10-17.

Terrace, E.L.B Treasures of Egyptian Art from the Cairo Museum: A Centennial Exhibition, I970.

Terrace, E.L.B. “A Fragmentary Triad of King Mycerinus.” Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Vol. 58, No. 316 (1961), pp. 40-49.

Unfinished statettes of Menkaure (emphasis on production) - Oliver Weerasinghe
Nicholson and Shaw, "Ancient Egyptian materials and Technology" I was looking for something to say about the materials used in the statuettes, or something about their pose. I did find information on statue positioning and materials, but it was not particularly relevant or enlightening.

William Smith, "A History of Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom" Smith did discuss the findings of the Reisner expedition, but not in any greater detail than Reisner himself. '

Krzysztof Grzymski, "Royal Statuary" from the Met book on Old Kingdom Art. Grzymski amongst descriptions of much of the old kingdom statuary we have covered, mentions Reisner's A/B sculptor theory, and adds the possible notion of distinguishing them by material. This seems unlikely to me because both sculptors use a wide range of materials.

Reisner Mycernus: The Temples of the Third Pyramid at Giza (more than one of you will need this: whoever checks it out first, please bring it to the reserve shelf at the Joukowsky Institute This was the key work for understanding the statuettes. Reisner describes the stages of construction in detail using the pieces he found as evidence. He also explains his theory of A and B sculptors. This work would be very helpful for anyone looking at any Mycerinus statuary or his temple/pyramid.

Davis The Canonical Tradition in Ancient Egyptian Art I took a look at this but I couldn't find anything helpful in regards to the Mycerinus statuettes. It might be more helpful for looking at relief motifs or the grid system employed across the arts.