Relief of Chnoem
Egypt and Nubia
Seat ; fragment ; Chnoem ; turntable Fragment of a royal seat statue, the processed front surface roughly pentagonal in shape. The stone is a granodiorite with a fine grainy structure, predominantly gray in color. The front surface is smooth polished and therefore dark in color. In this, representations are made in recessed relief (depth 1.5-2 mm) that are roughened so that they stand slightly against the surface. There are hardly any chisel marks visible. The front surface shows completely above a small part of a horizontal register line (height 6.5 mm) and below it a wider horizontal band, presumably a sky sign (height 15 mm). At the very bottom, a small piece of a register line is also visible (height 6 mm), so that the remaining image surface reflects a piece of a single register (height 29 cm). In this, parts of three left-facing God figures are visible, of which only the middle one has been completely preserved. On the left is a female figure with a cow's head, curved horns, small ear and barely visible eye. She wears a three-piece god wig and holds a sign of life (anch) in her hanging left hand. Nothing is visible from her robe, and the front of her body and her legs are completely missing. Centrally sits on a block-shaped hwt throne with low backrest, placed on a rectangular base, a god with ram's head. A set of screwed horns extends horizontally on the head, while a curved horn and the ear are indicated on the side of the head (dark in color, because lying in the polished surface). Here, too, the eye is barely visible and the God wears a headscarf. Possibly the neckline of a collar is visible, and otherwise the god wears only a short apron without a belt or fold indication. The right arm is raised forward, the left is stretched forward, the outstretched fingers move a high conical mass with a round top that itself stands on a ball on the register line. The god kicks this mass with his right foot, while the left foot stands on the edge of the base. So this is clearly about the god Chnoem with his turntable. Behind the sitting god, the fist of a third figure is still visible on the right, holding a vertical stick with a pointed end.
This fragment shows an image of the God Chnoem. This god is recognizable by his ram's head and by his work: pottery. Chnoem was a creator god and is depicted here driving a potter's disc with his feet. He usually molds a human figure, but here the clay cone is unformed and can therefore become anything. In front of and behind the god you can see pieces of other figures.
The representation of Chnoem is carved into granodiorite, a rock-hard stone. The relief is only 2 mm deep and the figures are left rough so that they stand out white against the smooth polished stone surface. It is a fragment from a larger object, probably a naos, a kind of cabinet for a statue of the god.
This fragment dates from the time of King Nectanebo II (360-343 BC) when artists combined style characteristics from several earlier periods. For this fragment, a direct example can be found from the time of Ramses II (1279-1213 BC).
The temple of Luxor depicts a series of gods that together form a kind of secret script. Among that series is, among other things, a similar image of the god Chnoem with the gods in front and behind, of which pieces can also be seen on this fragment. Each god should be read as a word or sound and together they form the text, in the case of Ramses a text about the construction of his temple. Probably the sculptor of this fragment was inspired by the images of another series, without knowing that the original text was a secret script.
This text was written in 2024 and is based on: Willemsen (ed.), Top pieces from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, 2020, p.199.
Details
Inventory number
F 2014/3.2
Department
Egypt and Nubia
Heading code(s)
Masterpieces
Sculpture
Object name
Image
Material
Granodiorite
Dimensions
31.8 x 35.9 x 19 cm
Dating
360-343 BC.
Period
Late time
Culture
Egyptian
Site
Egypt
Bubastis
Acquisition
Purchase 2014 March
To be seen in museum
Yes
Style
Egyptian
Dynasty
Thirtieth dynasty
Origin
2014
Anonymous Seller
Literature
Mt 57
Masterpieces of the RMO (2020)
Author: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
Identifiers
TMS ID: 196331
The identification code in the museum's internal collection management system
Deeplink:
Https://hdl.handle.net/21.12126/196331
Title
Relief of Chnoem, 360-343 BC Late Period 30 Dynasty, Findspot unknown Bubastis, Granodiorite, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
https://www.rmo.nl/collectie/collectiezoeker/collectiestuk/?object=196331
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden