Browsing by discipline "Egyptology"

Dogs are one of the most popular animal species to appear in ancient Egyptian art. This study examines a particular category of figured ostraca (limestone or pottery sherds with illustrations), those representing domestic dogs. It demonstrates how dogs have been represented in informal art in the Theban area during the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1069 BCE). The aim of the study is to define the iconography of dog representations on figured ostraca. A second aim is to compare dog representations on ostraca to surviving dog motifs in the decoration of Theban private tombs. For this study, 39 drawings of dogs on ostraca have been located in the research literature and in museum and other collections. This corpus of representations can be divided into four categories: hunting dogs (23 images), ‘pet’ dogs (4 images), dog caricatures (3 images) and anthropomorphic dogs doing human activities (9 images). Ancient Egyptian canine deities are not included in this study. The chosen method of study is stylistic analysis, utilising the traditional method of comparative visual analysis combined with the modern theory of iconography. Recurring motifs and ways of representation are identified and compared with other dog ostraca in the same category. These representations are further compared to scenes of hunting and ‘pet’ dogs in early New Kingdom (18th dynasty) Theban private tombs showing similar motifs. The study demonstrates that there exists an established iconography of dogs in New Kingdom Thebes. There are also notable similarities especially in the hunting dog category and partly also in the ‘pet’ category between ostraca and tomb decoration. Caricatures and anthropomorphic representations do not conform to this iconography and are not present in official tomb decoration. In conclusion, various interpretations are suggested for dog representations on ostraca. In the literature, figured ostraca with hunting imagery have been interpreted as exercises in draughtsmanship and rehearsal pieces for tomb art. However, they can also be seen as visual memory pieces, ie. copies of existing hunting scenes in Theban tombs, or as experiments in new forms of expression such as in the rendering of movement. On the other hand, anthropomorphic dog motifs are likely to be amusing parodies or illustrations of oral fables. Some dog ostraca are probably best interpreted as leisurely doodles. As a result, it will be shown how the domestic dog was represented in art during the New Kingdom. This contributes to our understanding of informal art and the relationship between animals and humans in ancient Egyptian culture.

The focus of my research is a collection of incised objects found at the Station de Repos site, on the west bank of modern Luxor, Egypt. The objects were found during the Workmen’s Huts in the Theban Mountains (WHTM) Project between 2008 and 2013 when the site was re-excavated. The site was first excavated by Bernard Bruyère for the French Institut français d’Archéologie Orientale (IFAO) in 1935. The site revealed three clusters of huts, with 78 huts (Bruyère’s number) or 141 room entities (WHTM number) and a small chapel. Several similar huts have been found in the nearby Valley of the Kings. The Station de Repos site was used by the workmen of Deir el-Medina as they built the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom (18th–20th Dynasties, ca. 1539–1077 BC). The workmen spent their nights at the site during the workweek and returned to their home village for the weekends. During the WHTM project a large number of objects were found, left behind by the workmen. From this group, a collection of objects was chosen by the leader of the project, Dr. Jaana Toivari-Viitala, and it is this assemblage of 192 objects that is studied and published in this thesis. The project is largely unpublished due to the sudden passing of Toivari-Viitala which is why it is important to publish even a small portion. The aim of my thesis is to publish this assemblage of archaeological finds as a catalogue with basic descriptions and illustrated with my tracings of the objects as well as with photographs (taken by Matjaz Kačičnik) in the Plates section. My main task was to study and describe the visual content of the objects; the texts found on them are for the most part not translated in this thesis. During the project, the collection of objects was called “stela fragments” but in the course of my research it is found that only a small part of them are in fact from stelae. The other object categories found are pictorial and hieroglyphic ostraca, but a large group of objects are left to the unidentified category because of the limited content in them. What all the objects have in common is that they are decorated by carving on mainly limestone but also on sandstone objects. Most of the pieces are fragments of larger original objects which is probably due to the nature of the find place as a disturbed site. The area is passed through by a well-worn path and the previous excavations moved around large amounts of sand and soil as well as collected the more complete objects from the site. As far as can be deducted in this thesis, the main theme of the objects is religious. This is partly influenced by the choice of the objects. By choosing objects that were decorated by incised lines and relief, a large group of possible themes were left out. The purposes where carved decoration was used is limited to religious objects such as stelae, architectural elements such as seats and door jambs, and practise work for the main task of the workmen: decorating the royal tombs with hieroglyphic texts and religious images.