Egyptian sculpture

PTOLEMAIC 181

there are two loosely twisted cords (Pl. LIV.) instead of one thick binding-rope, as in the earlier periods. The little figure of the anmutef priest on the right is in an attitude like that of some of the figures in early Greek and Cypriote work; though walking to the left, the head and upper part of the body are turned to the right. Though not so bulgy as the larger figure, the same faults are visible; the want of observation in the drawing, the wrong position of the navel, and the disproportionate size of the feet, are very marked. The form and arrangement of the hieroglyphic signs are also worth noting; the small cramped signs, packed closely together, contrast unfavourably with the well-drawn and well-spaced decorative script of the Old and Middle Kingdoms. Compare, for example, the cartouches of the Ptolemaic kings with those of the XVIIIth dynasty, which, though more crowded than in the earlier periods, are well balanced in composition and well chosen and well drawn as regards the signs themselves.

The sculpture of the temple of Kom Ombos is probably better than that of any other Ptolemaic temple; the figures and faces are less repulsive than at Edfu. The figures of the goddess Bast in both temples should be compared with one another; at Kom Ombos, in the group of the king surrounded by four gods and goddesses, the grouping, though conventional, is not unpleasing. The king stands in the centre, and the goddess Bast with a lion’s head faces him, while behind him stands Isis in human form. The heads of the two bird-headed gods, Horus on the one side and Thoth on the other, are on a lower level than those of the main figures. The hands of the goddesses should be noted, for the thumbs are on the same side. In these figures the exaggeration of the abdomen and navel is hardly noticeable, showing that the Ptolemaic artist could, at times, represent