Egyptian sculpture

LATE PERIOD 173

represents the lady in flowing robes standing in the attitude of adoration before the figure of the falcon-headed Ra. The folds of the transparent dress should be noted.

Though paintings on papyri do not fall within the scope of this book, the papyrus of the Lady Her-uben is worth noting from the artistic point of view. Her-uben is represented worshipping various gods, the most remarkable scene being the worship of the ram-deity (Pl. L.). She kneels before him with both arms upraised in the attitude of prayer, her hair streams over her back in long ringlets. Though the attitude of the legs is frankly impossible, the spirited drawing suggests that she has rushed forward and flung herself on her knees in a sudden ecstasy of adoration. As a rule, the illustrations in the religious papyri are so utterly conventional and follow the set forms so slavishly that they hardly come under the head of art, but Her-uben employed an artist who had a spark of originality and was not afraid to use it.

The Late Period is best represented by the amazing tomb of Petosiris. By the internal evidence, the tomb is dated to about 330 B.C., a date which is borne out by the sculpture, for the style of the decoration is Greek of the fourth century. Though belonging technically to the Persian period or to the time of the Nationalist Revival under Nectanebo, it belongs artistically to Greece as much as to Egypt. It shows that before Alexander entered the country, “‘peaceful penetration” had taken place to an extent hardly surmised. In many of the figures the drawing is free and natural, while others again are of the archaic Greek type, and mixed with them are scenes in which the figures are entirely Egyptian. The mingling of Egyptian and Greek motifs and style makes this tomb peculiarly interesting. The processions of bearers of offerings is Egyptian in motif but Greek in style; the garlands