Egyptian sculpture

PTOLEMAIC 179

(c) In both male and female figures the abdomen is one of the marked features of the body, represented as a rounded protuberant mass with a large hole in the middle to indicate the navel. (d) The shoulders of the figures have no form or structure, the arms appear as though stuffed with cottonwool, even when the arm is bent the point of the elbow is not shown. (e) The form of the figure at the back is again entirely unnatural; the back is too long, the buttock too small and too sharply defined (compare this with a figure of the Old Kingdom); the legs are in some ways the best part of the figure, for the curve of the calf of the forward leg is often not badly indicated, but the ankles are even thicker in proportion than in figures of the Old Kingdom. (f) The narrowness of the female figures should be remarked; the male figures are always better in this respect, though in them the shoulders are exaggerated in width. (g) The hands are coarse, the fingers being all of the same width.

The Ptolemaic method of representing the hair (p. 124. figs. 9, 10) should be compared with the earlier periods (p. 48. figs. 1, 5, 11).

It should, however, be noted that the Egyptian artist, even at this late and decadent period, had not lost his skill in representing either a seated or a standing figure as being firmly planted. There is no suggestion of a figure slipping off its chair, and every standing figure stands firmly upright. This is also the case when priests are represented carrying an object; they stand or walk quite firmly and the general effect is one of strength and stability. The Ptolemaic sculptor did not exert himself to produce a decorative effect or to represent a living being, he devoted himself to small details, which he rendered with great minuteness, regardless of whether the detail enhanced the beauty of the design or not. The hieroglyphs, which were used in great numbers