Egyptian sculpture

OLD KINGDOM 71

inhabited place—so as to give variety and to contrast with the severely simple outlines of the figures. The utilitarian reason is to give the names of the farms from which the women and man bring the offerings; and as the figures are impersonations of the farms, they conform to the names, three of which are feminine, symbolised by the women, while the only masculine name is represented by a man. In technique the piece is very interesting, for the sculptor has slightly lowered the background to the outlines in every direction. The difference in level is so small as to be hardly noticeable, yet it gives a play of light and shade over the whole work which can never be effected by a perfectly flat eround. The actual technique should be compared with the scene of Rameses II in battle (Pl. XXVIII.).

The very fine relief of the Boatmen Fighting is remarkable for the composition. Not only is the action of the figures given with great force and vigour, but the arrangement of the long poles which the men are using contributes greatly to the general effect of the piece. A fight between boatmen is a favourite subject of the Vth-dynasty artist on account of the amount of action which can be expressed. In the tomb of Mereru-ka, the men poling the boat are given with the rhythmic effect which the action would produce in nature. In many scenes, however, the artist is more concerned with representing the details of farm-life than with the composition, and the animals, birds, and human figures are not always arranged with artistic effect. In some, e.g. the tomb of Ptah-hotep and Akhet-hotep, the birds which are being driven up to be counted are arranged more decoratively; and in the tomb of Ma-nefer, the five cranes (Pl. XIV. 1) make an effective group as well as being true to nature. |

The vivid scene of throwing the oxen (Pl. XIII. 2, 3), preparatory to sacrifice, belongs to the VIth dynasty, and