Egyptian sculpture

TELL EL AMARNA 147

Semitic character of the captives is well represented; the different races have been carefully observed and studied, so that the heads are without the exaggeration of the usual Tell el Amarna sculptures.

The finest piece of relief sculpture is perhaps the scene of the blind musicians in the tomb of Paten-em-heb (Pl. XX XVIII. 2). Blindness is not represented in the scenes of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but in the New Kingdom the blind musician occurs frequently. In this scene, as elsewhere, the condition is indicated by the eye being closed and deeply sunk in the socket. The harper is an elderly man, and the lines of the face are given with absolute truth and accuracy; the sculptor has realised, as few Egyptians did realise, the actual structure of the face and head. The figure is in absolute profile. Note the delicacy of the fingers which strike the strings of the harp. Below the harper is the lutist; this is a young man, also blind, or partially so. The faces of the two musicians should be compared: the lutist, who is playing mechanically, and the harper, who is rapt away from the world by his music. Note, too, the unusual attitude of the lutist; as he kneels on the ground the left foot is so turned that the sole is presented to the spectator. The garments of the musicians should be observed; the hanging sleeve, introduced at the end of the XVIIIth dynasty, becomes more common in the XIXth dynasty.

Scenes trom the tomb of Horemheb, sculptured in the reign of Akhenaten (Pl. XXXIX. 2), are remarkable for the brutal faces of the Egyptian soldiers who drag the prisoners of war. A captive’s hands are fastened through an instrument of wood, by which he is roughly pulled forward. The types of foreigners are well differentiated, and the scenes are probably truthful transcripts of fact (Pl. XL.).