Egyptian sculpture

150 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

never forgotten, he appears also to emphasise the fact that he was a man as well as a god. The motif, which is so well known, of the queen sitting on the king’s knee is an early one, and is found in a small fragment of carved ivory from the Royal Tombs of the Ist dynasty; that it was never repeated until the later XVIIIth dynasty may perhaps be due to its having fallen completely out of fashion. The domestic scenes are found chiefly in the tombs of the courtiers at Tell el Amarna. One of the most spirited is the driving-scene, where the king turns to kiss the queen, while the little daughter, who sits in front, takes the opportunity of her parents’ preoccupation to stir up the spirited horses with a stick.

The costumes of this period are distinctive and unmistakable. Both the king and queen wear a loose cloak, which is gathered together and tied under the breasts in a knot. The queen’s cloak appears to fall away from the figure, which is otherwise nude; in the case of the king, the cloak falls to just above the ankles, while that of the queen falls to the ground. The king wears another garment as well, which appears to be tied round the lower part of the body, and is secured in place under the pendulous abdomen. The folds of the thin material were the delight of the sculptors, who emphasise this garment with obvious pleasure. The clothes of the male courtiers and attendants were a modification of the royal dress; the loin-cloth is brought in folds over the body and is gathered in full pleats in the front; this appears to have been worn over an underskirt, which comes, in most instances, almost to the ankles; the upper part of the body is covered by a vest, or jacket, with short sleeves. The women are represented as being dressed in the same way as the queen, nude, but with a thin cloak over the shoulders fastened under the breasts and falling to the ground.