Egyptian sculpture

CHAPTER VII

LATE PERIOD

AFTER the XXth dynasty Egypt fell into a poverty-stricken condition, and art fell with it. There are few remains of the XXIst to XXIVth dynasties, probably because only the royal family and the most wealthy nobles could afford to be patrons of art. A few of the statues show a style intermediate between the late New Kingdom and the delicate work of the XXVIth dynasty. Most of the sculpture at this time is small, with the exception of the portrait-coffins. In these, the faces are clearly likenesses and are sculptured with the utmost care, and often in a hard wood, while the coffin itself is in sycamore. The elaborate detail of the decoration of the coffin is purely conventional, the only part which can be truly said to be sculptured is the face itself. Of these, the coffins of Maatkara (Pl. XLII. 1) and of Isiemkheb are fine examples of the XXIst dynasty. Statuettes of this period are often in metal, and there are a few in wood.

The XXVth dynasty was the time of the Ethiopian domination. As was always the case in Egypt when an invasion occurred and the country was taken over by a foreign ruler, there came a rise in the art. Therefore a certain number of fine statues survive, as, for example, the alabaster statue of Queen Amenardus and the head of Mentu-em-hat. The impulse was not strong enough to withstand the savage raids of the Assyrian armies, and was crushed, but it has

left a few fine portraits which show what might have been 152