fragment relief

 Deriving from one of the most beautifully sculpted New Kingdom tombs, this small relief exemplifies the best artwork of the era of Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BC). A scribe of the general and (later king) Horemheb is shown standing behind a chair, which is represented on a scale far larger than he. Though the scribe's social status is obviously below that of the tomb's owner, his curling, echeloned wig and his upturned nose are characteristic features favored in the period immediately following Akhenaten's death in 1336, as is the somewhat slight body, which is punctuated by a spreading belly and hips. The delicately carved and clearly defined pleating of the scribe's garments reveals that the body type is a deliberate fashion and not artistic ineptitude. The bureaucrat grasps his far wrist with his near hand in a gesture of deference to the unseen tomb owner seated before him. Tucked under his near armpit is the man's scribal palette, which identifies his profession, despite the absence of any inscription. The vertical bar behind the official indicates the end of this composition.

Walters Art Museum

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