Fit for the job: proportion and the portrayal of cattle in Egyptian Old and Middle Kingdom elite tomb imagery

Nicolle Leary*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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    Abstract

    Depictions of the natural world are an intrinsic feature of Egyptian visual culture, with the vast array of imagery documenting animals a testimony to the fundamental role they played. Despite the significance of animals in Egypt, an anthropocentric bias still exists in research on the methods used by practitioners during initial scene composition. To help bridge the divide, the author herein undertook an investigation to determine if proportional guides were in place when rendering animal figures in ancient Egyptian elite tomb imagery of the Old and Middle Kingdoms. A notable outcome of the proportional analysis was the identification of two distinct body-types for domestic cattle (Bos taurus taurus). The aim of the current paper is to further examine these proportional differences to explore if variations in physique (namely the distance between the chest floor and withers) were rendered by Egyptian practitioners to reflect the conditions in which they appeared by considering two overarching factors: (1) biological factors and (2) contextual factors. As such, the study will employ proportional analysis to challenge the prevailing perspective of a deregulated approach when illustrating fauna in elite tomb imagery, highlighting the significance of animals within ancient Egypt.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number13
    Pages (from-to)1-18
    Number of pages18
    JournalArts
    Volume10
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2021

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright the Author(s) 2021. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

    Keywords

    • ancient Egypt
    • animals
    • art
    • cattle
    • canon of proportion
    • tomb imagery
    • Old Kingdom
    • Middle Kingdom
    • AFRICAN
    • ORIGINS

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