statue, it comes from the same royal studio. The few differences to be
noted between them arise solely from the inequality of the stature: it
was necessary to simplify certain details or to suppress them in the
smallest of the statues.
These examples show that there is nothing very serious in the omissions
and negligences: we are surprised not that there should be some, but
that among such a mass of references there are not more. I might
perhaps disagree with some of the theories or points of doctrine
Bissing constantly advances, but I will wait to do so until he has
elaborated into a system the elements so abundantly spread through
the notices. But there is one criticism I will make now: he scarcely
mentions the schools into which Egypt was divided, so that we are
tempted to conclude that, like so many contemporary archæologists,
he believes in the existence of one sole school, which worked in an
almost uniform manner over the whole of Egypt at one time. It is,
however, certain that there were always several schools on the banks
of the Nile, each of which possessed its traditions, its designs, its
method of interpreting the costume or the pose of individuals, the
works of which have a sufficiently special physiognomy to admit of
their being easily separated into their different groups. Here, again,
it seems to me that sometimes varieties of execution which are the
result of the teaching are taken to be signs of age, and that pieces
which are contemporary within a few years, but which proceed from
distinct schools, are spread over centuries. I have not discovered
Bissing in such errors: his natural insight and his knowledge of the
monuments preserved him from making them. I wish, however, that he had
touched on the matter more definitely than he has, and, after letting
it be seen in several places that he admits the existence of those
schools, he should have defined their characteristics in accordance
as the progress of his book brought their work before the reader. He
has briefly touched on the matter in regard to the sphinxes of Tanis
and the statue of Amenemhaît III, but he might, for example, have
seized the opportunity of the Montouhotpou in order to demonstrate the
tendencies of Theban art at its birth; he could have followed them in
their evolution, and the Amenôthes I of Turin might perhaps have served
to teach us how those tendencies were developed or modified between the
beginning of the first Theban Empire and that of the second. A passage
in the notice of the so-called Hyksôs sphinxes leads me to hope that he
will do this for the Tanite school in regard to the celebrated _Bearers
of offerings_: I greatly wish that I may not be disappointed in my hope.
III
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account