Egyptian fragmentary relief with Hapi, New Kingdom, 19th-20th Dynasty, reigns of Ramesses II-III, c.1279-1155 BC
Limestone with traces of faience inlay
Dimensions: 34.6x29cm, and 36.2x34.7cm
10897 TA
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From a colossal statue of a New Kingdom Pharaoh, in fine limestone and almost certainly from Abydos. The scene depicts the two manifestations of the Nile fertility god Hapi: Hap-...
From a colossal statue of a New Kingdom Pharaoh, in fine limestone and almost certainly from Abydos. The scene depicts the two manifestations of the Nile fertility god Hapi: Hap- Meht of Upper Egypt on the left and Hap-Reset of Lower Egypt on the right, standing either side of tall flowering plants, symbolic of their respective regions. The two manifestations tying these plants into a knot, forming the sema hieroglyph (the lungs and windpipe), symbolise the union of the two Kingdoms of Egypt. Both representations show the god in the form of a man, with bare torso, pendulous breasts and swollen belly which hangs over the abbreviated belt. They each wear a wide collar, a long wig tucked behind the ears and a false beard. The left figure has a crown of so-called southern flowers, whilst papyrus flowers crown the right-hand figure. In front of them are hieroglyphs, which, along with the flowers on the scene, are deep carved and show evidence that they were decorated with colourful inlays. The hieroglyphs can be translated as “I have united for you the two lands”, reiterating that these fragments were created when the two Kingdoms of Egypt were brought together under one king. Traces of paint and some dendritic staining to the surface. Some of the inlay remains in the water hieroglyph on the left fragment, though it has lost its glaze.
Very similar representations can be seen on the throne of a colossal statue of Ramesses II. Based on stylistic interpretations, it is most probable that the present fragments performed a similar function. The Egyptians identified Hapi as the inundation of the Nile, his voluptuous figure being part of the iconography of fertility and abundance. The duality of his kingship over Upper and Lower Egypt is linked with prosperity brought by the waters of the Nile. Despite this, no temples or sanctuaries have been found dedicated to Hapi.
Provenance
Probably Spink, London, UK; mounted in the 1960s
John J. Slocum, (1914-1997), Rhode Island, USA; thence by descent
The majority of Slocum’s collection was formed during his
service as US cultural attaché to Egypt in the 1960s. Later, he
served as Assistant to the Director of The Smithsonian, was
appointed to the Presidential Cultural Property Advisory
Committee, and was a Trustee Emeritus of the Archaeological
Institute of America.
Literature
See the throne decoration on the colossal statue of Ramesses II at Luxor Temple; Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (New York, 2003), p.107