Granite head of a Nubian

An image of Figure/Statue. Fragment of a statue of a Nubian. Production Place/Find Spot: Egypt. Carved granite, length 13 cm, circa 1550 B.C.to circa 1295 B.C. Eighteenth Dynasty, New Kingdom. Notes: Previously thought to be 12th Dynasty Middle Kingdom. Notes: Carved from granite, only the face survives and there is further damage to the statue's right cheek and chin. The modelling of the eyes, which are almond-shaped and the rounded eyebrows date the statue to Dynasty 18. The subject has a rounded, broad and flat face with a small nose and wide mouth. These features along with the hairstyle, which is parted down the centre and pulled into a top notch, identify the subject as a Nubian (African). Nubian culture domintated the south of Egypt and the country that we now call Sudan. The people from this region are always shown with jet black skin, and often caricature features of how the Egyptian's saw Africans from further south. The Nubians were part of Egyptian society and were by definition also Egyptians, however, as foreigners from the land of the south they were seen to be one of Egypt's traditional enemies. They are often shown as bound captives and appear on temple scenes, being smited by the king of Egypt. Such scenes were still shown when Nubians themselves ruled Egypt and Nubia during Dynasty 25. The top of the hair, now missing, suggests that this statue was perhaps part of a composite group showing the king holding onto his enemies. There is such an example in Luxor Museum, Egypt. This particular fragment is of extremely high quality. The face has clearly been chiselled from the main statue.

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Figure/Statue. Fragment of a statue of a Nubian. Production Place/Find Spot: Egypt. Carved granite, length 13 cm, circa 1550 B.C.to circa 1295 B.C. Eighteenth Dynasty, New Kingdom. Notes: Previously thought to be 12th Dynasty Middle Kingdom. Notes: Carved from granite, only the face survives and there is further damage to the statue's right cheek and chin. The modelling of the eyes, which are almond-shaped and the rounded eyebrows date the statue to Dynasty 18. The subject has a rounded, broad and flat face with a small nose and wide mouth. These features along with the hairstyle, which is parted down the centre and pulled into a top notch, identify the subject as a Nubian (African). Nubian culture domintated the south of Egypt and the country that we now call Sudan. The people from this region are always shown with jet black skin, and often caricature features of how the Egyptian's saw Africans from further south. The Nubians were part of Egyptian society and were by definition also Egyptians, however, as foreigners from the land of the south they were seen to be one of Egypt's traditional enemies. They are often shown as bound captives and appear on temple scenes, being smited by the king of Egypt. Such scenes were still shown when Nubians themselves ruled Egypt and Nubia during Dynasty 25. The top of the hair, now missing, suggests that this statue was perhaps part of a composite group showing the king holding onto his enemies. There is such an example in Luxor Museum, Egypt. This particular fragment is of extremely high quality. The face has clearly been chiselled from the main statue.

Image data

Accession Number: E.GA.84.1949
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/19.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Katie Young
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 924 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 654.47kB
Exposure time: 1/60
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 19/1
Captured: 2015:10:13 11:09:44

Key words

African Ancient Egypt antiquity BC carved faces figure Fitz_ANT fragment granite hair hairstyle heads New Kingdom Nubian sculpture statue

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Granite head of a Nubian"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-1280231167 Accessed: 2024-12-27 10:04:19

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            {{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-1280231167
            |title=Granite head of a Nubian
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-27 10:04:19|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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