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The Heritage of Egypt No. 5 cover 5.fh10 5/31/09 11:32 AM Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K The Heritage of Egypt «∞ºMW «∞∏U≤OW - «∞Fbœ «∞ªU±f «∞Fbœ - «∞∏U≤OW «∞ºMW ±U¥u 9002 ±U¥u «∞ºFd 03 §MOt ±BdÈ Composite cover 5.fh10 5/31/09 11:32 AM Page 2 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Composite 01 english.fh10 5/31/09 12:27 PM Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K The Heritage of Egypt Volume 2 Number 2 Issue 5 May 2009 in this issue: The history, archaeology, and legacy of Egypt From The Editer Editor: 2 Amgad Refai E-mail: [email protected] Published by: Al-Hadara Publishing Cairo, Egypt Eternal Youth www.alhadara.com Lise Manniche E-mail: [email protected] 29 Fax: (20 2) 3760 58 98 © Al-Hadara Publishing Reviving the Lost The Publisher and the Editor are not Ancient Egyptian Art liable for statements made and opinions of Sarcophagus expressed in this publication. Making Christian De Vartavan 3 Legal Deposte No. 18063/2008 In Preparation for Regeneration Dr. Filip Coppens 33 Ancient Egyptian funerary practices Mladen Tomorad 12 Per Medjat 40 Composite editor’s letter e.fh10 5/31/09 11:02 AM Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K From The Editor Year 21, first month of the second season, the great chief of the Kheta, Khetasar (xtAsrA) twenty-first day, under the majesty of the King [caused] to be brought to Pharaoh, to crave of Upper and Lower Egypt: Usermare- peace [fro]m [the majesty] of the King of Upper Setepnere, Son of Re: Ramses-Meriamon, given and Lower Egypt, Ramses II, given life, forever life, forever and ever, beloved of Amon-Re- and ever, like his father, Re, every day. Copy Horakhte, Ptah-South-of-His-Wall, lord of "Life- of the silver tablet, which the great chief of of-the-Two-Lands," Mut, mistress of Ishru, and Kheta, Khetasar (xtAsArA) caused to be brought Khonsu-Neferhotep; shining upon the Horus- to Pharaoh, by the hand of his messenger, throne of the living, like his father, Horakhte, Terteseb (tArAtysbw), and his messenger, forever and ever. On this day, his majesty was Ramose, to crave peace from the majesty of at the city (called): "House-of-Ramses- Ramses II, the Bull of rulers, making his Meriamon," performing the pleasing boundary as far as he desires in every land. ceremonies of his father, Amon-Re-Horakhte- Atum, lord of the Two Lands of Heliopolis; Amon of Ramses-Meriamon, Ptah of Ramses- From the Egyptian version of the peace Meriamon, " great in strength, son of Mut," treaty between Ramses II and Hattusili III according as they gave to him eternity in (After Breasted) jubilees, everlastingness in peaceful years, all lands, and all countries being prostrate beneath his sandals forever. There came the king's messenger, the deputy and butler, together with the king's messenger [bringing (?) to the king] Ramses II [the messenger (?)] of [Kheta, Terteseb] and the [second messenger (?)] of Kheta [bearing (?) a silver tablet] which 2 Composite Christian de Vartavan.fh10 5/31/09 11:25 AM Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Reviving the Lost Ancient Egyptian Art of Sarcophagus Making Christian De Vartavan1 Photo: Christian De Vartavan Photo: Varnished Sarcophagus of Khonsu-Ms (21st dynasty – Deir el Bahari), Victoria Museum, Uppsala –Courtesy of Mr Geoffrey Metz, Curator). Since the beginning of the Old Kingdom with the disappearance of ancient Egyptian and for over three thousand years, ancient religion; although some later realisations of Egyptians used woods, mineral pigments, the Ptolemaic and Christian periods clearly plasters and binders of various kinds, as well inspired themselves from their pharaonic as varnishes to build “boxes” meant to protect forebears whether at the technical or religious the bodies of their deceased ones. This, with level. In the course of three thousand years of the aim to help these defunct souls fare across acquired empirical experience to build these the Netherworld and live hereafter in the beautiful creations, for the hundreds of Amenta and its “Fields of Ialou”; which is to thousands of bodies which they aimed to say the Egyptian version of paradise. These preserve, ancient Egyptian artists developed objects are now known as “sarcophagus” a technological and technical know-how the (plural “sarcophagi”), a word said to originate sophistication of which is increasingly from the Greek “flesh eater” or “coffin”. At stupefying us and which in many aspects first simply square, sarcophagi became with remain not short of unknown. Considering time very elaborated, adopting forms imitating the various artistic schools which must have parts of the humans bodies and very elaborate existed in Memphis, Thebes, Sais or even religious decorations. With the result that Alexandria, and considering that every master some of them reached such a level of – as today - had its own manufacturing secrets, technological and artistic sophistication that this is perhaps not surprising. Yet as we shall they are considered as masterpieces of the art see the careful study of the basic materials world. once employed in the manufacture of ancient The art of making a or Egyptian sarcophagi has since a few years “Lord of Life”, or a , – from the unravelled new data, in turn further revealing word qrs “to bury” - the main ancient Egyptian unforeseen technological dimensions. With names for “sarcophagus” and “coffin” died the result that a first attempt to reconstruct 1- Dr. Christian Tutundjian de Vartavan, Director, Armenian Egyptology Centre, 7th Floor, The Rectorate, 1, Alex Manoogian Street, Yerevan State University; Yerevan 0049, Armenia, 00 374 10 55 82 32, e-mail: [email protected], http://a-egyptology.atspace.com or http://www.armenian- egyptology-centre.org, www.ysu.am. Acknowledgment is given to Mrs Ingeborg Waanders, Holland, for proofing the present article. 3 Composite Christian de Vartavan.fh10 5/31/09 11:25 AM Page 2 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K The wood cannot be any wood but one used in ancient Egypt for such purpose. The gessoes - that is the surfaces applied over the wood prior to its painting - must consist of the matter which ancient Egyptian “plasterers” applied. The pigments need to be those employed by ancient Egyptian artists, hence natural pigments; the varnishes equally. Moreover, the tools used should be those once utilized, and the artistic techniques near as much as possible those acquired and practiced by ancient Egyptian craftsmen throughout their lives; which is to say that the mastery of the Egyptian Blue cake, made of malachite, quartz reed-pen and palm made brushes should be and other ingredients, prepared YSU Armenian reached. All in all an extremely difficult task, Egyptology Centre before firing. as even if the wood is easily found, the gessoes, natural organic and inorganic pigments as well as techniques need to be reconstructed, from scratch an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus whereas ancient Egyptian varnishes so far is now and for the first time realistically within retain as we shall see a part of mystery. reach. This is precisely the goal of our state Moreover, the art of coffin making varied not validated “thematic research”, started in only from one artistic school to another, but September 2007, which aims to reconstruct in also across time – producing a wide variety of Armenia not one but two New Kingdom sarcophagi, usually recognizable in relation sarcophagi so as to, within the frame of to their time and place of origin. experimental archaeology, trigger several The “Sarcophagus Project” was initially scientific discoveries in the disciplines and triggered by a simple request concerning the fields involved in this reconstruction. typical yellowing of 21st dynasty sarcophagi, As already stated elsewhere2, anyone can from our colleague Edward Loring of the take some wood, some plaster, some oil or Centre for Egyptological Studies of the Russian acrylic paints and some modern varnish to Academy of Sciences (CESRAS) now our make a an “ancient Egyptian” sarcophagus. partner in this research program. As formerly In the past many cabinet makers worldwide stated by Elisabeth Delange curator at the have produced good to very good looking Louvre Museum: ancient Egyptian objects, such as, for example, the replicae of the Tutankhamun objects exhibited a few months ago in Zurich (Switzerland). The material and techniques used for their manufacture have however very little to do with those employed by ancient Egyptian workers and artists - if not for a start because many of these are still debated or even unknown in certain cases. Reconstructing an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus - such as we are employing ourselves with within the frame of our “Sarcophagus Project” - is in fact no less difficult than replaying one of many existing partitions of classic music, parts of which Purer Egyptian Blue obtained in Yerevan State would need rediscovering. University after several experiments. 2- See the undersigned’s edito in the online AEC-Newsletter No. 8 (December 15, 2008), page 1 at http://a-egyptology.atspace.com 4 Composite Christian de Vartavan.fh10 5/31/09 11:25 AM Page 3 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K “Since the discovery of a whole series of coffins of this [21st dynasty] category in [the cache of] Deir-el Bahari, all curators, all Egyptologists since the beginning of the century ponder on the varnish [of these sarcophagi]…What was the real color [of this 21st dynasty varnish], what was the desired effect, was this varnish aimed to reproduce the color and glittering of gold or was it used for conservation purposes? Since our Armenian Egyptology Centre specializes on the plant world of ancient Egypt, including basic plant material, and since science showed a few years ago these varnishes to be partly made of a resin issued from one or more Pistacia tree species (the same family to which the true pistachio tree belongs), the various questions attached to the yellowing of the coffins interested us.
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