The statue of Pharaoh Amenemhat III is one of the main exhibits of the Egyptian Hall of the Hermitage. It is excellently preserved and, perhaps, is its main decoration. But, besides this, the museum contains many different antiquities of this culture.
General characteristics
Egyptian traditions are one of the oldest among world civilizations. The culture of this country is unique in that it has existed for a long time - about four thousand years. While others, for example, Greek - only two millennia. In addition, it has preserved unique monuments and artifacts. They allow us to judge the rich mythology, the original worldview. One of the key concepts in the worldview of the Egyptians was the belief in the immortality of the soul, so that each of the representatives of the nation was preparing all his life for the transition to the afterlife. This led to the fact that ritual rites, burials played a big role in their culture.
Sacralization of culture
Another characteristic feature of their socio-political and cultural life wasthe deification of rulers, as exemplified by the statue of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. By the way, it has been preserved in excellent condition. In connection with the belief in the afterlife, the Egyptians left behind a lot of ritual things and objects that are stored in the Hermitage. There are also steles, drawings with images of victims and inscribed sacred phrases.
General characteristics
The Egyptian Hall was founded by architect A. Sivkov in 1940 on the site of a buffet in the Winter Court. This room presents the history and architecture of this civilization since the 4th millennium BC. Of particular interest is the exposition of the Old Kingdom, as well as subsequent periods: the Ptolemaic and Roman, the time of Byzantine domination.
From the latter, coins of imperial and Alexandrian minting with images of rulers have been preserved. From the halls of the Hermitage one can judge the richness of the collections gathered here. Of particular interest is the collection of Coptic antiquities that were found and systematized by Bock. He traveled along and across this country at the end of the 19th century. In addition to finding various antiquities, he also visited the Red and White monasteries, as well as the necropolis, where he studied the inscriptions.
Exhibits
Egyptian exhibits of the Hermitage are extremely diverse. This is a large sculpture, and small plastic, and household items, and ritual devices, as well as inscriptions, drawings, images. In addition, mummies are kept here. A special place is occupied by objects of religious andritual purpose. For example, here you can admire the Ipi stele (XIV century BC). She depicts the royal scribe, fan holder and chief manager of the household. He is presented before the pagan deity Anubis.
The latter is depicted with a jackal's head in his belt, a rod in one hand and a special hieroglyph that symbolized life among the ancient Egyptians. It was called "ankh". The figure of Anubis is carefully written and executed in the traditional colors in which the Egyptian deities were painted: blue and green. The sculpture of the scribe, on the other hand, is more schematic. He is dressed in a shirt with wide sleeves and an apron. The stele depicts a sacrificial vessel, there are inscriptions of ritual significance, and the titles and titles of Ipi himself.
Sculpture
The most important place in the exposition is the statue of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. As mentioned above, it is well preserved and allows us to judge how important the sacralization of their rulers played in the life of the ancient Egyptians. This pharaoh was a representative of the twelfth dynasty, which ruled during the Middle Kingdom (XIX century BC). Under him, the Egyptian state achieved great power, which, in particular, manifested itself in grandiose construction.
We are talking primarily about the construction of a huge mortuary temple in the area of the Fayum oasis, which the ancient Greeks called the "labyrinth". The statue of Pharaoh Amenemhet III is made in the post-Amaran tradition, characteristic of the reign of Akhenaten's successors. She has a well defined face. The author paid great attention to the reproduction of portrait likeness, which was a significant step forward compared to the art of the Old Kingdom.
The muscles are especially carefully drawn. Amenemhat 3 is depicted in simple clothes: he is wearing an apron and a special scarf on his head - the traditional attire of the pharaohs-rulers. The eyes are especially well drawn, which, thanks to their setting, give expressiveness to the look. The torso is made in the traditional style: it is straight, slender, which corresponded to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians about the high status of the pharaoh, whose image was supposed to demonstrate the power and greatness of the Egyptian state.
Other Items
Another exhibit that draws attention is the statue of the ancient Egyptian goddess Semkhet. She is depicted with the head of a lioness, since the inhabitants of Egypt represented her as the formidable eye of the Sun. They considered her the goddess of war and believed that she was able to cause diseases and heal them. Therefore, she was considered the patroness of doctors.
The formidable lion's head indicates that the ancient Egyptians saw it as a kind of punishing force. So all the disasters of the country - famine, pestilence, wars, epidemics - the inhabitants considered it a punishment. Another exhibit is the embalmed mummy of a priest, which indicates that the art of mummification was applied not only to pharaohs, but also to we althy people.
