Hunting Scene, unknown maker from Egypt

Artwork Overview

Hunting Scene
Hunting Scene
Hunting Scene
circa 2500 BCE, Old Kingdom (circa 2575 BCE–2150 BCE)
Hunting Scene , circa 2500 BCE, Old Kingdom (circa 2575 BCE–2150 BCE)
Where object was made: Egypt
Material/technique: relief; limestone
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 54 x 35 x 11 cm including base
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 21 1/4 x 13 3/4 x 4 5/16 in
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1977.0033
On display: Loo Gallery
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Spencer Museum of Art Highlights

Sheared from its original context, this fragmentary relief depicts ancient Egyptians amidst the bounty of the Nile River. In the lower register, three men balance on long-prowed boats, poised to spear fish gathered in the still water. Above, hunters capture geese in marshland grasses, grasping the animals by their feathered wings and slender necks. Once adorning walls of lavish tombs, narrative scenes like this one were especially coveted by purveyors of ancient art. By removing only the carved surfaces from their architectural substrates, antiquarians were better able to share them with eager European audiences.

Displacement

Once adorning walls of lavish Egyptian tombs, narrative scenes like this one were especially coveted by purveyors of ancient art. By removing only the carved surfaces from their architectural settings, sellers were better able to market them to eager European collectors. This relief depicts ancient Egyptians amidst the bounty of the Nile River. In the lower section men balance on boats, poised to spear fish. Above, hunters capture geese.

Displacement

Once adorning walls of lavish Egyptian tombs, narrative scenes like this one were especially coveted by purveyors of ancient art. By removing only the carved surfaces from their architectural settings, sellers were better able to market them to eager European collectors. This relief depicts ancient Egyptians amidst the bounty of the Nile River. In the lower section men balance on boats, poised to spear fish. Above, hunters capture geese.

Debut

Cut from its original context, this fragment of a relief carving depicts ancient Egyptians amidst the bounty of the Nile River. In the lower section, three men balance on long-prowed boats, poised to spear fish gathered in the still water. Above, hunters capture geese in marshland grasses, grasping the animals by their feathered wings and slender necks. Often adorning walls of lavish tombs, narrative scenes like this one were especially coveted by sellers of ancient art.

Debut

Cut from its original context, this fragment of a relief carving depicts ancient Egyptians amidst the bounty of the Nile River. In the lower section, three men balance on long-prowed boats, poised to spear fish gathered in the still water. Above, hunters capture geese in marshland grasses, grasping the animals by their feathered wings and slender necks. Often adorning walls of lavish tombs, narrative scenes like this one were especially coveted by sellers of ancient art.

Google Art Project

Sheared from its original context, this fragmentary relief depicts ancient Egyptians amidst the bounty of the Nile River. In the lower register, three men balance on long-prowed boats, poised to spear fish gathered in the still water. Above, hunters capture geese in marshland grasses, grasping the animals by their feathered wings and slender necks. Once adorning walls of lavish tombs, narrative scenes like this one were especially coveted by purveyors of ancient art. By removing only the carved surfaces from their architectural substrates, antiquarians were better able to share them with eager European audiences.

Exhibitions

Empire of Things
Kris Ercums, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
2013–2015
Google Art Project
2016
Empire of Things
Kris Ercums, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
2016–2021
Displacement
2022–2027
Debut
Kris Ercums, curator
2021–2023
Debut
Kris Ercums, curator
2021–2022
Displacement
2022–2027

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
Episode 13. I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. One of the museum’s oldest objects is a fragment of an ancient Egyptian relief carving, dating to around 2400 BCE. It originally graced the wall of a tomb. The ancient Egyptians believed that the human spirit lived on after death, and the tombs of the wealthy were decorated with scenes of daily activities for the deceased to enjoy in the afterlife. The Spencer relief depicts the procurement of food, meant to nourish the tomb owner. In the two upper registers are scenes of fowling, with a kneeling man holding a goose by the neck, and a standing man holding several geese by their wings. In the register below are men on rafts, spear fishing. The figures in the relief are depicted in the twisted pose the Egyptians used to present each part of the body from the most characteristic angle, with heads in profile but frontal eyes, frontal shoulders, but hips, legs, and feet in profile. The relief looks different today than it did originally, because it would have been covered with a coat of plaster and then painted. But even in its stripped and fragmentary state, it remains a captivating work of art that provides a rare glimpse into daily life in ancient Egypt. From the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.