Existing comment:
Egyptian, New Kingdom
Cast of a Relief from the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Pharaoh of Egypt, 1473-1458BC (Dynasty XVIII)
This relief shows the return of Hatshepsut's fleet from the land of Punt (probably somewhere on the east coat of Africa). In the two lower bands, ships return from the expedition; in the top band, workers unload exotic goods such as myrrh and a baboon.
Hatshepsut was one of the few women ever to rule Egypt. The large male figure at the lower right is one of her attendants. This piece, carved in the raised-relief technique and then painted, decorated a colonnade wall in her temple, where visitors could see the figures at close range. |