Paintings of Foreigners in 18th Dynasty Theban Tombs, 1550-1372 BCE Open Access

Abstract

In ancient Egypt, one of the primary roles of the king was to maintain order and destroy chaos. Since the beginning of Egyptian history, images of foreigners were used as symbols of chaos and thus shown as captives being bound and trampled under the king's feet. The early 18^th dynasty (1550-1372 BCE) was the height of international trade, diplomacy and Egyptian imperial expansion. During this time new images of foreigners bearing tribute became popular in the tombs of the necropolis at Thebes, the burial place of the Egyptian elite. These tribute-bearing foreigners carry luxury goods, which serve as symbols that underscore the tomb owner's wealth and access to such products. The tomb owner is thus considered a figure of prestige, as he is present in these scenes and is associated with the king and international affairs. Foreigners, who are inherently chaotic according to traditional Egyptian ideology, are represented in an orderly fashion in these scenes. This not only shows the ability of the Egyptian state to impose order on foreign lands, but these images are symbols of the tomb owner's ability to overcome the chaos of death and achieve a successful afterlife.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 The King's Captives 13

I. Introduction 13

II. Captive Foreigner Motifs 14

A. Anthropomorphic Crenellated Ovals 14

1. The Conventional Nine bows 14

2. Extended Nine Bows 16

3. People Types Occurring with the Crenellated Ovals 17

B. Fully Human Captives 19

1. Foreigners Kneeling, Lying Down, Standing, or

Hunched Over 19

2. Extended Sematawy 20

3. Smiting 21

4. Trampling Sphinx 22

5. Fully Human Captives- People Types 23

a. Nubians 23

b. Levantines 24

c. Libyans 25 d. Aegeans 25

III. Associated Motifs 26

IV. Surviving Palatial Objects 27

V. The Purpose of Audience Halls 28

VI. Chapter Conclusions 30

Chapter 3 Tribute Scenes 34

I. Introduction 34

II. Underlying Egyptian Concepts in Tribute Scenes 34

A. Exchange in the Tribute Scenes 34 B. Symbolism in Fishing and Fowling Scenes 36 C. Visual Organizations of the Tribute Scenes 39 D. Foreigners as Agents of Chaos 41 E. Dancing Girls 42 F. The "International Style" in Egypt, the Aegean,

and the Levant 44

G. Hybridism 45 H. Captives and Tribute Bearar Motifs in the Same Tomb 46 III. Foreigner Iconography 47 A. Nubians 48 B. Levantines 55 C. Aegeans 62 D. Oases 68

E. Wat-Hor 69
F. Punt 70

IV. Chapter Conclusions 74 Chapter 4 Unique Foreigner Scenes 79

I. Chapter Introduction 79

II. Select Scenes 80

III. People Types 87

A. Nubians 87 B. Levantines 87 C. Puntites 90 D. Aegeans 91 E. Libyans 91

IV. Chapter Conclusions 91

Chapter 5 Dissertation Conclusions 93

Dissertation Figures 99

Catalog of Tribute Goods 129

Appendix 1 170

Appendix 2 172

Bibliography 183

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Art History
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Art History History, Ancient
Keyword	Foreigners Ancient Egypt Thebes Tombs Paintings
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Robins, Gay, Emory University
Committee Members	Wescoat, Bonna D, Emory University Hartwig, Melinda, Georgia State University Varner, Eric, Emory University

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