Day 25 - Lion holding/devouring? captive



February 22, 2018

Gallery 124 contains relics from the post-Amarna period (roughly 1300-1200 B.C., I think) - the dynasties of Ramesses II (as the Met spells it) and his successors. The object I want to write about is one I wouldn't understand without the caption. As the museum describes it, It's a "fragmentary" statue of a lion, maybe three feet high,  sitting on its haunches and grasping something (like the lion's mouth, a missing element) between its paws. The caption explains that the lion has the head of a captive in its mouth. It goes on to say that the captive's hands are manacled, though I'm not sure I see this. The lion's shoulders bear cartouches of Ramesses II, while an inscription on the skirt of the captive identifies him as a prince of Kush (Ethiopia?). The inscription reads what I take to be the captive's plea: "The wretched Chief says (Give)!to Kush the breath (of life)."  If the face of the captive were still extant, would it register terror? The statue is thought to have served as a newel post (I had to look this up - it's the post that supports the handrail on a staircase) at the bottom of stairs leading to the king's throne.

 I have seen here and there objects (including battle scenes) that brought to mind the bellicosity of the Egyptians; until now, I simply haven't chosen to focus on this.  But it's important to remember that Egypt's enormous wealth came largely through conquest.  Did the Egyptians kill or enslave captured peoples or just exact tribute from them, or both, depending on the epoch? Would the prince of Kush have been allowed to live?

 This raises the more general question of how much the creation of art -- or, more properly, the commissioning of it--depends on wealth, and that, in turn, requires the exploitation of others. A Big Thought, if not a very deep one, and certainly not one I want to explore right now.

Comments

  1. Jennie TonicMarch 11, 2018 at 7:34 PM

    Your thought brings to mind the debate about how we should feel about works of art by men who exploited or assaulted women. (Not stating a position here.)

    ReplyDelete

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