Three unusual embrace representations from Ancient Egyptian private sources

نوع المستند : المقالة الأصلية

المؤلف

Faculty of Archaeology- Cairo University

المستخلص

The gesture of embrace is considered one of the highly significant body positions consistently depicted in religious and daily life sources. It conveys various direct and indirect meanings and symbolisms. This gesture is regarded to be the ultimate level of physical contact that Ancient Egyptian artists could portray between two or more people. Therefore, it is illustrated in a wide variety of private sources, such as stelae, tomb walls, and statues to express the affection and family love between family members, including spouses, brothers, or parents and children. In representations of embrace between men and women, it is typical for the man to be the primary character who is represented at the forefront of the depicted persons, being embraced by other family members. Consequently, he becomes the focal point of the group and captures the viewer’s attention. This paper presents a descriptive and analytical examination of three unique scenes depicting men embracing women who are positioned in the foreground as the primary characters. These scenes are rare as the embrace is reversed.

الكلمات الرئيسية