A Saite Figure of Isis in the Petrie Museum

Egypt Exploration Society

A Saite Figure of Isis in the Petrie MuseumAuthor(s): Susanna ThomasSource: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 85 (1999), pp. 232-235Published by: Egypt Exploration SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3822442 .

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232 BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS JEA 85

It is also the earliest occurrence of Chapter 19.13 It is noteworthy that the papyrus harks back to the New Kingdom style, which had persisted into the Twenty-first Dynasty, of vertical columns of cursive hieroglyphs, rather than following the tradition of the Libyan Period, which favoured texts in hieratic and in horizontal lines. In this respect it appears to be isolated, as the small number of Book of the Dead papyri which are securely of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty all continue the Libyan Period hieratic tradition.'4 It does, however, fit quite nicely with the archaising tendency of the late eighth and early seventh centuries BC in other areas of Egyptian culture.15 The fact that the text is retrograde also looks back to earlier times rather than forward to the post-Twenty-sixth Dynasty examples which also use cursive hieroglyphs, but which are not retrograde in arrangement. However, on the basis of the admittedly scanty evidence of the Ede fragments, the sequence of spells is already that of the Saite recension of the Book of the Dead, despite the pre-Twenty-sixth Dynasty date. As Quirke has pointed out, neither the date nor the place at which the 'Saite' recension developed is yet known.16

ANTHONY LEAHY

A Saite figure of Isis in the Petrie Museum*

The first publication of a small private statuette in the Petrie Museum (UC 42553), originally from the Wellcome Collection, dedicated to Isis and Horus during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. It bears an unusual set of royal cartouches.

IN the collections of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at University College London is a small seated figure of Isis nursing the child Horus (fig.1 and pl. XXVIII, 1-4). The subject matter is an example of a very well-known genre of Late Period statuary and the figure itself unremarkable, but it has an unusual attribute for a private offering from someone of modest means, in that it bears royal cartouches and includes the names of not one, but two, Twenty-sixth Dynasty kings.

The figure is 16.9 cm tall, with the base measuring 10.5 cm deep by 3.7 cm wide, and is made of grey-green siltstone. Isis is represented sitting on a low-backed block-throne, and the piece is finished with a square-topped back-pillar and round-fronted base. The goddess herself wears a tight-fitting sheath dress, of which only the bottom of the skirt is modelled, a beaded collar, plaited wig, Nekhbet headdress and uraeus. The original crown is missing, presumably because it was made from a different material. A small figure of Horus as a child is shown sitting on her lap. The heads of both figures are rather clumsily carved, though that of the goddess shows both the over-large ears and enigmatic smile common in Late Period sculpture. Her hands and feet are also outsize and somewhat clumsy, but the curves of the arms and legs, and the areas where the body meets the back-pillar, are well and subtly rendered, while the patterning on the collar, wig and headdress is lightly incised. The figure of Horus also has clumsily shaped hands and feet, with

13 Cf. Mosher, JARCE 29, 143 n.3. 4 Quirke, Owners of Funerary Papyri, 21. U. Verhoeven, Das saitische Totenbuch der Iahtesnacht. P Colon.

Aeg. 10207 (Bonn, 1993), 41-2. 5S A. Leahy, 'Royal Iconography and Dynastic Change, 750-525 BC: The Blue and Cap Crowns', JEA 78

(1992), 238-9. 16 Quirke, Owners of Funerary Papyri, 20-1. For different regional traditions at a later date, see Mosher,

JARCE 29, 143-72. There is a very useful bibliography of studies on the Book of the Dead generally in E. Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife (Cornell, 1999), 165-8.

* I would like to thank Professor W. J. Tait for helpful comments and the staff of both the Egyptian Archaeology Department and the Petrie Museum at UCL, Dr Steven Snape and the JEA referees.

' Registration number UC 42553. It was part of a substantial group of material from the Wellcome Collection, presented to the Petrie Museum in 1964, but there is no surviving documentation regarding its original provenance.


It is also the earliest occurrence of Chapter 19.13 It is noteworthy that the papyrus harks back to the New Kingdom style, which had persisted into the Twenty-first Dynasty, of vertical columns of cursive hieroglyphs, rather than following the tradition of the Libyan Period, which favoured texts in hieratic and in horizontal lines. In this respect it appears to be isolated, as the small number of Book of the Dead papyri which are securely of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty all continue the Libyan Period hieratic tradition.'4 It does, however, fit quite nicely with the archaising tendency of the late eighth and early seventh centuries BC in other areas of Egyptian culture.15 The fact that the text is retrograde also looks back to earlier times rather than forward to the post-Twenty-sixth Dynasty examples which also use cursive hieroglyphs, but which are not retrograde in arrangement. However, on the basis of the admittedly scanty evidence of the Ede fragments, the sequence of spells is already that of the Saite recension of the Book of the Dead, despite the pre-Twenty-sixth Dynasty date. As Quirke has pointed out, neither the date nor the place at which the 'Saite' recension developed is yet known.16

ANTHONY LEAHY

A Saite figure of Isis in the Petrie Museum*

The first publication of a small private statuette in the Petrie Museum (UC 42553), originally from the Wellcome Collection, dedicated to Isis and Horus during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. It bears an unusual set of royal cartouches.

IN the collections of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at University College London is a small seated figure of Isis nursing the child Horus (fig.1 and pl. XXVIII, 1-4). The subject matter is an example of a very well-known genre of Late Period statuary and the figure itself unremarkable, but it has an unusual attribute for a private offering from someone of modest means, in that it bears royal cartouches and includes the names of not one, but two, Twenty-sixth Dynasty kings.

The figure is 16.9 cm tall, with the base measuring 10.5 cm deep by 3.7 cm wide, and is made of grey-green siltstone. Isis is represented sitting on a low-backed block-throne, and the piece is finished with a square-topped back-pillar and round-fronted base. The goddess herself wears a tight-fitting sheath dress, of which only the bottom of the skirt is modelled, a beaded collar, plaited wig, Nekhbet headdress and uraeus. The original crown is missing, presumably because it was made from a different material. A small figure of Horus as a child is shown sitting on her lap. The heads of both figures are rather clumsily carved, though that of the goddess shows both the over-large ears and enigmatic smile common in Late Period sculpture. Her hands and feet are also outsize and somewhat clumsy, but the curves of the arms and legs, and the areas where the body meets the back-pillar, are well and subtly rendered, while the patterning on the collar, wig and headdress is lightly incised. The figure of Horus also has clumsily shaped hands and feet, with

13 Cf. Mosher, JARCE 29, 143 n.3. 4 Quirke, Owners of Funerary Papyri, 21. U. Verhoeven, Das saitische Totenbuch der Iahtesnacht. P Colon.

Aeg. 10207 (Bonn, 1993), 41-2. 5S A. Leahy, 'Royal Iconography and Dynastic Change, 750-525 BC: The Blue and Cap Crowns', JEA 78

(1992), 238-9. 16 Quirke, Owners of Funerary Papyri, 20-1. For different regional traditions at a later date, see Mosher,

JARCE 29, 143-72. There is a very useful bibliography of studies on the Book of the Dead generally in E. Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife (Cornell, 1999), 165-8.

* I would like to thank Professor W. J. Tait for helpful comments and the staff of both the Egyptian Archaeology Department and the Petrie Museum at UCL, Dr Steven Snape and the JEA referees.

' Registration number UC 42553. It was part of a substantial group of material from the Wellcome Collection, presented to the Petrie Museum in 1964, but there is no surviving documentation regarding its original provenance.



1999 BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS 233

a

c

b

d

FIG. 1. UC 42553.




only the merest suggestion of fingers and toes, but the torso and limbs are delicately moulded. There are traces of red staining on the limbs, in depressions and in the hieroglyphs, and there are also numerous small patches of gold leaf over the whole figure, as well as the throne, back-pillar and base. The red traces are probably from the size used as a base for the gold leaf. However, it is also possible that they represent a coloured layer painted onto the stone to enhance the colour of the gold. Modern gilders employ base colours to manipulate the quality of the gold leaf, with red and yellow both used to create richer, warmer tones. The 'layer of yellow ochre between the plaster and the gold leaf' discussed by Lucas as an occasional feature perhaps served the same purpose.2

An incised hieroglyphic text runs down the back-pillar and around the base of the throne. Both sides of the throne are filled with the royal titles and names of Psammetichus II and his successor Apries.

Translation

Back-pillar

'Speech of Isis the Hidden One,a who gives life, health and a long life and a great and good old age to the venerable one before Isis, protectedb (by) Hathor'

Throne base

'Isis the Great, god's mother, may she give life to Psamtek, his good name being Psamtek,c son of Horemsaf,d born of the lady of the house Sekhmetnofret, daughter of the wb-priest Hapiraa'

Left side of throne

'King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Haaibre, Son of Re, Wahibre'

Right side of throne

'The good god, Neferibre, lord of the two lands, Psamtek'

Commentary

(a) The epithet, if it is to be read t' sdkw, has no other comparable examples applied to Isis known to me.3 Perhaps it may derive from sdgi, 'to conceal', and/or sdgw, 'hidden things' (Wb. IV, 372-3).

(b) Reading the unclear sign before Hwt-hr as sl. (c) To have the same birth name and 'good name' is without parallel in the Saite Period.4

Alternatively, on the basis of haplography, the first name might be 'nh-psmtk, or, as the Saite 'good name' was usually basiliphorous, the second name might be Nfr-psmtk.5

2 A. Lucas and J. R. Harris, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries4 (London, 1962), 232, discussing yellow ochre found underneath gold leaf on a Ptolemaic wooden coffin in tomb H at the Bucheum (R. Mond and 0. H. Myers, The Bucheum, I (MEES 41; London, 1934), 68).

3 None is cited in standard works on the goddess and her titles and epithets; e.g. M. Munster, Untersuchungen zur Gottin Isis (MAS 11; Berlin, 1968), 203-8, though the list given here does not claim to be comprehensive beyond the New Kingdom.

4 H. De Meulenaere (Le surnom egyptien a la Basse Epoque (Istanbul, 1966), 27-31), and ('Le surnom egyptien a la Basse Epoque (Addenda et Corrigenda)', OLP 12 (1981), 127-34) notes that 'good names' derived from royal names were used in the Twenty-sixth Dynasty between the reign of Psammetichus II and the end of the reign of Amasis. This seems to have been a conscious revival of the Old Kingdom 'official name' (rn r'), but De Meulenaere believes that in the Saite Period basiliphorous 'good names' were given as a reward for long or distinguished service to those who were close to royal administration. It is even possible that such names acted as an honorific title.

5 I am grateful to the JEA's referee for this suggestion.




(d) I am unable to adequately explain the t under the f-surely not simply a space filler?

Among the personal names mentioned on the statue, Horemsaf is common in the Late Period, while Psamtek is frequent in the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. Sekhmetnofret (PN I, 319, 26) is found as a Late Period female name, while a similar date may be ascribed to the male name Hapiraa (PN I, 237, 8). Thus, all the personal names are well attested on Apis stelae and elsewhere at this period, and are not particularly distinctive. There are other small private statues of the same period which bear royal names as part of the inscription,6 including one found at the Serapeum.7

This statue is most unusual in that it bears the cartouches (both prenomen and nomen) of two kings, Psammetichus II and Apries. Whether the statue was inscribed during 589 BC and modified before completion, or was dedicated towards the end of the reign of Apries, when Psamtek wished to include the king after whom he had been named, or indeed for some other reason, is not clear.

SUSANNA THOMAS

A ghost palaestra at Antinoopolis

A palaestra (an athletic training-ground) is shown on a recently published plan of the Roman city of Antinoopolis. It is suggested here that the structure is a nineteenth-century saltpetre factory.

IN the otherwise admirable plan of Antinoopolis1 distributed by the Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli to participants of the Twenty-second International Congress of Papyrology at Florence in 19982 there is one feature that causes concern. At the left side of the plan, north of the Ramesses II temple and within and slightly overlapping the square 1800/1600 x 600/800, is a large structure, more than 100 m long and 80 m wide, with outbuildings stretching even further, that is entitled PALESTRA. On a visit to Antinoopolis in 1988, the present writer was at first persuaded by the appearance of this site that it must be the palaestra of the ancient city (indeed, youths from the local village of Sheikh Abada were playing football on a large cleared area of concrete paving within it), but the more the struciure was examined, the less satisfactory this interpretation appeared to be. Tapering buttresses attached to some of the ancillary buildings (pl. XXIX, 1) seemed unlikely to be Roman, and, although water was no doubt necessary for a gymnasium/ palaestra, the presence of structures that held water-raising wheels pointed to the need for very large quantities of water indeed (I believe there were emplacements for several wheels, but cannot remember for sure, having only a photographic record of two: pl. XXIX, 2).

Concerning palaestrae, there are some references to this type of building in the papyri. Ignoring documents without known provenance and those of Ptolemaic date (mainly concerning Philadel- phia and Alexandria), a palaestra is recorded in a papyrus only at Heracleopolis Magna,3 but palaestrae are mentioned in documents found at Theadelphia4 and at an uncertain place within the

6 See G. Daressy, Statues de divinites, I-II (CG; Cairo, 1905-6), 329 (CG 39306), a statue of Isis and Horus dedicated by Redi-Khonsu with the nomen of Psammetichus I, II or III. The modelling of the Petrie statue shows considerable similarities to another figure mentioned by Daressy (ibid. 322, pl. Ixi (CG 39283)).

7 Ibid. 74 (CG 38245), a bronze statue of Osiris dedicated by Padi-Bast with the prenomens of both Psammetichus I and Apries.

1 M. Manfredi and A. Pericoli, Carta di Antinoupolis, 1:4000 (Florence, 1998), published as an additional aid to the exhibition on Antinoopolis held at Florence at the time of the papyrological congress, the catalogue of which is L. Del Francia Barocas (ed.), Antinoe cent' anni dopo (Florence, 1998).

2 I am very grateful to Dominic Rathbone for giving me a copy of the Antinoopolis plan. I would also like to thank Lucilla Burn, Andrew Meadows and Dirk Obbink for help in various ways. 3 A. Lukaszewicz, Les edifices publics dans les villes de l'Egypte romaine (Warsaw, 1986), 59; E. G. Turner, The Hibeh Papyri, II (EES Greco-Roman Memoirs 32; London, 1955), no. 217, line 38 (AD 176-80).

4 T. Kalen et al., Berliner Leihgabe griechischer Papyri (Uppsala, 1932), no. 17, line 12 (AD 164).


(d) I am unable to adequately explain the t under the f-surely not simply a space filler?

Among the personal names mentioned on the statue, Horemsaf is common in the Late Period, while Psamtek is frequent in the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. Sekhmetnofret (PN I, 319, 26) is found as a Late Period female name, while a similar date may be ascribed to the male name Hapiraa (PN I, 237, 8). Thus, all the personal names are well attested on Apis stelae and elsewhere at this period, and are not particularly distinctive. There are other small private statues of the same period which bear royal names as part of the inscription,6 including one found at the Serapeum.7

This statue is most unusual in that it bears the cartouches (both prenomen and nomen) of two kings, Psammetichus II and Apries. Whether the statue was inscribed during 589 BC and modified before completion, or was dedicated towards the end of the reign of Apries, when Psamtek wished to include the king after whom he had been named, or indeed for some other reason, is not clear.

SUSANNA THOMAS

A ghost palaestra at Antinoopolis

A palaestra (an athletic training-ground) is shown on a recently published plan of the Roman city of Antinoopolis. It is suggested here that the structure is a nineteenth-century saltpetre factory.

IN the otherwise admirable plan of Antinoopolis1 distributed by the Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli to participants of the Twenty-second International Congress of Papyrology at Florence in 19982 there is one feature that causes concern. At the left side of the plan, north of the Ramesses II temple and within and slightly overlapping the square 1800/1600 x 600/800, is a large structure, more than 100 m long and 80 m wide, with outbuildings stretching even further, that is entitled PALESTRA. On a visit to Antinoopolis in 1988, the present writer was at first persuaded by the appearance of this site that it must be the palaestra of the ancient city (indeed, youths from the local village of Sheikh Abada were playing football on a large cleared area of concrete paving within it), but the more the struciure was examined, the less satisfactory this interpretation appeared to be. Tapering buttresses attached to some of the ancillary buildings (pl. XXIX, 1) seemed unlikely to be Roman, and, although water was no doubt necessary for a gymnasium/ palaestra, the presence of structures that held water-raising wheels pointed to the need for very large quantities of water indeed (I believe there were emplacements for several wheels, but cannot remember for sure, having only a photographic record of two: pl. XXIX, 2).

Concerning palaestrae, there are some references to this type of building in the papyri. Ignoring documents without known provenance and those of Ptolemaic date (mainly concerning Philadel- phia and Alexandria), a palaestra is recorded in a papyrus only at Heracleopolis Magna,3 but palaestrae are mentioned in documents found at Theadelphia4 and at an uncertain place within the

6 See G. Daressy, Statues de divinites, I-II (CG; Cairo, 1905-6), 329 (CG 39306), a statue of Isis and Horus dedicated by Redi-Khonsu with the nomen of Psammetichus I, II or III. The modelling of the Petrie statue shows considerable similarities to another figure mentioned by Daressy (ibid. 322, pl. Ixi (CG 39283)).

7 Ibid. 74 (CG 38245), a bronze statue of Osiris dedicated by Padi-Bast with the prenomens of both Psammetichus I and Apries.

1 M. Manfredi and A. Pericoli, Carta di Antinoupolis, 1:4000 (Florence, 1998), published as an additional aid to the exhibition on Antinoopolis held at Florence at the time of the papyrological congress, the catalogue of which is L. Del Francia Barocas (ed.), Antinoe cent' anni dopo (Florence, 1998).

2 I am very grateful to Dominic Rathbone for giving me a copy of the Antinoopolis plan. I would also like to thank Lucilla Burn, Andrew Meadows and Dirk Obbink for help in various ways. 3 A. Lukaszewicz, Les edifices publics dans les villes de l'Egypte romaine (Warsaw, 1986), 59; E. G. Turner, The Hibeh Papyri, II (EES Greco-Roman Memoirs 32; London, 1955), no. 217, line 38 (AD 176-80).

4 T. Kalen et al., Berliner Leihgabe griechischer Papyri (Uppsala, 1932), no. 17, line 12 (AD 164).



PLATE XXVIII

1. UC 42553, right side 2. UC 42553, back

- liraIra - . ... . .

3. UC 42553, left side 4. UC 42553, front

A SAITE FIGURE OF ISIS IN THE PETRIE MUSEUM (pp. 232-5)

- - -



Documents

A Saite Figure of Isis in the Petrie Museum