Comparison of Egyptian Reliefs
...ue. While there is symbol of Egyptian god on the head of Khafre, there is no present of the god in the Portrait of Ni’Ankhesut which shows Ni’Ankhesut as an individual under the power of pharaoh who is powerful as the god. Very similar to the Portrait of Ni’Ankhesut, heads of two characters-Iamu, overseer of the prophets and superintendent of the wardrobe of the temple of Hathor, and his wife Oudjat- in the relief of the Funerary Stela of Iamu are drawn in profile while their bodies are seen from the front. The legs of Iamu are turned to the side, in the same direction as the head with one foot placed in front of the other same as the legs of Oudjat. Iamu does not wearing neither a false beard nor a headdress, he dose not seem to be a powerful individual as a pharaoh or Ni’Ankhesut. However, Iamu and Oudjat are depicted in a relatively bigger scale than two servants in the relief. By showing them a lot bigger than two servants, it emphasizes a fact that Iamu and Oudjat are people who are much more important and higher class people than two small and tiny servants who seem to be worthless in terms of the depiction of the relief. The painted limestone, Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt, from the mastaba of Ti shows an exactly same style, the frontalism, just like in previous two reliefs. Of course, heads of the characters of the relief – Ti, his men, and the hippopotamus – are drawn in profile while their bodies are shown from the front. Ti’ shoulder and head make right angles. Similar to Iamu and Oudjat from the Funerary stela of Iamu, Ti is enormous, while the slaves who row his boat are comparatively small which shows Ti’s social standing- a high official who is a lot powerful than the slaves. The stance of the body is severe, but the face of Ti is calm and serene. All of three Egyptian reliefs strictly adhere to the same style. It is truly remarkable that in thousands of years, there was the one and only one style which makes me adore Egyptian art more than before. By decorating the walls of their mastaba tombs with the reliefs of their appearance or activities of lives before the death, the high officials hope to have the same lives as they were living in afterlife. For example, in the Portrait of Ni’Ankhesut, Ni’Ankhesut is shown as a powerful individual as a pharaoh by wearing a striated wig, a false beard, and a broad collar. His appearance as a powerful individual in the relief reveals his desire to be powerful in afterlife, just like in this portrait of him before the death. He sits with a formal, stiff, and rigid posture which shows his dignity as a high official. Wishing to keep his dignity in afterlife, he purposely places this portrait of him to put on the wall of his tomb. In the Funerary stela of Iamu which is the relief that decorates the wall of the mastaba tomb of Iamu, Iamu implicates his desire of internal love from his wife, Oudjat. In the relief, Oidjat puts her hand on Iamu’s shoulder to show her love and support for her husband, Iamu. Iamu wishes this endless love and support from his wife, Oudjat, in the afterlife just like she was before his...