Musicians
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
We can see portions of the faces of four musicians on this sunk-relief fragment. The indIvidual on the far left plays a double flute; the small lyre strummed by a graceful hand belongs to a figure no longer preserved. These musicians probably entertained at a royal banquet depicted on a temple or palace wall.
Caption
Musicians, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 9 1/4 x 5 1/8 x 10 1/2 in. (23.5 x 13 x 26.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 36.882. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.36.882_wwg7.jpg)
Title
Musicians
Date
ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.
Dynasty
late Dynasty 18
Period
New Kingdom, Amarna Period
Medium
Limestone, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
9 1/4 x 5 1/8 x 10 1/2 in. (23.5 x 13 x 26.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society
Accession Number
36.882
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
Is there any particular reason that eyes in Egyptian depictions are so elongated?
It really was a stylistic choice; you seem pretty savvy so I'm sure you've noticed that many of the motifs remain similar throughout the history of ancient Egypt in depictions of people.However, you are in the Amarna Gallery which is an interesting 'break' in these stylistic choices. The pharaoh at the time, Akhenaten, changed the religious system as well as how he, as a pharaoh, was depicted. You can find a bust of him in the gallery where his body is 'rounder' than earlier or later depictions of pharaohs.
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