<em>Relief of Akhty-hotep</em>, ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E. Limestone, 36 1/8 x 23 11/16 in. (91.8 x 60.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 57.178. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 57.178_SL1.jpg)

Relief of Akhty-hotep, ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E. Limestone, 36 1/8 x 23 11/16 in. (91.8 x 60.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 57.178. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 57.178_SL1.jpg)

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I want to know why this shows both his legs as left legs instead of as left and right legs. Does it refer to the Asian culture saying male is on the left and female is on the right?

That's a great catch. Often times in Egyptian art there is more emphasis on portraying the most characteristic view of a feature, sacrificing realism. In this case the foot is most characteristically portrayed and easily identified when rendered in this way with the toes facing inward. It makes the figure’s feet look more like the hieroglyph for “b” that is based on a foot.

You can see a break with this tradition in the relief of the "Sandaled Feet of Queen Nefertiti" in the Amarna gallery. She has two different feet and we get a rare glimpse of all five toes on the right foot.

Ok, thanks a lot!

Just read about Egyptian depictions of feet. It's a strange place to get hung up in terms of drawing, is there anything deeper there?

Not necessarily deeper, but it starts to make more sense when you consider all of the other "hang ups" in ancient Egyptian drawing.

The way that ancient Egyptians rendered people in two dimensions is often described as "isolation and reassemblage." They were more interested in showing a complete body than a realistic one. Notice the legs don't line up with torso which doesn't line up with the head. With feet in particular, the idea was the one side of the foot was more characteristic of a foot than the other, so they always showed that side.

Yeah the legs isolated make sense. Weird scene. Trying to imagine the mindset, a trip.

They certainly had different priorities!

What does this bird mean?

This bird and the symbols around it are all hieroglyphs spelling out this man's name, Akhty-hotep.

This bird sign is based on a crested ibis and it stands for the "akh" sound at the beginning of his name. Hieroglyphs can be written either from right to left or left to right. You always read towards the faces of the animal and people signs; here it is right to left.

Thank you so much!

You're welcome! You'll see hieroglyphs on most of the ancient Egyptian art in our collection. The written name was the most important way to identify a subject!

Why do the feet in the “Relief of Akhty-hotep” show only the arches?

Akhty-hotep's two left feet were a common feature of ancient Egyptian art. The ancient Egyptians were more interested in completeness and communication rather than realism.

Ancient Egyptians felt that this angle, showing the arch, was the most descriptive angle to show a foot and therefore rendered all two dimensional feet in this way.

If you take a look at the "Royal Feet" in the Amarna Period gallery, you'll notice that the royal woman is shown with two different feet, a unique feature of art during that time period.

Was this originally made in blocks or were the straight line cracks made later in time?

They were originally made with blocks!

The carved decoration would be made on a surface that was first and foremost, a wall, made of stone blocks.

Thanks!

Relief of Akhty-hotep

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

This sculpture in relief depicts Akhtyhotep, an Old Kingdom official, in a simple wrapped kilt and a short, curly wig. The tall walking stick and paddle-like baton indicate his official status. Akhty-hotep’s name appears in hieroglyphs in front of his face and also, partially preserved, above him to the left. It was believed that, in addition to tomb statues, images like this one could house the dead owner’s spirit. The high, bold carving typifies relief of the early Old Kingdom.

MEDIUM Limestone

Place Excavated: Saqqara, Egypt

DATES ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 3 to early Dynasty 4

PERIOD Early Old Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 36 1/8 x 23 11/16 in. (91.8 x 60.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 57.178

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Limestone relief of the royal official Akhet-hotep. In high relief, Akhet-hotep, standing facing right, supporting plain staff in left hand, and sekhem-scepter in right. Curled wig, plain skirt. Above the representation, remains of three columns of titles in very bold hieroglyphs; name of owner in raised relief in front of face. Condition: Relief is assembled from separate blocks. These blocks have been cut to maximum thickness of about 4.2 cm. Sections lost from left edge (center and base) and from lower right edges. Cracked in various sections with minor breaks along cracks. Remains of green paint around eye. Lips chipped. Relief is in fragile condition and crossed with cracks. As both long sides of the relief show traces of walls at right angles to the main face of this relief, it must have come from the left side, or inlet, of a false door or similar in the tomb.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Relief of Akhty-hotep, ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E. Limestone, 36 1/8 x 23 11/16 in. (91.8 x 60.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 57.178. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 57.178_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 57.178_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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