<em>Relief Representation of a Battle Scene</em>, ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E. Sandstone, pigment, 8 11/16 x 10 1/4 x 11/16 in. (22 x 26 x 1.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 77.130. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 77.130_PS22.jpg)

Relief Representation of a Battle Scene, ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E. Sandstone, pigment, 8 11/16 x 10 1/4 x 11/16 in. (22 x 26 x 1.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 77.130. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 77.130_PS22.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Relief Representation of a Battle Scene

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The walls of New Kingdom temples frequently show the king triumphing over Egypt's enemies. Such reliefs either depict idealized versions of actual historical events or serve as propaganda warning foreigners of the inevitable destruction that would follow acts of hostility against Egypt. Symbolically, these scenes represent the victory of Egyptian universal order over the forces of chaos living in foreign lands. In such battle scenes, the Egyptian army, as the defender of Ma'at, is invariably arranged in orderly groupings while the enemy scatters in disarray.

This block has recently been identified as coming from a monumental wall relief commemorating a military victory in Syria by King Tutankhamun. On the accompanying reconstruction of the entire scene, we see a fundamental convention of Egyptian art: relative size implying relative importance. The king, who coordinates all attempts to preserve Ma 'at, is far larger than his chariot forces, infantry, and fan-bearers. Note how the Syrians lie in a confused mass under the ordered charge of the Egyptian chariots.

MEDIUM Sandstone, pigment

Place Made: Thebes (Karnak), Egypt

DATES ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 8 11/16 x 10 1/4 x 11/16 in. (22 x 26 x 1.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 77.130

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Relief Representation of a Battle Scene, ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E. Sandstone, pigment, 8 11/16 x 10 1/4 x 11/16 in. (22 x 26 x 1.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 77.130. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 77.130_PS22.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 77.130_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.