Manual of Egyptian archæology and guide to the study of antiquities in EgyptFor the use of students and travellers . traits of the reigning sovereign, butconventional types without life or vigour, while,with regard to the secondary personages and theaccessories, the only anxiety was to crowd themtogether as closely as possible. This was not owingto lack of taste ; these changes were due to the pre-valence of a religious idea, the sole object of thedecoration was not merely to please the eye ; whenapplied to a piece of furniture, to a house, a temple, ora coffin, it possessed magical virtue, of
Manual of Egyptian archæology and guide to the study of antiquities in EgyptFor the use of students and travellers . traits of the reigning sovereign, butconventional types without life or vigour, while,with regard to the secondary personages and theaccessories, the only anxiety was to crowd themtogether as closely as possible. This was not owingto lack of taste ; these changes were due to the pre-valence of a religious idea, the sole object of thedecoration was not merely to please the eye ; whenapplied to a piece of furniture, to a house, a temple, ora coffin, it possessed magical virtue, of which everybeing or action represented, every word inscribed orpronounced at the time of consecration, determinedthe power and character. These scenes were there-fore amulets as well as decorations. So long as theylasted, they secured to the god the benefit of thehomage rendered, or the sacrifice offered by the king. ORDER OF WALL SCENES. 117 and they confirmed to the king, living or dead, thefavour granted him by the god in recompense for his W m ^ ^ d ?v? vi r^ t^ ^ t^ ^i H ij^¥^ t=^ tAii,^t-^4^i-^i-^ ^^\. ^fffBftJ ^^1 .iU Fig. 112.—Wall of a chamber at Dendcrah, to show thearrangement of the tableaux. piety, they preserved the wall on which they werecarved from destruction, and also the whole area of Il8 RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE. the temple to which the wall belonged. During theEighteenth Dynasty it was supposed that one or twoamulets of this kind were sufficient to obtain thedesired effect, but later it was thought advisable toincrease the number, and as many were added ascould find room on the walls. One medium-sizedchamber of Edfu or Denderah furnishes more materialfor study than the hypostyle hall of Karnak, and thechapel of Antoninus Pius at Philae, had it been com-pleted, would have contained more scenes than thesanctuary at Luxor with the passages surrounding the extraordinary variety of subjectsdealt with, one is tempted to think that the decorationdo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernew, booksubjectart
