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Unknown Maker, Egyptian

Ptolemy II with Ritual Rattle (Sistrum)
Now On View

Description

Maker

Unknown Maker, Egyptian

Culture

Egyptian

Title

Ptolemy II with Ritual Rattle (Sistrum)

Period

Ptolemaic Period, reign of Ptolemy II

Year

285-246 BCE

Medium

  • granite

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • granite

Materials

red granite

Geography

Archaeological Site: From the Temple of Isis at Behbeit el Higara in the Nile Delta

Dimensions

68.6 x 71.1 cm (27 x 28 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Band of hieroglyphics in lower right corner

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

18.740

Type

  • Sculpture

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Books

Why Art Museums? The Unfinished Work of Alexander Dorner

Alexander Dorner's radical ideas about the purpose of museums and art, examined through his tenure as Director of the RISD Museum.

  • Books

Selected Works

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Egyptian Galleries
Jun 10, 2014

Label copy

The technique employed here is sunk relief, a method of stone carving used by the Egyptians to decorate temple walls. The depth of the sunk-relief carving would have created shadows in sunlight, allowing the details of the image to stand out far better than if they were painted or executed in raised relief. Here, the muscles of Ptolemy's torso and the shape of his face are clearly visible.

King Ptolemy II was of Macedonian rather than Egyptian descent, but this monument adheres to older Egyptian sculptural traditions, with the king's face shown in profile and his shoulders from the front. His body is an ideal of youth and strength, and he wears a traditional Egyptian crown. In his right hand he holds a sistrum, a rattle used in Egyptian ritual.

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Egyptian
Ptolemy II with Ritual Rattle (Sistrum), 285-246 BCE
Granite
68.6 x 71.1 cm (27 x 28 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 18.740

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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