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Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

artsy.net

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Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#11

Post by ehnto »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #4

I'm not sure the hypothesis stands up to scrutiny (apart from being based solely off of conjecture, that is). In the article, they link to the MOMA exhibit captioned "Yuny and his wife" [0], which depicts a male with a smashed-off nose seated next to, presumably, his wife with her nose very much intact. If robbers smashed the noses off of statues so their likenesses would not live in the afterlife to seek revenge, wh…

Why would they spite someone they had no agenda against? It almost supports the opposite of your argument that one was left and one was not.

I don't know that I believe the article either mind you.

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#12

Post by astazangasta »

jedberg wrote: post #10
ComputerGuru wrote: post #4

I'm not sure the hypothesis stands up to scrutiny (apart from being based solely off of conjecture, that is). In the article, they link to the MOMA exhibit captioned "Yuny and his wife" [0], which depicts a male with a smashed-off nose seated next to, presumably, his wife with her nose very much intact. If robbers smashed the noses off of statues so their likenesses would not live in the afterlife to seek revenge, wh…

Edit: Apparently Egypt was more progressive than I thought. Women did have more rights than most ancient societies. Women were considered property of their husbands. If the husband is dead the wife can’t do anything because she is masterless.

This is dead wrong. Property passed matrilineally and women had many rights in ancient Egypt.

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#13

Post by trevyn »

vrinimi wrote: post #6

A conjecture that I entertain, allowing a bit of validity to Julian Jaynes' "bicameral mind" theory: Egyptians back then could literally hear commands from statues as representations of the gods. Maybe breaking off the noses muted the voices (not sure why noses and not mouths). Warring factions might have wanted to mute opposing gods and install their own.

That’s a really interesting hypothesis. Breaking off the nose is probably easier to do and maybe was a sufficient “this is not a real person” mental input to damp the response.

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#14

Post by avree »

jedberg wrote: post #10
ComputerGuru wrote: post #4

I'm not sure the hypothesis stands up to scrutiny (apart from being based solely off of conjecture, that is). In the article, they link to the MOMA exhibit captioned "Yuny and his wife" [0], which depicts a male with a smashed-off nose seated next to, presumably, his wife with her nose very much intact. If robbers smashed the noses off of statues so their likenesses would not live in the afterlife to seek revenge, wh…

Edit: Apparently Egypt was more progressive than I thought. Women did have more rights than most ancient societies. Women were considered property of their husbands. If the husband is dead the wife can’t do anything because she is masterless.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_ancient_Egypt

http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777190170/

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#15

Post by EGreg »

vrinimi wrote: post #6

A conjecture that I entertain, allowing a bit of validity to Julian Jaynes' "bicameral mind" theory: Egyptians back then could literally hear commands from statues as representations of the gods. Maybe breaking off the noses muted the voices (not sure why noses and not mouths). Warring factions might have wanted to mute opposing gods and install their own.

Literally hear? Citation needed!

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#16

Post by circlefavshape »

vrinimi wrote: post #6

A conjecture that I entertain, allowing a bit of validity to Julian Jaynes' "bicameral mind" theory: Egyptians back then could literally hear commands from statues as representations of the gods. Maybe breaking off the noses muted the voices (not sure why noses and not mouths). Warring factions might have wanted to mute opposing gods and install their own.

"Egyptians back then could literally hear commands from statues as representations of the gods"

What?

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#17

Post by [deleted] »

intrasight wrote: post #9

I had the question, after visiting Rome, of why so many Roman statues lacked a penis. Found this. But I'm sure that in many cases it was just due to the fact that appendages on statues are more easily damaged - whether nose or penis. http://ourromanadventure.blogspot.com/2009/10/where-are-all-...

[deleted]

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#18

Post by dharmon »

intrasight wrote: post #9

I had the question, after visiting Rome, of why so many Roman statues lacked a penis. Found this. But I'm sure that in many cases it was just due to the fact that appendages on statues are more easily damaged - whether nose or penis. http://ourromanadventure.blogspot.com/2009/10/where-are-all-...

I remember reading Da Vinci Code (awful book) and he (the protagonist) made this claim, that there was a "Great Demasculation" to remove penises from statues.

I tried looking it up but couldn't find anything to support that this was true. But this was 2003 so information on the web wasn't as plentiful or easy to find.

A simpler explanation is, as you say, that they are just more easily broken.

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#19

Post by [deleted] »

astazangasta wrote: post #12
jedberg wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Edit: Apparently Egypt was more progressive than I thought. Women did have more rights than most ancient societies. Women were considered property of their husbands. If the husband is dead the wife can’t do anything because she is masterless.

This is dead wrong. Property passed matrilineally and women had many rights in ancient Egypt.

[deleted]

Re: Why Do So Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

#20

Post by LeanderK »

> Such a practice seems especially outrageous to modern viewers, considering our appreciation of Egyptian artifacts as masterful works of fine art, but Bleiberg is quick to point out that “ancient Egyptians didn’t have a word for ‘art.’ They would have referred to these objects as ‘equipment.’” When we talk about these artifacts as works of art, he said, we de-contextualize them.

this is very interesting and I have never thought about it in this way. One could really think of it as equipment, serving a real purpose (or having served and now makes a nice peace of a wall somewhere else).

I wonder what the acient egyptions would think of our appreciation of their statues?

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