The Arts of Making in Ancient Egypt : Voices, Images, and Objects of Material Producers 2000-1550 BC

This book provides an innovative analysis of the conditions of ancient Egyptian craftsmanship in the light of the archaeology of production, linguistic analysis, visual representation and ethnographic research. During the past decades, the “imaginative” figure of ancient Egyptian material producers has moved from “workers” to “artisans” and, most recently, to “artists”. In a search for a fuller understanding of the pragmatics of material production in past societies, and moving away from a series of modern preconceptions, this volume aims to analyse the mechanisms of material production in Egypt during the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1550 BC), to approach the profile of ancient Egyptian craftsmen through their own words, images and artefacts, and to trace possible modes of circulation of ideas among craftsmen in material production. The studies in the volume address the mechanisms of ancient production in Middle Bronze Age Egypt, the circulation of ideas among craftsmen, and the profiles of the people involved, based on the material traces, including depictions and writings, the ancient craftsmen themselves left and produced. Introduction 9 Sculpture workshops: who, where and for whom? 13 Simon Connor 13 The Artistic Copying Network Around the Tomb of Pahery in Elkab (EK3) 33 A New Kingdom case study 33 Alisee Devillers 33 Antiquity Bound to Modernity 51 The significance of Egyptian workers in modern archaeology in Egypt 51 Maximilian Georg 51 Epistemological Things! Mystical Things! 69 Towards an ancient Egyptian ontology 69 Amr El Hawary 69 Centralized and Local Production, Adaptation, and Imitation 83 Twelfth Dynasty offering tables 83 Alexander Ilin-Tomich 83 To show and to designate 103 Attitudes towards representing craftsmanship and material culture in Middle Kingdom elite tombs 103 Claus Jurman 103 Precious Things? 119 The social construction of value in Egyptian society, from production of objects to their use (mid 3rd – mid 2nd millennium BC) 119 Christelle Mazé 119 Faience Craftsmanship in the Middle Kingdom 141 A market paradox: inexpensive materials for prestige goods 141 Gianluca Miniaci 141 Leather Processing, Castor Oil, and Desert/Nubian Trade at the Turn of the 3rd/2nd Millennium BC 161 Some speculative thoughts on Egyptian craftsmanship 161 Juan Carlos Moreno García 161 Languages of Artists: closed and open channels 177 Stephen Quirke 177 Craft Production in the Bronze Age 199 A comparative view from South Asia 199 Shereen Ratnagar 199 The Egyptian Craftsman and the Modern Researcher 213 The benefits of archeometrical analyses 213 Patricia Rigault* and Caroline Thomas** 213 The Representation of Materials, an Example of Circulations of Formal Models among Workmen 227 An insight into the New Kingdom practices 227 Karine Seigneau 227 Staging Restricted Knowledge 241 The sculptor Irtysen’s self-presentation (ca. 2000 BC) 241 Andréas Stauder 241 The Nubian Mudbrick Vault 275 A Pharaonic building technique in Nubian village dwellings of the early 20th Century 275 Lilli Zabrana 275 Lege pagina 287 Lege pagina 2 Introduction......Page 9 Simon Connor......Page 13 Alisee Devillers......Page 33 Maximilian Georg......Page 51 Amr El Hawary......Page 69 Alexander Ilin-Tomich......Page 83 Claus Jurman......Page 103 Christelle Mazé......Page 119 Gianluca Miniaci......Page 141 Juan Carlos Moreno García......Page 161 Stephen Quirke......Page 177 Shereen Ratnagar......Page 199 Patricia Rigault* and Caroline Thomas**......Page 213 Karine Seigneau......Page 227 Andréas Stauder......Page 241 Lilli Zabrana......Page 275 Lege pagina......Page 287 Lege pagina......Page 2