Ptolemaic Period, ca. 305-30 BCE
Limestone, 17.2 x 25.8 x 2 cm (6 13/16 x 10 3/16 x 13/16 in.)
Museum Purchase Fund, Art Institute of Chicago #1920.251
Photo © Joan Ann Lansberry
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Ptolemaic Period, ca. 305-30 BCE Limestone, 17.2 x 25.8 x 2 cm (6 13/16 x 10 3/16 x 13/16 in.) Museum Purchase Fund, Art Institute of Chicago #1920.251 Photo © Joan Ann Lansberry |
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(From info card) "These plaques were 'sculptor's models,' used as prototypes by teams of sculptors when carving a tomb's walls. They particularily interested Breasted because, as he said, they were 'permanent model studies on which the artist spent much time.' Some (for example 1920.253 and 1920.256) represent hieroglyphic signs; others (1920.251 and 1920.257) were models for figures that would appear in tomb decoration. In describing them to the Art Institute president, he emphasized their aesthetic qualities, saying that they were 'very beautifully executed, with much refinement and detail.'" |
