Feucht, Erika

Propylaeum-DOK

A G O D ' S H E A D I N H E I D E L B E R G 
Erika F e u c h t 
Agyptologisches Institut der Universitat Heidelberg 
In the catalogue of the Heidelberg University Col­
lection, I could only give a short descript ion and a 
f ron t view of a head m a d e of quartzite. I dated it 
in the era of Thutmose IV.1 Although it has been 
greatly damaged , its high quality can still be seen. 
Therefore I should like to present a detailed analy­
sis with a new in terpre ta t ion to the specialist of 
Egyptian statuary, hop ing for his approval . 
Inv. no.: 300; height: 21 cm; width: 17 cm; brown 
silicated sands tone (i.e., brown quartzite); Bought 
by H e r m a n n Ranke in Cairo, 1912. 
Description 
The head is enclosed by a t r ipart i te wig, its side 
s t r a n d s fal l ing b e h i n d the ears d o w n to t he 
breas t (figs. 1­2). The left s t rand is broken off. 
O n top of the head, a uraeus fo rms a symmetr ical 
r ecumben t figure shaped like an eight. Its hood , 
above the head ' s f ron t , is broken off, a n d its 
tail runs out between two pro t rud ing r o u n d re­
mains of a fo rmer headdress, which gradually rose 
f r o m the wig (fig. 3). Widen ing at the sides, the 
remains of the headdress begin in the middle of 
the peruke above the ears and curve toward the 
h ind par t of the head, which has been broken 
off. 
The delicately modeled face, with its full cheeks, 
tapers toward the chin, thus gaining the shape of 
a heart . The hair l ine of the wig is pulled deep in to 
the brow. Rising f r o m the root of the nose, the 
a rch ing eyebrows c o n t i n u e in b r o a d cosmet ic 
bands parallel to the cosmetic lines extending out 
f r o m the outer corners of the eyes well into the 
temples. Below them, the elongated lightly incised 
a lmond­shaped eyes with their fine r ims scarcely 
recede. The lower lid of the fully preserved right 
eye, slightly tilted at the nose, r u n s straight in its 
first th i rd , then rises towards the temples in the 
following two thirds, thus gaining an impress ion 
of obliqueness. Separated only by the raised edge 
of the upper lid, the slightly bulging eyeball leads 
on to the upper lid and cont inues across the brows 
to the low forehead. The eye scarcely s tands out 
between the lids. The cheeks fall back below the 
lower lid to rise again toward the cheekbones, set 
at the height of the nasal alae. 
The r emains of the fully damaged nose show 
that the nasal alae were not very wide. The lips 
t u rn upward in to a smile toward the drilled cor­
ners. A line seems to show the r im of the upper 
lip lowered at the ph i l t rum. But since this l ine 
descends before the corners of the mouth , it might 
only be a vein in the s tone having the f o r m of 
a lip line. Two lines slant ing sideways f r o m the 
lower lip m a r k off the chin. A r o u n d e d beard has 
been most ly hewn off by a blow f r o m the left side, 
which spared remains at the chin and along the 
throat . The straps holding it are incised up to the 
ear. The r o u n d u p p e r shell of the ear is pushed 
fo rward by the wig. The slim earlobes cling to the 
temples. The auricle is fo rmed like a pretzel tilting 
towards the audi tory canal. The inner par t of the 
auricle is scarcely fo rmed out. 
Date 
The soft model ing of the face, with the high arch­
ing brows, r eminds one of the sphinx 's head in 
1 E. Feucht, Vom Nilzum Neckar (Berlin, Heidelberg, and 
N e w York, 1986), 69-70, no. 185. After her lecture on the stat­
uary of Thutmose IV at the Fourth International Congress 
of Egyptology in M u n i c h (abstract in: S. Schoske, Fourth 
International Congress of Egyptology, Munich, 26 August-
1 September 1985 [Munich, 1985], 34) I pointed out to Betsy 
Bryan an unpubl ished head at the Heidelberg col lect ion that 
she did not know. O n the tour through the German muse­
u m s after the congress , she had the opportuni ty to take a 
look at the head and agreed with m y dating it to the reign 
of Thutmose IV. In her publ icat ion on T h u t m o s e IV, she 
ment ions it as "Heidelberg. Rd. Gr. Head of goddess . U n i n ­
scribed" (B.M. Bryan, The Reign of Thutmose IV [Baltimore 
and London, 1991], Appendix II: Statuary, p. 212). 
Originalveröffentlichung in: Sue d’Auria (Hrsg.), Offerings to the Discerning Eye. An Egyptological Medley in Honor of. Jack, J. 
Josephson (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 38), Leiden/Boston 2010, S. 103-108
104 ERIKA F E U C H T 
I 
J* 
Fig. 1. Heidelberg Inv. no. 300, frontal view. Fig. 2. Heidelberg Inv. no. 300, side view. 
Fig. 3. Heidelberg Inv. no. 300, top view from behind. 
Munich, convincingly attributed to Amenhotep II 
(fig. 4).2 But, the slant of the slender almond-
shaped right eye, resulting from the regular ascent 
from the inner corner to the middle of the upper 
lid, points to a later period. The upper lid of Amen­
hotep II ascends in its first eighth to full height.3 
2 Inv. no. 500. H.­W. Miiller, "Ein agyptischer Konigs­
kopf des 15. Jahrhunderts v. Chr.," MJBK 3rd series, Bd. 3­4 
(1952­53), 67ff., especially Abb. 1 and 17. Miiller, Staatliche 
Sammlung Agyptischer Kunst, 2nd ed. (Munich, 1976), 85 
with other literature. 
1 Miiller, "Agyptischer Konigskopf." 
-v.- Jk 
ft 
Km 
Fig. 4. Munich Inv. no. 500: Amenhotep II. Courtesy Staat­
liche Sammlung Agyptische Kunst, Miinchen. 
However, the eye has not yet gained the size of 
the eye of Amenhotep III. This makes an attribu­
tion to the reign of Thutmose IV probable, which 
can be confirmed by reliefs of this ruler.4 The pro­
file line, which falls straight downward from the 
brow only to recede lightly at the chin, can be 
4 K. Mysliwiec, he portrait royal dans le bas-relief du 
Nouvel Empire, TCAM 18 (Varsovie, 1976), especially fig. 
122; cf. also figs. 117­119,121,126. Cf. Bryan, "Portrait Sculp­
ture of Thutmose IV," JARCE 24 (1987), 18, fig. 25 and p. 7, 
bark shrine of Thutmose IV. 
A GOD'S H E A D IN HEIDELBERG 105 
found on reliefs of this pharaoh.5 A comparison 
with the statuary of Thutmose IV shows a striking 
resemblance to the over-life-size standard bearer 
from Cairo (figs. 5-6).6 Both are made of quartzite. 
As on the wig of the Heidelberg head, the uraeus 
rises above the nemes headcloth, which is pulled 
low into the brow, and forms a recumbent figure 
eight just before the top of the head. In both faces, 
the eyebrows start at the root of the nose and run 
parallel to the eyelids and the cosmetic lines of the 
eyes into the temples. The slim, almond-shaped 
eye is slanting, and the flat part below the eyes 
leads to the cheekbones at the height of the nasal 
alae. These similarities can also be noticed on the 
head of Thutmose IV from Alexandria,7 and the 
bust of the same ruler from Medamud shows a less-
pronounced slant of the right eye and the recum­
bent figure eight of the uraeus.8 
Interpretation 
In 19861 suggested attributing the head in Heidel­
berg to the god Atum. Whether this interpreta­
tion can be upheld will be shown in the following 
lines. 
The three­stranded wig, worn by women and 
gods, and the rounded form of the beard point 
to a god, defined by the broken­off symbol on its 
head. To name a certain god, more criteria have 
5 Mysliwiec, Portrait royal figs. 116-118, 127. This form 
of the ear can be found beside others during the period of 
Hatshepsut to A m e n h o t e p III: ibid., figs. 44 (Hatshepsut) , 92 
(Thutmose III), 121 (Thutmose IV), 131, 149, 153 ( A m e n ­
hotep III). The uraeus coi l ing to form an eight above the 
h o o d is well attested during the 18th Dynasty until A m e n ­
hotep III (H. G. Evers, Staatausdem Stein 2 (Munich, 1929), 
27 §173). 
6 Cairo JE 43611. Cf. Bryan, Reign of Thutmose IV, pi. XV, 
fig. 41b. I thank M o h a m e d Saleh and the Cairo M u s e u m for 
the photos and the permiss ion to publish them. 
7 Alexandria 25792 (ibid., fig. 41a). 
s Louvre E 13889. Bryan, "Portrait Sculpture," 13, fig. 
16. 
9 E.g., 38.021. G. Daressy, Statues de Divinites, Catalogue 
general des antiquites egyptiennes du Musee du Caire (Cairo, 
1906), pi. II. Other examples , pi. I. 
10 J. Baines, "A Bronze Statuette of Atum," JEA 56 (1970), 
135ff.; the foot of the crown on the tripartite wig of a statue 
of A t u m from Herculaneum: K. Mysl iwiec , Studien zum 
GottAtum 2, H A B 8 (Hi ldesheim, 1979), no. 24, pis. XIII, 
XIV, XVb, XVIb. It can neither be Nefertem nor Khepre. In 
case of Nefertem, traces of the menit falling d o w n from the 
lotus f lower to the peruge should be seen (G. Roeder, Agyp-
tische Bronzefiguren [Berlin, 1956], §13­14) , and the clypeus 
of Khepre should show four outward bends. The body of a 
scarab is also s l immer than the remains of a crown on the 
Heidelberg head (CG 38.103: Daressy, Statues de Divinites, 
35 and pi. VIII). 
to be found. Certain gods can be excluded because 
of the two adjoining rounded remains at the front 
of the headdress. Those cannot be included in the 
high tolos with the sun disk in front of the high 
feathers worn by Amun­Re,9 nor in the double 
crown of Atum10 or the conical white crown worn 
by Osiris, either plain or enclosed by two feath­
ers." Neither can those remains be connected to 
the pair of high feathers covering the whole width 
on the tripartite wig of the primeval god,12 nor to 
the moon disk enclosed by the sickle placed at the 
back of the tripartite wig of the moon­god Iah or 
Osiris­Iah.13 
The rounded remains placed in front of the 
crown can only belong to a pair of ram's horns 
projecting to both sides. A little bronze figure 
shows Osiris mummified wearing the tripartite 
wig and the sun disk in front of the high feathers 
above the ram's horns. Incribed on it is a plea to 
Osiris for a long life for NN.14 On a relief in the 
temple of Sety I in Abydos, the king, as well as 
Osiris, is depicted wearing the atef crown above 
the tripartite wig and the rounded beard worn by 
gods (fig. 7).15 In the chapel of Osiris, Sety appears 
mummified like Osiris, holding the heka and the 
flagellum in his crossed hands and wearing the 
pair of high feathers and the sun disk with two 
uraei on top of the ram's horns above the tri­
partite wig. Thoth is raising the ankh sign to his 
nose.16 This shows that this kind of headwear was 
" CG. 38.237 et al„ Daressy, Statues de Divinites, pis. 
XIV­XXI, and The Brooklyn Museum Annual 8 (1966­67) , 
fig. p. 33. 
12 CG 38.068 = Daressy, Statues de Divinites, pi. VI. While 
Dietrich W i l d u n g and Matthias Seidel think of a primeval 
god, poss ibly A m u n ­ R e , because it was f o u n d in Karnak 
(Propylcien Kunstgeschichte, vol. 15, Das Alte Agypten, ed. 
C. Vandersleyen [Berlin, 1975], no. 18 and p. 246), Hermann 
Schlogel sees in it the god Tatenen {Der Gott Tatenen, O B O 
29 [Freiburg, 1980], 99­104 and figs. 9 and 14. For the crown, 
cf. p. 99ff.). 
13 Roeder, Bronzefiguren, §244­248; CG 38 .029­35 and 
38 .040­43 = Daressy, Statues de Divinites, pis. III­IV and 
XXIV. 
" Bronze figure, M u s e u m of Fine Arts, Boston 27.982 
= Roeder, Bronzefiguren, 210f. §248, fig. 25. Cf. p. 30, §48 
and the horizontal m u m m y with the tripartite wig and the 
ram's horns with the pair of high feathers in front of which 
the sun disk is set: CG 38.424, Daressy, Statues de Divinites, 
pi. XXIII. 
15 The king: A.H. Gardiner, ed., The Temple of King 
Sethos 1 at Abydos 4 (Chicago, 1957), pi. 44 ( second Hypo­
style Hall, east wall). Osiris: ibid., vol. 1 (Chicago, 1933), 
pi. 3 (chapel of Osiris). 
16 K. Lange and M. Hirmer, Agypten (Munich , 1955), 
pi. 210. 
106 ERIKA F E U C H T 
Fig. 5. Cairo JE 43611 Thutmose IV, frontal view. Courtesy Fig. 6. Cairo JE 43611 Thutmose IV, side view. Courtesy 
Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. 
i t Hi ^ m m IH t . Mt OA 
c^i!Mlt£> •' [ 
i T *8 BKO? 
JOT d 
> yr* 
A V 
all 
Fig. 7. Sety I in Abydos, Chapel of Osiris. 
A G O D ' S H E A D I N H E I D E L B E R G 107 
not reserved for gods, but could also be worn by 
the king or pharaoh who has been transformed 
into Osiris.17 A bronze figure of the Late Period, 
for example, shows the god dressed like the king, 
wearing a kilt. He is holding the flagellum in his 
right hand, and like the gods mentioned above, he 
wears a plaited beard of a god and the same head­
dress above the tripartite wig.18 Thus it is also pos­
sible to attribute the Heidelberg head to a figure 
of the king transformed into Osiris, wearing the 
flfe/crown on top of the ram's horns. 
On the reliefs of the temple of Karnak, the king 
is often depicted with the pair of high feathers 
or the atef crown above the ram's horns. On the 
obelisk of Hatshepsut in the Hypostyle Hall of 
Karnak, we can see Thutmose III with the feathers 
on top of the ram's horns.19 Thutmose too is often 
depicted with this crown, sometimes enlarged by 
the uraeus wearing the sun disk. But he wears it 
above the round wig or the netnes headcloth.20 A 
statue of Amenhotep II also shows the king with 
the nemes and the atef crown, from which the 
rams's horns extend to both sides.21 
A dyad in Copenhagen depicts Rameses II 
beside a god (fig. 8).22 The two figures are not 
totally in the round. Both lean against a slab. 
Above the nemes, the ruler wears the high feath­
ers with the uraeus in front of the sun disk. The 
god at his left side is shown with the sun disk in 
front of the high feathers above the tripartite wig. 
Above an inscription on the back side of the slab 
stela, there are two depictions of Rameses II offer­
ing to a god. On the right side, the god wearing 
the double crown is named Atum, while the god 
on the left side, who wears the same crown as the 
statue in front of the stela, is called Ptah­Tenen. 
The upper part of a similar dyad leaning against 
a slab stela belongs to a private collector in Basel 
(fig. 9).21 While the king wears the high feathers 
above the ram's horns on his round wig, they 
top the tripartite wig of the god, a uraeus rising 
at its front. The tail of the serpent runs straight 
backwards across the head. The ram's horns are 
0 v* 
m* w 
*1 
11 * M W > . 
Fig. 8. Copenhagen JEIN 1483. Dyad of Rameses II and 
Atum. 
17 The head of a king that Jack Josephson tentatively 
attributes to Nectanebo II, with a quest ion mark, probably 
wore the same crown above the nemes (J. Josephson, Egyp­
tian Royal Sculpture of the Late Period, 400­246 B.C. [Mainz 
1997], pi. l i b ) . 
18 CG 38.069 = Daressy, Statues de Divinites, pi. VI. 
19 Paul Barguet, Le Temple d'Amon­Re a Karnak, RAPH 
21 (Cairo, 1962), pi. XIII D. 
20 Mysliwiec, Portrait royal, pis. 125-128 and 121. Bryan, 
Reign of Thutmose IV, pi. VII, fig. 16 (with the sun disk in 
the cow's horns in front of the pair of feathers on the ram's 
horns) . H o r e m h e b wears them on top of the round wig 
(Barguet, Temple d'Amon­Re, pi. XXXIV A). 
21 Bryan, Reign of Thutmose IV, fig. 17. Barguet, Temple 
d'Amon­Re, pi. XIV D. 
22 J £ I N 1483= O. Koefoed-Petersen, Catalogue desstatues 
et statuettes egyptiennes (Copenhagen, 1950), 34, no. 58 and 
pi. 6 ; Schlogel, Tatenen, no. 9. Cf. M. Eaton-Krauss, "Ram-
esses-Re W h o Creates the Gods," in Fragments of a Shattered 
Visage, ed. E. Bleiberg and R. Freed, MIEAA 1 (Memphis , 
1991), 20fT. 
23 H. Schlogel , Geschenk des Nils (Basel, 1978), 59, no. 
186. Schlogel, Tatenen, fig. 14. 
108 ERIKA F E U C H T 
- V 
Summary 
Date 
The almond-shaped eyes of the Heidelberg head 
differ in form from those of Amenhotep II and 
have not reached the size of the eyes of Amen­
hotep III. The well­preserved oblique right eye 
of the Heidelberg head compares well with the 
eyes of Thutmose IV in relief and plastic. Like the 
eyes of the standard­bearer from Karnak, now in 
the Cairo Museum, it has a slant expressed by 
the lower eyelid ascending towards the side. Both 
faces show the uraeus forming a recumbent figure 
eight, the low forehead leading over to the high­
set eyes and the flat part below the eyes ending in 
the cheekbones at the height of the nostrils. 
Fig. 9. Basel, private collector. Dyad. 
situated in the middle of the wig, like the remains 
on the Heidelberg head. Unfortunately, I had no 
opportunity to see the statue in Basel with my 
own eyes. But the photo clearly shows an eleva­
tion below the ram's horns at the same spot as on 
the Heidelberg head. As Schlogel has shown, this 
crown, the feathers on top of the ram's horns, is 
often worn by Ptah­Tenen.24 Now it is possible to 
explain the fracture at the back of the head of the 
Heidelberg piece. The head once leaned against 
a slab stela, from which it has been hewn off. It 
belonged to a figure of the god Ptah­Tenen, who 
once stood at the side of Thutmose IV, both lean­
ing against a stela. 
Interpretation 
On the top of the head, remains of a mounting can 
be seen at the right side and two small rounded 
parts in the middle of the front side. They once 
belonged to a crown. The two rounded parts can 
only be interpreted as the remains of rams' horns 
once carrying the high feathers, with or without 
the sun disk in front of them. Though this crown 
can be worn by kings as well as Osiris and Ptah­
Tatenen, the king is very seldom shown with the 
tripartite wig and the rounded beard. A close look 
at the back of the head makes it clear that it must 
have been hewn off from a support, a back pillar 
or stela. Comparing it with a statue group now 
in Basel showing a king and Ptah­Tatenen lean­
ing against a stela, the remains on the head are so 
much alike that we can attribute the Heidelberg 
head to a group showing Ptah­Tatenen standing 
beside Thutmose IV. 
24 Daressy calls the figure of a god without inscription 
Tatenen because the feathers with the sun disk rise above 
the ram's horns (Tatenen, pi. VI, CG 38.069). 


A god’s head in Heidelberg

http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/2833/1/Feucht_A_Gods_Head_in_Heidelberg_2010.pdf

A god’s head in Heidelberg

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Propylaeum-DOK