April 04, 2004
Full-frontal portrait of pharaoh (3500BC)
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Galan believes that it may have been a rough drawing carried out by an art student, or a sketch for a statue carving.
Marcel Maree, an Egyptologist at the British Museum in London, agrees with the second interpretation. "I'm sure it's a study for a carving of a statue," he told New Scientist, pointing to the presence of a red grid across the image. This device, still used by artists today, would have helped the sculptor transfer the image from the drawing on to the stone to be carved.
Maree also agrees with the Spanish team's dating and believes that the figure in the drawing is indeed Tuthmosis III. The portrait will go on display in Luxor Museum in the next few months.
Posted by Dienekes at April 4, 2004 07:58 AM | PermaLinkComments