| Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh | |
| A Special Exhibition Review by Stan Parchin |
About the show:
Queens have seldom played decisive roles in the known course of antiquity. A handful have distinguished themselves, sometimes due to their notoriety. Only recently has the skillful scholarship of art historians and archaeologists allowed their personalities to emerge and take their rightful places in the historical record. Nefertiti (ca. 1352-1336 B.C.), the beguilingly beautiful consort of ancient Egypt's monotheistic "heretic pharaoh" Akhenaten, and the highly romanticized Cleopatra (r. 51-30 B.C.) number amongst these women. Not one distinguished herself for her accomplishments as did Hatshepsut. Indeed, in a time of relative peace and prosperity for Egypt, she fostered a cultural renaissance rarely seen in the ancient world.
Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's second-floor Tisch Galleries, is a large-scale special exhibition devoted to the artistic achievements during this monarch's reign. After its New York outing (in honor of The Met's Egyptian Art Department's centennial), the show will change locale to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, its final destination.
Despite the vagaries of time, the story of Hatshepsut (reigned ca. 1479-1458 B.C.) has not been silenced. Indeed, The Metropolitan's majestic installation of this show (previously seen at the M.H. de Young Museum in San Francisco, California), in nine lapis lazuli blue and light gray galleries, describes her wondrous rule through almost 300 masterworks and artifacts from public and private collections worldwide. Together they display the splendor of ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty in its early years. The spacious galleries are divided topically into sections that deal with: Hatshepsut's predecessors; the queen's rule as pharaoh; the role of her steward, Senenmut; Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri; and Thutmose III, her successor.
The principal queen of her half-brother, Pharaoh Thutmose II (r. 1492-1479 B.C.), Hatshepsut acted as regent for her young stepson-nephew, Thutmose III (r. 1479-1425 B.C.), after her husband's untimely demise, possibly from a skin disease. Despite Egypt's male-dominated political hierarchy, for unknown reasons, she soon succeeded in adopting the title of pharaoh, which made her senior co-ruler with the prince. This act, unconventional by ancient Egyptian standards, precipitated a change in the sculptural representations of the queen. Hatshepsut managed to accomplish that artistic metamorphosis during her reign with seemingly little or no problem, as evidenced in this show.
In the exhibition's first gallery is a limestone Bust of a Queen, carved more than 75 years before Hatshepsut's ascendancy to the throne. She is questionably identified as Ahmose-Nefertari, the principal wife of Pharaoh Ahmose I (r. 1550-1525 B.C.), the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The bust's fragmentary nature and other characteristics suggest that it was probably part of a statue depicting a royal couple. The large braided wig that frames her face is covered by a distinctive vulture headdress reserved for queens. Her crisply outlined eyes and other superbly modeled facial features easily date this dignified sculpture to the Early Eighteenth Dynasty, carved during the queen's lifetime or shortly thereafter.
Bust of a Queen (Ahmose-Nefertari?)
Early 18th Dynasty, probably reign of Ahmose I
(r. 1550-1525 B.C.)
Western Thebes, Asasif
Indurated limestone with traces of paint
H. 28 cm (11 in.), W. 17.8 cm (7 in.), D. 10 cm (4 in.)
Rogers Fund, 1916 (16.10.224)
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Hatshepsut as King, shown exclusively in the New York version of the exhibition, is made of hard, highly polished cream-colored limestone. This beautiful sculpture of the seated queen as king has significant symbolic value. It's thought to have originally stood inside a chapel, ready to receive ritual offerings from worshipers. Hatshepsut's small chin is raised ever so slightly so that her almond-shaped eyes do not connect directly with the viewer. The queen's femininely slender arms and smooth rounded breasts contrast sharply with the masculine nemes headdress and pendant bull's tail, both reserved for pharaohs. The rearing protective uraeus (divine cobra reserved for royalty) that was once part of the statue's striped headcloth has been lost. At the base of the sculpture is an incised depiction of ancient Egypt's traditional enemies upon whom Hatshepsut's feet firmly rest, perhaps a reference to her dominance over them.
Hatshepsut as King
Early 18th Dynasty, joint reign of Hatshepsut
and Thutmose III (1479-1458 B.C.)
Western Thebes, Deir el-Bahri
Crystalline (indurated) limestone, painted
H. 195 cm (76 3/4 in.), W. 49 cm (19 1/2 in.),
D. 114 cm (44 7/8 in.)
Rogers Fund, 1929 29.3.2
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Showcased alone in the exhibition's introductory gallery is a powerful and enigmatic statue of Hatshepsut in a Devotional Attitude. Very little of this granite composition indicates the female gender of the pharaoh other than one complete and
some partial inscriptions. Its muscular body in a striding stance is accompanied by a nemes headcloth, ceremonial beard and starched front of its short kilt, all attributes of a king. The placement of Hatshepsut's hands with palms down on her triangular apron was a sign of devotional reverence toward a deity. It was made by Egyptian kings in their religious role as intermediary between the gods and the people.
Hatshepsut in a Devotional Attitude
Early 18th Dynasty, joint reign of Hatshepsut
and Thutmose III (1479-1458 B.C.)
Western Thebes, Deir el-Bahri
Granite
H. (without base) 242 cm (8 ft. 2 in.), W. 74 cm (29 1/8 in.),
D. 111 cm (43 3/4 in.)
Rogers Fund, 1928 (28.3.18)
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Hatshepsut was assisted during her reign by an able court official named Senemut. Of humble origins, this commoner rose through the ranks of the administration to become Hatshepsut's privileged advisor and the tutor of Neferure, her only daughter. He held more than 80 titles that gave him extensive control of the kingdom's resources and those associated with Amun, the Egyptian state god. It was from this great Theban deity that Hatshepsut claimed direct descent in order to legitimize her role as pharaoh. Senemut was responsible for many building projects in his role as chief royal architect, one of which may have been Hatshepsut's extraordinary mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri.
The intact and relatively unscathed portrait statue of Senenmut Kneeling with Uraeus Cryptogram was carved from a grayish green stone called metagraywacke. As he gently kneels, Senemut holds a large cryptogram or emblem with hidden meaning. A cobra's head supports a solar disk and cowhorns. The serpent rests on two upraised arms, the hieroglyphic symbol for the ka or soul. In its entirety, this mysterious composite image was meant to support life and protect one from evil magically. Also, the cobra, arms and sun disk together hieroglyphically spell Hatshepsut's coronation or throne name, Maatkare. Possibly after her demise or by priests hostile to the cult of Amun, Senemut's name was carefully and intentionally erased from the sculpture's inscriptions.
Senenmut Kneeling with Uraeus Cryptogram
Early 18th Dynasty, joint reign of Hatshepsut
and Thutmose III (1479-1458 B.C.)
Western Thebes, Deir el-Bahri
Metagraywacke
H. 41.6 cm (16 3/8 in.), W. 15.2 cm (6 in.), D. 30. 4 cm (12 in.)
Kimbell Art Worth, Fort Worth AP 85.2
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Hatshepsut's terraced funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri in western Thebes was called Djeser-djeseru ("Holy of Holies"). A stupendous feat of exquisite design, the mortuary complex successfully combines sculpture and monumental architecture while integrating the temple into its serene, desert cliffside setting. The overall appearance of Hatshepsut's breathtaking temple was partially influenced by that of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II (r. 2051-2000 B.C.), her Middle Kingdom predecessor. The central axis of Hatshepsut's edifice was dedicated to the god Amun. In other locations within the complex were shrines to Re, the sun god; Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification who protected the dead; and Hathor, the sky goddess represented as either a woman or a cow. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was responsible for the excavation of Hatshepsut's temple in the 1920s and the 1930s. Installed are some of the sculptures from that effort in two galleries whose modern architectural elements cleverly imitate Djeser-djeseru's tall pillared façade and the west wall of the temple's upper terrace.
The temples of Mentuhotep II and Hatshepsut
at Deir el-Bahri in 1953, before restoration.
The temple of Thutmose III lies between them, unexcavated.
Photo: Artur Brack
Hatshepsut left Thutmose III, her nephew and successor, a relatively stable kingdom to govern. But for reasons still unclear, he ordered the systematic removal and destruction of all male representations of his aunt some 20 years after her death. This proscription of Hatshepsut included the deliberate obliteration of her name, titles and kingly images on all temple walls. The thousands of sculptural fragments, discarded in two depressions near Djeser-djeseru, were rediscovered by The Metropolitan's staff and reconstructed, either partially or in whole. One of these statues, a Colossal Sphinx of Hatshepsut, is presently located in The Museum's first-floor Great Hall. Two similar sculptures are in the exhibition proper. The Met's granite Colossal Sphinx, probably one of a pair, is a lion with Hatshepsut's face, nemes headdress and ceremonial beard. Its bull tail represented the procreative power of ancient Egyptian royalty. This protector of the royal funerary temple was probably located originally on Djeser-djeseru's lower terrace, arranged symmetrically with its counterparts.
Colossal Sphinx of Hatshepsut
Early 18th Dynasty, joint reign of Hatshepsut
and Thutmose III (1479-1458 B.C.)
Western Thebes, Deir el-Bahri
Granite
H. 164 cm (64 5/8 in.), W. 90 cm (35 3/8 in.),
D. 343 cm (11 ft. 3 in.)
Rogers Fund, 1931 (31.3.166)
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The sequence of objects in The Met's version of the show does not strictly mirror their order of presentation in the catalogue. Fortunately, this difference is not a hindrance to one's appreciation of the artworks as displayed in both the galleries and the book. Through magnificent examples of sculpture, reliefs, exceptionally crafted jewelry, ceremonial objects and those of everyday use, Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh poignantly describes the artistic innovations of Egypt's Early Eighteenth Dynasty. Despite the damnatio memoriae that her unconventional pharaonic images suffered after her death, their resurrection and reassembly by diligent scholars have allowed us to recognize and fully admire the diverse and splendid achievements that marked Hatshepsut's reign.
Click here for a gallery of additional works of art in the special exhibition.
About the catalogue:
Roehrig, Catharine, Renée Dreyfus and Cathleen Keller (eds.).
Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh (exh. cat.).
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005.
This highly readable volume is destined quickly to become an authoritative text on art from the age of Hatshepsut.
For further reading:
Kapel, Anne K. (ed.).
Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven (exh. cat.).
New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1997.
This book describes more than 100 examples of Egyptian art from 3000 B.C. to 300 B.C., all dealing with women and derived from 25 American public and private collections. Together the essays shed valuable light on goddesses, female royalty, aristocrats, priestesses and the afterlife.
"Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh" is on view from March 28 through July 9, 2006 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82 Street, New York, NY 10028-0198 (Telephone: 212-535-7710; Website: www.metmuseum.org). The museum is open Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM and Friday and Saturday from 9:30 AM to 9:00 PM. SUGGESTED admission is $15.00 for adults. Paid parking is available in The Museum Garage.
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From your Guide: Stan Parchin, Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, is a specialist in ancient, late-medieval and Renaissance art and history, and a regular contributor to About Art History. You may read all of his Special Exhibition and Catalogue Reviews here.
