Pillar capital, Hathor, Dyn. 18

Pillar capital, Hathor, Dyn. 18
Period:Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Hatshepsut/Maatkare
Dating:1503 BC–1482 BC
Origin:Egypt, Upper Egypt, Deir El Bahri
Material:Stone (undetermined)
Physical:19.3cm. (7.5 in.) -
Catalog:STO.LL.00178

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Links to others from Dynasty 18

Alabaster unguent jar, Dyn. 18
Alabaster unguent vase, Dyn. 18
Amenhotep III as Amun-Min, Dyn 18
Amulet of Bes, Dyn. 18
Amulet of god Thoth as a Baboon, Dyn. 18
Anthropomorphic mirror handle, Dyn. 18
Basalt shawabti of a king, early Dyn. 18
Blue faience ring, udjat eye, Dyn. 18
Blue faience shawabti, Dyn.18
Bronze Horus sarcophagus, Dyn.18
Bronze insigna-pendant of Atum, Dyn. 18
Bronze of a king as Osiris, Dyn. 18
Bronze of Sakhmet seated, early Dyn. 18
Bronze statuette of Apis, Dyn. 18
Cartonnage of Princess Baket, Dyn. 18
Cartouche ring of Akhenaten, Dyn. 18
Carved face from a sarcophagus, Dyn. 18
Carved face from a sarcophagus, N.K.
Copper inlay for a box, Dyn. 18
Divine scarab, reign of Thutmose IV
Enameled feathers of Amun, Dyn. 18
Extensible bronze bracelet, Dyn. 18
Faience ear ornament, Dyn. 18
Foundation marker from Amenhotep III
Funerary box (panel), Dyn. 18-33
Gilded ib, heart amulet, Dyn.18
Gilded mkrt, snake amulet, Dyn. 18
Gilded ‘tit’ (girdle of Isis) amulet, Dyn. 18
Granite cartouche of Akhenaten, Dyn. 18
Head, realistic portrait in stone, Dyn 18
Horus-the-Child as a ruling king, Dyn. 18
Ibis-headed Thoth with human body, Dyn.18
King Amenhotep II (?) as Amun-Re, Dyn. 18
King Horemheb as a sphinx, Dyn. 18
King Horemheb as Amun-Re, Dyn. 18
King wearing the royal headdress, Dyn. 18
Limestone shawabti, early Dyn. 18
Lotus necklace terminal, Egypt, Dyn. 18
Monumental bronze feather, Dyn. 18
Mummy mask of a young woman, Dyn. 18
Nekhbet, vulture-goddess of Nekheb
New Year’s flask for sacred water, Dyn.18
Osiris, King of the Afterlife, Dyn. 18
Osiris of an unknown king, Dyn. 18 (?)
Osiris-Neper, god of agriculture, Dyn. 18
Pair of udjat eyes of Horus, Dyn. 18
Palm leaf amulet, Dyn. 18-19
Palm leaf amulet, Dyn. 18-19
Polychrome glass cup, Dyn 18
Queen as Goddess Mut, Dyn.18
Queen Hatshepsut as Goddess Mut, Dyn. 18
Queen Hatshepsut as Hathor, Dyn. 18
Queen Isis as Isis nursing Thutmose III
Royal situla, sacred water vessel, Dyn.18
Royal wooden sarcophagus lid, Dyn. 18
Sakhmet amulet pendant, Dyn. 18
Sarcophagus of a king, Dyn. 18
Sarcophagus of a queen, Dyn. 18
Scarab “begets the existence of Amun”
Scarab of protection, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab of Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Scarab with Amun-Re, solar discs, Dyn. 18
Scarab with ‘Ba’, Dyn. 18
Scarab with “faith in Justice,” Dyn. 18
Scarab with Goddess Hathor
Scarab with Horus of the Horizon, Dyn. 18
Scarab with ‘nsw-bity’, Dyn. 18
Scarab with ‘sa’ singing birds, Dyn. 18
Shawabti of Amen, vizier of Amenhotep III
Shawabti of Queen Mutemwia. Dyn.18
Signet-ring of Tutankhamun, Dyn. 18
Statuette of a privileged man, Dyn. 18
Stone bust of a scribe, Dyn. 18
Stone shawabti of a Nubian viceroy, Dyn. 18
Stone statue of King Thutmose III, Dyn. 18
Two cobras from the queen’s crown
Udjat eye amulet-pendant, Dyn. 18
Uninscribed wooden shawabti, Dyn. 18
Uraeus from a royal crown, Dyn. 18
Wood statue of King Smenkhkare, Dyn. 18
Wooden sarcophagus lid, Dyn. 18
Wooden sarcophagus lid, Dyn.18
Wooden sarcophagus lid, Dyn. 18

Links to others representing Hathor

Queen Hatshepsut as Hathor, Dyn. 18
Scarab with Goddess Hathor
Scarab with Goddess Hathor, 1070-656 BC
  This stylized stone sculpture of goddess Hathor was the capital of a pillar. She is shown wearing a wig, with a human face and the ears of a cow. This work was most probably completed during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, Dynasty 18.

The contour of the eyes, the elongated brow, the straight yet sensual nose, the curled mouth with perfect lips, the hint of a serene inner smile--all about her express the extraordinary refinement of the standard of female beauty in the golden age of the New Kingdom, as seen at the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir-el-Bahri.

Hatshepsut
Princess Hatshepsut, daughter of King Thotmes I and of Great Royal Spouse Aahmes II, became Great Royal Spouse of Thotmes II around 1518 BC. She gave him three children of her own (Royal Princess Neferw-Ra, Royal Princess Merit-Ra, and Royal Princess Maut-Nofret), and served as de-facto stepmother to his only son, born from a Lady of the Royal Harem named Isis.

At the death of King Thotmes II, no one--not even his own son--could legitimately become king without wedding either a royal princess or the queen. But Queen Hatshepsut was apparently not interested in remarrying. So, until it was known who would wed her daughter the Royal Princess, Queen Hatshepsut “temporarily” headed the state. In the second year of her temporary role, Queen Hatshepsut briskly took over unlimited and unrestricted powers. With the approval of Hapwseneb, the Great Priest of Amen, Queen Hatshepsut was crowned King of Egypt in the Maat temple at Karnak and was given a full titulary, starting with the Horus Name Maat-Ka-Ra (“Maat is the Ka of Ra”).

This coup d’état was legitimized by a strange disclosure made to Hapwseneb about a secret co-regency having existed between Hatshepsut and her father Thotmes I, prior to her wedding with Thotmes II. Whether this story of a co-regency with her father was a retroactive fabrication or not, it was a very thorough setup. Queen Hatshepsut initiated and maintained all her life an official divine cult of Thotmes I. She closed his royal tomb and transferred her father’s mummy to her sumptuous funerary temple, where she set up an inner funerary temple to the cult and glory of her father.

After the death of her elder daughter Royal Princess Neferw-Ra, Queen-King Hatshepsut assured her succession by marrying her step-son to her second daughter, and appointing him as her powerless symbolic co-regent. Princess Merit-Ra became the Great Royal Spouse Merit-Ra Hatshepsut II (Gauthier 1912:[2]270).

Hatshepsut ruled alone 22 years, surrounded by wise counselors headed by Senmout, her steward, tutor, spokesman, architect, and vizier. Hatshepsut’s leadership made for a peaceful reign, with little political opposition, and the support of her people. She brought prosperity to the nation, fostered quality and refinement in the arts, innovation in architecture, and presided over the embellishment of Karnak. All the while, she upheld Egypt’s prestige, influence and leadership abroad. Her reign was a harmonious and peaceful pause to a long succession of warrior kings.

Dynasty 18
In many ways, Dynasty 18 could be viewed as the golden age of the Egyptian Civilization. Spanning almost 280 years (1570-1293 BC), it ushered in the New Kingdom by a return to a powerful, monolithic Egyptian nation unified by a heavily centralized government under the undivided control of the king.

Egypt’s dominions expanded to include territory rife with natural resources; this wealth of resources fueled Egypt’s economy to unprecedented levels; the economic activity prompted the development of international trade and diplomacy; cultural and technological exchanges, together with spreading wealth, yielded a blossoming of the arts, and a widespread refinement of the Egyptian culture.

It would be unfair, if not untrue, to suggest that the achievements of Dynasty 18 were greater than those of, say, Dynasty 12 in the Middle Kingdom, or Dynasty 3 in the Old Kingdom. But the sheer volume of exquisite material goods produced and preserved from that period, the tantalizing political intrigues and mysteries of its controversial monarchs (such as Queen Hatshepsut and King Akhenaten), and the comparatively extensive written record (both from within and without Egypt), cannot help but make Egypt’s Dynasty 18 a most fascinating period of human history.

Founded by King Ahmose, who reclaimed the Delta from the Hyksos, Dynasty 18 saw some of the most enlightened monarchs of Egypt’s history. Blending the unwavering projection of military power with the development of social policies and the shepherding of culture, they left an indelible mark on their civilization. After a long period of prosperity and stability under a succession of kings named Tuthmosis and Amenhotep (and the great queen Hatshepsut), the dynasty stumbled when Amenhotep IV attempted to change just about everything about Egyptian culture: under his new name Akhenaten, he left the old capital and built a new one, abandoned Egypt’s traditional gods and created a new monotheistic cult, abandoned Egypt’s established artistic conventions and fostered a new, disturbingly realistic, aesthetic canon. Too much, too fast, Akhenaten’s reforms were soon undone. His capital was abandoned, his monuments destroyed, and records of his reign meticulously expunged. Turning a new page, his successor Tutankhaten soon changed his name to Tutankhamun. The Dynasty never regained its luster, and soon made way for a new line of rulers emerging from the ranks of the military: the Ramessids.


Bibliography (for this item)

Hart, George
1986 A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, United Kingdom. (76-78)

Khalil, Hassan M.
1976 Preliminary Studies on the Sanusret Collection. Manuscript, Musée l’Egypte et le Monde Antique, Monaco-Ville, Monaco. ((I) 51-53)

Maspero, G
1912 Histoire générale de l’art: Egypte. Hachette, Paris, France. (225 Pl.421
235)

Wilkinson, Richard H.
2000 The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson, London, UK. (149-151
176-177)



Bibliography (on Hatshepsut )

Gauthier, Henri
1912 Le livre des rois d’Egypte. Tome 2: de la XIIIe à la fin de la XVIIIe dynastie. Institut Français d’Archeologie Orientale, Cairo, Egypt.






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