{"id":68797,"date":"2024-03-30T12:42:21","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T12:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2"},"modified":"2024-03-30T14:01:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T14:01:34","slug":"more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2","title":{"rendered":"More Than Wear & Tear: The Mystery Behind Why Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Anyone who has strolled through collections of Egyptian art has probably noticed that the statues’ noses are often broken. Besides the usual wear and tear that artifacts cannot escape over thousands of years, there is so much more underlying meaning behind this damage.<\/p>\n

While many visitors to museums displaying Egyptian artifacts likely take for granted that some of the sculptures displayed had been damaged over the years, Egyptologists would be quick to dispute this.<\/p>\n

According to Brooklyn Museum’s Egyptian art galleries curator Edward Bleiberg, there is a widespread pattern of deliberate destruction driven by a complex set of reasons.<\/p>\n

Bleiberg\u2019s research into the issue had spilled out into an exhibition, \u201cStriking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt\u201d last year, when damaged statues and reliefs dating from the 25th century B.C.E. to the 1st century C.E. were paired with intact counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe consistency of the patterns where damage is found in sculpture suggests that it\u2019s purposeful,\u201d Bleiberg was cited as saying by CNN.<\/p>\n

Egyptian artifacts were imbued with political and religious functions, according to experts, and it was the culture of iconoclasm that led to their deliberate mutilation. Everything ranging from invasions by outside forces to power struggles between dynastic rulers left indelible scars on the visual cultural legacy of one of the world\u2019s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations.<\/p>\n

Recognizing \u201cpatterns\u201d helps experts discern the difference between accidental damage and deliberate vandalism, be it a broken nose on a three-dimensional statue or a defaced flat relief.<\/p>\n

This World Versus The Supernatural<\/b><\/p>\n

Ancient Egyptians ascribed important powers to images of the human form, convinced that the spirit of a deceased human being could inhabit a statue of that particular person. Accordingly, campaigns of vandalism were intended to \u201cdeactivate an image\u2019s strength.\u201d Statues and reliefs were \u201ca meeting point between the supernatural and this world\u201d, according to Edward Bleiberg.<\/p>\n

Deliberate acts of iconoclasm, or \u201cimage breaking\u201d in ancient Egypt were carried out by some pharaohs successors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe damaged part of the body is no longer able to do its job,\u201d Bleiberg explained, adding that a statue\u2019s spirit was deemed unable to breathe without a nose, with the vandal thus effectively \u201ckilling\u201d it.<\/p>\n

If ears were struck off a statue of a god, it would be \u201cunable to hear a prayer.\u201d A cut off arm of a state showing someone making offerings to gods meant that that function was hindered, accordingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Pharaonic period, there was a clear understanding of what sculpture was supposed to do,\u201d said the curator.<\/p>\n

By defacing statues, it is suggested that rulers sought to \u201crewrite\u201d history to their advantage. This is why ancient Egyptians took pains to safeguard their sculptures, placing them in niches in tombs or temples. They would be protected on three sides, secured behind a wall, but this \u201cdidn\u2019t work that well,\u201d said the Egyptology expert. Bleiberg believes that iconoclasts were not vandals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were not recklessly and randomly striking out works of art,\u201d he suggests.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, judging by the targeted precision of the destruction, skillfully trained individuals were hired for the purpose, said the curator, adding, \u201cOften in the Pharaonic period, it\u2019s really only the name of the person who is targeted, in the inscription. This means that the person doing the damage could read!\u201d<\/p>\n

Overtime, with the evolving cultural mores, Egyptians shed their fears of these ancient ritual objects. So much so, that stone statues were regularly trimmed to be used as building blocks in construction projects.<\/p>\n

Summing up the fact that ancient practices might seem outrageous to the modern world, Bleiberg underscored that visual imagery is a \u201creflection of who has the power to tell the story of what happened and what should be remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Anyone who has strolled through collections of Egyptian art has probably noticed that the statues’ noses are often broken. Besides the usual wear and tear that artifacts cannot escape over thousands of years, there is so much more underlying meaning behind this damage. While many visitors to museums displaying Egyptian artifacts likely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":68796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,31],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-68797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nMore Than Wear & Tear: The Mystery Behind Why Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anyone who has strolled through collections of Egyptian art has probably noticed that the statues' noses are often broke ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More Than Wear & Tear: The Mystery Behind Why Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anyone who has strolled through collections of Egyptian art has probably noticed that the statues' noses are often broke ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-30T12:42:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-30T14:01:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711794411.673014.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"723\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"More Than Wear & Tear: The Mystery Behind Why Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-30T12:42:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-30T14:01:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2\"},\"wordCount\":649,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711794411.673014.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/more-than-wear-tear-the-mystery-behind-why-many-egyptian-statues-have-broken-noses-2\",\"name\":\"More Than Wear & Tear: The Mystery Behind Why Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses - 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