GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This superb sculpture is a rare portrait of one of the great kings of Egyptian history. Seti I was the first important pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty. Following the upheavals caused by Akhenaten's religious revolution in the late 18th Dynasty, Seti established a firm military control over all of Egypt and led its armies to conquest in Palestine. He set the pattern for an aggressive Egyptian rule that reached its climax under the long reign of his son Ramses II.
Relief portraits of Seti I occur at Abydos, Karnak, and in his tomb in the necropolis at Thebes, but this is one of the few three-dimensional portraits of him. It adheres to the classical Egyptian conventions of royal art, showing the king as a vital, muscular man dressed in the ruler's nemes headcloth and false beard. Supporting the back of the sculpture is the king's cartouche with his regal names. The boldly plastic modeling of the figure indicates the king's divine majesty and his role as a bringer of prosperity to his people. The columnar neck, lifted chin, and gripping gaze of the eyes give the portrait a remarkable sense of living force, thereby equating Seti with Osiris, the undying Lord of the Afterworld. Since Egyptian rulers belonged to the realm of the gods, they were represented as eternally strong and youthful.
Seti I's rule initiated a revival of Egyptian splendor. Art under Seti emphasized a grandiose monumentality without sacrificing the courtly elegance so notable under the kings of the 18th Dynasty. This portrait bust expresses this union of dynamic power and suave line.
Adapted from
- Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), cat. 61, 182-183.
- Anne R. Bromberg and Karl Kilinski II, Gods, Men, and Heroes: Ancient Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996), 20-23.
- Anne Bromberg, "Head and upper torso of Seti I," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Charles Venable (New Haven, NJ: Yale University Press, 1997), 20.
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 131.
- Anne R. Bromberg, DMA unpublished material, January 2003.
NOTES
- added Gods Men Heroes, Guide to the Collection (2012 and 1997) and Arts of Africa essays as text entries
- updated geo-x refs
- corrected date
- updated provenance
- updated culture to "Egyptian"
- Notes from visit of 24 April 1987 with Arielle Kozloff and Carlos Picon: 'Arielle was fairly familiar with this bust and said that a lot of questions had been raised about it. She felt that the head was very unusual and the headdress was too small in porportion to the shoulders and torso. One would expect a more elegant, thin torso in the art from Seti's reign. The torso here has the massiveness of a Dynasty XVIII torso; Arielle said that it could be an earlier piece which was later cut down. She thought the modelling very murky in the pectoral area and found it very curious that there was no necklace incised (one can find exceptions without necklaces but it is very unusual.) Faces of Dynasty XIX and of the few surviving Seti's should have a very highly polished surface, with a differentiation of texture and material. Arielle thought it looked unfinished and wondered if it might actually be an unfinished piece'
- fun fact source: curatorial remarks
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1984: Private collection, The Netherlands [1]
Until 1984: Robin Symes, Ltd, London and New York, purchased from above [2]
From 1984: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from above in Honor of Betty B. Marcus with The Art Museum League Fund, the Melba Davis Whatley Fund, and General Acquisitions Fund
[1] See "acquisition checklist" in Collections Records Object File 1984.50
[2] See "expect notice" in Collections Records Object File 1984.50
AUDIO ASSETS
- 13309349: UMO; Listen to a gallery talk given by Aditi Samarth of Richland College on November 5, 2008 entitled, "Concepts of Eternity in Ancient Egypt."
- 13311364: UMO; Listen to a lecture by curator Dr. Anne Bromberg of the DMA given in conjunction with Searching for Ancient Egypt: Art, Architecture, and Artifacts from the University of Pennsylvania Museum, September 28, 1997-February 1, 1998 entitled, "Archaeology and Ancient Egypt."
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- The University of Memphis~See scenes from the military campaigns of Seti I carved in relief at the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak.
- Sir John Soane's Museum London~Read about the sarcophagus of Seti I.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Compare to another kneeling statue of Seti I.
- Vimeo~Watch a 3D rendering of the tomb of Seti I derived from data recorded with a FARO Lidar scanner in November 2016.
- Vimeo~See a 3D model of the Sarcophagus of Seti I produced by the Factum Foundation, recorded using photogrammetry in 2016 at Sir John Soane's Museum.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- In 1992 the title of this portrait was changed from "Bust of Seti I" to "Head and Upper Torso of Seti I." Based on curatorial analysis, it is clear this is not a self-contained "bust" but part of a larger statue that is thought to belong to a private collection in Italy. Based on comparisons to similar examples of Seti I, it is likely this statue was kneeling, leaning forward with an offering.
TEACHING IDEAS
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General Description
This superb sculpture is a rare portrait of one of the great kings of Egyptian history. Seti I was the first important pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty. Following the upheavals caused by Akhenaten's religious revolution in the late 18th Dynasty, Seti established a firm military control over all of Egypt and led its armies to conquest in Palestine. He set the pattern for an aggressive Egyptian rule that reached its climax under the long reign of his son Ramses II.
Relief portraits of Seti I occur at Abydos, Karnak, and in his tomb in the necropolis at Thebes, but this is one of the few three-dimensional portraits of him. It adheres to the classical Egyptian conventions of royal art, showing the king as a vital, muscular man dressed in the ruler's nemes headcloth and false beard. Supporting the back of the sculpture is the king's cartouche with his regal names. The boldly plastic modeling of the figure indicates the king's divine majesty and his role as a bringer of prosperity to his people. The columnar neck, lifted chin, and gripping gaze of the eyes give the portrait a remarkable sense of living force, thereby equating Seti with Osiris, the undying Lord of the Afterworld. Since Egyptian rulers belonged to the realm of the gods, they were represented as eternally strong and youthful.
Seti I's rule initiated a revival of Egyptian splendor. Art under Seti emphasized a grandiose monumentality without sacrificing the courtly elegance so notable under the kings of the 18th Dynasty. This portrait bust expresses this union of dynamic power and suave line.
Adapted from
- Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), cat. 61, 182-183.
- Anne R. Bromberg and Karl Kilinski II, Gods, Men, and Heroes: Ancient Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996), 20-23.
- Anne Bromberg, "Head and upper torso of Seti I," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Charles Venable (New Haven, NJ: Yale University Press, 1997), 20.
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 131.
- Anne R. Bromberg, DMA unpublished material, January 2003.
Fun Facts
- In 1992 the title of this portrait was changed from "Bust of Seti I" to "Head and Upper Torso of Seti I." Based on curatorial analysis, it is clear this is not a self-contained "bust" but part of a larger statue that is thought to belong to a private collection in Italy. Based on comparisons to similar examples of Seti I, it is likely this statue was kneeling, leaning forward with an offering.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- The University of Memphis~See scenes from the military campaigns of Seti I carved in relief at the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak.
- Sir John Soane's Museum London~Read about the sarcophagus of Seti I.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Compare to another kneeling statue of Seti I.
- Vimeo~Watch a 3D rendering of the tomb of Seti I derived from data recorded with a FARO Lidar scanner in November 2016.
- Vimeo~See a 3D model of the Sarcophagus of Seti I produced by the Factum Foundation, recorded using photogrammetry in 2016 at Sir John Soane's Museum.
Notes
- added Gods Men Heroes, Guide to the Collection (2012 and 1997) and Arts of Africa essays as text entries
- updated geo-x refs
- corrected date
- updated provenance
- updated culture to "Egyptian"
- Notes from visit of 24 April 1987 with Arielle Kozloff and Carlos Picon: 'Arielle was fairly familiar with this bust and said that a lot of questions had been raised about it. She felt that the head was very unusual and the headdress was too small in porportion to the shoulders and torso. One would expect a more elegant, thin torso in the art from Seti's reign. The torso here has the massiveness of a Dynasty XVIII torso; Arielle said that it could be an earlier piece which was later cut down. She thought the modelling very murky in the pectoral area and found it very curious that there was no necklace incised (one can find exceptions without necklaces but it is very unusual.) Faces of Dynasty XIX and of the few surviving Seti's should have a very highly polished surface, with a differentiation of texture and material. Arielle thought it looked unfinished and wondered if it might actually be an unfinished piece'
- fun fact source: curatorial remarks
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1984: Private collection, The Netherlands [1]
Until 1984: Robin Symes, Ltd, London and New York, purchased from above [2]
From 1984: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from above in Honor of Betty B. Marcus with The Art Museum League Fund, the Melba Davis Whatley Fund, and General Acquisitions Fund
[1] See "acquisition checklist" in Collections Records Object File 1984.50
[2] See "expect notice" in Collections Records Object File 1984.50
AUDIO ASSETS
- 13309349: UMO; Listen to a gallery talk given by Aditi Samarth of Richland College on November 5, 2008 entitled, "Concepts of Eternity in Ancient Egypt."
- 13311364: UMO; Listen to a lecture by curator Dr. Anne Bromberg of the DMA given in conjunction with Searching for Ancient Egypt: Art, Architecture, and Artifacts from the University of Pennsylvania Museum, September 28, 1997-February 1, 1998 entitled, "Archaeology and Ancient Egypt."
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