ARCE Lecture: Royal Figures from the Archaic and Predynastic Periods

Although the establishment of the Egyptian Empire occurred over 5,000 ago, the circumstances of its rise are only now beginning to emerge from obscurity. The terms Dynasty 0 and the Archaic Period need clarification, as does the concept of kingship at the beginning of a great civilization. Recent discoveries in both Upper and Lower Egypt are opening new windows into this process.

This talk will focus on images of early kings and gods, attempting to demonstrate how they reflect the constant changes in portraiture and status endowed by an increasingly sophisticated population and the needs of their rulers to be at least partially deified. The time lines of these kings, many still unknown by name, will also be discussed, although it is obvious that much information about them is yet to be brought to light.

Hopefully, the new emphasis on the excavation of the earliest sites will build more understanding of the monumental changes that accompanied the formation of an extraordinary civilization that persisted for so long and undoubtedly was the forerunner of our own culture.
Reception to follow. Registration required, please email info@arceny.com.

Jack Josephson learned Egyptian art history as a non-matriculated student with the legendary Bernard V. Bothmer at the Institute of Fine Arts, where he currently is a research associate. He has also served as a distinguished visiting professor at the American University Cairo, and is a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute. The author of Royal Sculpture of the Late Period and co-author with Mamdouh Eldamaty of The Statues of Dynasties 25 and 26, a Catalogue Genéral of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, he has also written numerous scholarly articles in major journals of Egyptology and various encyclopedias. Many of his colleagues, along with his wife, Dr. Magda Saleh, recently honored him with a festschrift presented on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Although best known for his work in the Late Period, he has written a number of art historical studies of the Middle Kingdom and most recently has collaborated with Günter Dreyer on an investigation of royal sculpture from the Pre-dynastic and Archaic Periods, which is the basis of his talk on January 19th.

To RSVP, please email isaw@nyu.edu.