2023-07-22 21:37:39
On the portrait of Ramses II, the position of the scepter had been subtly modified, more than 3000 years ago: scientific imagery revealed artistic retouching hitherto invisible on works from ancient Egypt, a sign that the painters of the time knew how to free themselves from the rules of the art.
Since the 19th century, Egyptology has considered Pharaonic art as very conventional, responding to restrictive stereotyped codes, recalls a study published Wednesday in PLOS One, the American journal of the Public Library of Science.
The painters who worked in funeral chapels “do not escape these prejudices”according to which they would have contented themselves with transferring predefined patterns onto the walls of the walls, note the authors.
But exploring the tomb paintings in the Valley of the Kings, scientists have discovered traces of hitherto unsuspected inventiveness.
In particular in the tomb of the priest Nakhtamon, decorated with a representation of Ramses II painted around 1200 years before our era. The famous pharaoh is depicted in profile, wearing a headdress and necklace, armed with a royal scepter.
Behind the visible image hides a completely different composition, revealed by new portable imaging and chemical analysis techniques, which allow the works to be studied on site, without damaging them.
The tools are arranged on a small robot moving along the painted walls. Thanks to its vision at different light wavelengths (X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, etc.), the robot can “scrutinize matter” in depth, like a medical scanner, explains to AFP Philippe Walter, researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and co-author of the study.
After only a few moments, appeared features completely invisible to the naked eye : an underlying collar and headdress that “do not have the shape that we see today”describes the chemist specializing in the study of cultural heritage materials.
The position of the royal specter had also been retouched, to follow a new outline of the shoulders of Ramesses II – much lower than in the first version.
“We did not expect to see such modifications on a representation of pharaoh supposed to be very formal” and frozen in time, says Egyptologist Philippe Martinez, CNRS researcher and co-author of the study.
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