<em>Relief Representation of a Battle Scene</em>, ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E. Sandstone, pigment, 8 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (21.6 × 26.7 × 2.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 77.130. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 77.130_PS22.jpg)

Relief Representation of a Battle Scene, ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E. Sandstone, pigment, 8 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (21.6 × 26.7 × 2.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 77.130. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 77.130_PS22.jpg)

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Relief Representation of a Battle Scene

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The walls of New Kingdom temples frequently show the king triumphing over Egypt's enemies. Such reliefs either depict idealized versions of actual historical events or serve as propaganda warning foreigners of the inevitable destruction that would follow acts of hostility against Egypt. Symbolically, these scenes represent the victory of Egyptian universal order over the forces of chaos living in foreign lands. In such battle scenes, the Egyptian army, as the defender of Ma'at, is invariably arranged in orderly groupings while the enemy scatters in disarray.

This block has recently been identified as coming from a monumental wall relief commemorating a military victory in Syria by King Tutankhamun. On the accompanying reconstruction of the entire scene, we see a fundamental convention of Egyptian art: relative size implying relative importance. The king, who coordinates all attempts to preserve Ma 'at, is far larger than his chariot forces, infantry, and fan-bearers. Note how the Syrians lie in a confused mass under the ordered charge of the Egyptian chariots.

MEDIUM Sandstone, pigment

Place Made: Thebes (Karnak), Egypt

DATES ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 8 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (21.6 × 26.7 × 2.9 cm) mount: 11 1/4 × 13 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (28.6 × 34.3 × 6.4 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 77.130

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Relief Representation of a Battle Scene, ca. 1332–1322 B.C.E. Sandstone, pigment, 8 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (21.6 × 26.7 × 2.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 77.130. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 77.130_PS22.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 77.130_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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