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Lot Essay
In 1257 BCE, Pharaoh Ramses II (1279-13 BCE) had two temples carved out of solid rock at a site on the west bank of the Nile, south of Aswan in the land of Nubia. Long before Ramses II, the site had been sacred to Hathor of Absek. The temple built by Ramses, however, was dedicated to the sun gods Amon-Re and Re-Horakhte. Because of their remote location near the Sudanese border in sourthern Egypt, the temples were unknown until their rediscovery in 1813. They were first explored in 1817 by the Egyptologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni.
The sacred area, marked out as a forecourt and bounded on the north and south sides by brick walls, occupied a place between the sandstone cliffs and the river. Ramses' temple was cut into the face of the cliff, before which is a rock-cut terrace. The temple is approached across this terrace up a flight of steps with an inclined plane in the middle, and enclosed on either side by a balustrade behind which stood a row of hawks and statues of Ramses in various forms.
The rock-cut façade of Ramses' temple represents the front of a pylon in front of which are four colossal seated figures of Ramses. This façade is 119 feet wide and 100 feet high, while the colossal statues are 67 feet high. At the top of the pylon, above the cornice, is a row of baboons, who, as 'Watchers of the Dawn,' are shown with their hands raised in adoration of the rising sun. The Egyptians believed baboons played a role in helping the sun god Ra defeat the darkness of night and so were believed sacred to the worship of the rising sun.
The present lot, Abu Simbel, painted in 1874, must have been one of Bridgman's earliest efforts to capture the Orient. His ability to depict an Egyptian architectural marvel, the glow of the desert sun, and the majesty of these pagan gods is testament to both his artistic vision and technical virtuosity. It is clear from the image portrayed that he, too, had been awe-struck by his first impressions of the Near-East and especially by the commission of Pharaoh Ramses.
The present lot has been authenticated by Dr. Ilene Susan Fort, the Gail and John Liebes Curator of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The sacred area, marked out as a forecourt and bounded on the north and south sides by brick walls, occupied a place between the sandstone cliffs and the river. Ramses' temple was cut into the face of the cliff, before which is a rock-cut terrace. The temple is approached across this terrace up a flight of steps with an inclined plane in the middle, and enclosed on either side by a balustrade behind which stood a row of hawks and statues of Ramses in various forms.
The rock-cut façade of Ramses' temple represents the front of a pylon in front of which are four colossal seated figures of Ramses. This façade is 119 feet wide and 100 feet high, while the colossal statues are 67 feet high. At the top of the pylon, above the cornice, is a row of baboons, who, as 'Watchers of the Dawn,' are shown with their hands raised in adoration of the rising sun. The Egyptians believed baboons played a role in helping the sun god Ra defeat the darkness of night and so were believed sacred to the worship of the rising sun.
The present lot, Abu Simbel, painted in 1874, must have been one of Bridgman's earliest efforts to capture the Orient. His ability to depict an Egyptian architectural marvel, the glow of the desert sun, and the majesty of these pagan gods is testament to both his artistic vision and technical virtuosity. It is clear from the image portrayed that he, too, had been awe-struck by his first impressions of the Near-East and especially by the commission of Pharaoh Ramses.
The present lot has been authenticated by Dr. Ilene Susan Fort, the Gail and John Liebes Curator of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.