Der Ubergang ins Jenseits in den thebanischen Beamtengrabern der Ramessidenzeit.

• Author: Bianchi, Robert Steven

This is an ambitious attempt to define the nature of certain funerary scenes in tombs from the Ramesside period found at Thebes. I am forced to preface my remarks with a caveat. The author's repeated attempts to describe Egyptian two-dimensional representations by applying criteria derived from Western art history are dubious. One wonders whether scenes which demand an internal iconographic consistency because of the rituals represented can be interpreted in economic terms as monopolistic (p. 24), inasmuch as most critics agree that ancient Egyptian art is a canonical enterprise where standardization, not variation, is the norm. Barthelmess' interpretation of other scenes, apparently depicted in sequence, as evidence of the existence of continuous narrative is speculative, particularly when one realizes that known cycles - from scenes of the divine birth to those depicting the alleged steps in the founding of a temple - are neither narrative nor continuous in the Western sense. In a treatise which deals with the development of certain two-dimensional scenes, more attention should have been paid to these issues of theoretical art history.

Having said that, I cannot stress strongly enough how a careful reading of the author's analyses will greatly enhance one's understanding of the funerary scenes which are the subject of her examination, their significance, and their chronological positions. The author creates important classes of precedent by which other scenes not included in her extensive treatment can be productively evaluated. In order to place her conclusions into sharper focus, she briefly discusses the development of these same themes during the course of Dynasty XVIII. Barthelmess concludes that the...