This tomb painting is from the tomb of
Rekhmire.
He was a governor of Thebes in Egypt during the reigns of
Tuthmosis III
and his son Amenophis II during the New Kingdom, circa 1430
BC BCE.
This painting shows the basic techniques of the metal workers
casting bronze.
When living in Sedona Arizona in the 1990's
I spent many years as an instructor for art students at
the Sedona Art Center and in my foundry. Part of the instruction
presented to students was on the history of the bronzing
process. Early in my career I had developed an interest
in the bronze age cultures which had advanced the use of
copper in art and ancient weapons and I kept a portfolio
of my studies and findings on ancient crafting in bronze
for the students to access if they had an interest.
The skills and abilities of the ancient
metallurgist and craftsman speaks volumes about the level
of trade in metals and the metallurgical abilities shown
in their individual cultures. The degree of sophistication
in use during the crafting of these artifacts should not
be underestimated. The universal application of the technology
of bronzing techniques suggests interconnectedness between
bronze age cultures.
The most highly developed archeological
site which attests to this phenomena dates to the 13 Century
BCE, "The 13th century BCE ship wreck at Uluburn",
excavated by Dr. Sam Bass and the INA at the university
of Texas. Within the context of this 13th century BCE ship
wreck was a horde of ancient weapons. The archeological
excavation of this site began in the early 1980's, therefore
it has been less than three decades since the findings relating
to this earliest of ship wrecks have been published. The
promise of other wrecks dating to the same time period revealing
more of the history of the shipping trade in ancient times
is an eminent reality for the archeological community.
The Mesopotamian fable of the "The
Epic of Gilgamesh" suggests that this universal travel
via seafaring happened as early as the 25th century BCE
at least the epic story is the first literature dedicated
to the accounts of the earliest seafaring explorers. Archeological
finds attest to seafaring ships built by the Egyptians traveling
the high seas during the construction of the earliest Pyramids.
The funerary chapel of Sahure contained illustrations of
the ships used during this period by the Egyptians and the
royal Tombs of Ur contained models of ships made of clay
from the 25th Century BCE.
This silver and gold Inlay from a Mycenean Dagger Blade
depicts a Lion hunt and displays spears, shields and slings
used in the historic period of 1600 BCE.
To paraphraze the Biblical book of Genisis
Chapter 10 1-5 the decendants of Japhteth the Son of Noah
explored the world in their ships and became the seafaring
nations. This story line is most likely a reference to the
fact that people from Mesopotamia dedicated themselves to
world exploration via seafaring.
Generally speeking the impact of seafaring
on the colonization of the planet seems to have been greatly
underestimated and the evidence for this Phemomena in prehistory
is emerging from the archeological records. Improved forensic
and dating technologies are creating new evidence that needs
additional analysis. The emerging art of underwater archeology
promises the discovery of additional (time capsules) such
as the Uluburan ship wreck, which will add information to
the historic record.
The questions remain, from
where, to where and when did the most ancient of seafarers
venture??
See the following links:
Epic
of Gilgamesh
The
Ships Of Antiquity
Invasion of the Sea Peoples
In many cases, at least in Sedona, the
students were interested in the imagery of the indigenous
indian cultures and many of the techniques used by the Southwestern
Indian in crafting their Jewelry.
I taught in my classes that the same techniques
used by the ancients were applicable to modern design and
the execution of the students concepts. The history of these
techniques hopefully inspired confidence that if this art
form had been executed for over 6,000 years their individual
success at executing their personal projects was eminent.
This page is only part of
a growing portfolio of these references to the ancient bronze
arts. I hope these images spark an interest in the study of
the time and place from/or in which these implements were
crafted.
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