2.11.2020 at 17:15
Zoom: https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/61114829044?pwd=TFRiTm5SSzJIQnJkQ1NxWGNUSFUvdz09
Meeting ID: 611 1482 9044
Passcode: 980822
Miriam Bueno (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia): The liminality of New Kingdom private Theban tombs and dance scenes.
The Theban private tombs dated to the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1070 BC) belonged to elite officials that wanted to preserve their memory and identity for eternity and ensure their rebirth in the afterlife. These tombs have a magical function related to the mortuary cult and the interaction between the living and the dead inside them. During some festivals and other events, these monuments were visited by friends or relatives of the deceased or even by other random visitors, such as priests or artists.
This liminal aspect of the private tombs is clear on some dance scenes painted on the walls of these monuments. They depict moments in which the borders between the world of the living and the world of the dead are erased and the living, the dead, and the gods can communicate with each other. We can divide these scenes into two main groups: dance within banquet scenes and dance within funerary processions. Both of them have a characteristic iconography, which makes them easily recognizable.
This lecture aims to analyse the private Theban tombs and their structure as liminal spaces. We can see some of the moments of interaction depicted in their decoration and inscriptions. Within this decoration, this talk will mainly focus on dance scenes, which are the main topic of my research, and which have their own differential features. Through them, we will explore some aspects of the ancient Egyptian religious belief and the view of the afterlife that this civilization had.
Miriam Bueno is a PhD student at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia in Spain, where she studied a Degree in Art History and a Master’s Degree on Methods and Techniques of Advanced Research. During her research, focused on Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom dance scenes, she has been a visitor researcher at the University of Oxford and the University of Helsinki. She has participated in several national and international scientific meetings, presenting communications and posters that analyse different aspects of her investigation.