Salah Abdel Kerim (Egypt, 1925-1988) Pharaonic Symbol
Provenance : [Propriété non datée]
- Property from a private collection, Cairo Note: The present work is likely a preparatory painting for a sculptural frieze 'We could argue that the ancient Egyptians were positively constrained by their hieroglyphic system of writing to express abstract qualities in a physical way
- Against such an interpretation, it is important to bear in mind that language is not simply the vehicle of expression of a given mentality, it actually is that mentality giving expression to itself
- The very structures of language are the articulation of the mentality
- We should be wary of thinking that the ancient Egyptian mind was 'really' like ours, but was constrained by the hieroglyphic script
- Rather, the hieroglyphic script was the medium most appropriate for the articulation of the ancient Egyptian mentality
- Far from being crude, it reflected richly symbolic modes of conceiving and relating to both the physical and the psychic spheres of existence
- It has already become apparent that these two spheres were not experienced as separated from each other—as we today tend to experience them
- It is now necessary to go further, and seriously consider the idea that psychic attributes were indeed experienced as 'situated' in various parts of the body
- The pictorial character of the hieroglyphic form of writing made possible a quite effortless translation of this experience into the written word
- For the hieroglyphic script, because it was pictorial, had not yet created a division between concrete and abstract, between 'outer' and 'inner.' And it had not done so just because the ancient Egyptian mentality had not done so.' ― Jeremy Naydler, Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred
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Condition_report : In excellent overall condition. Any imperfections are in keeping with the artist's method of execution and working process.
