Khafre Enthroned Essay

639 Words3 Pages

It’s commonly known that the Egyptians believed in after-life. They believed that even after death, a part of the departed continued to live on apart from their physical body. This part is called the ka, the life-force of the human. It was understood that once in death, the ka requires a body to live in. (oneonta) This idea brought the Egyptians to practice in the methods of mummification along with the mass creation of sculptural representations. (Kleiner 61)This is the case that’s found in Khafre Enthroned. The suppressed movement in the pose of the figure suggests an aura of long-lasting stillness, ideal for the timelessness of afterlife. Khafre Enthroned was designated in the tomb of Khafre as the Egyptians provided statues of the departed …show more content…

It was Justinian’s decision however, that proclaimed Orthodox Christianity as the Empire’s only acceptable lawful religion. In Orthodox Christianity, it was believed that the Trinity of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirt were all equally the center of faith.(Kleiner 258) Although Justinian refused to acknowledge any other versions of Christianity, the artworks depicting Byzantine’s political views clearly reflected the characteristics of ancient Rome and Medieval Byzantine such as the choice of depicting emperors seated on thrones clutching the earth while being handed tributes from defeated enemies were continuously used among artists. The sense of importance is used in both Justinian as world conqueror and Khafre Enthroned. Justinian as a victorious and worthy ruler under the approval of Christ himself and Khafre, viewed as god and with the falcon-god Horus’s protective wings behind the pharaoh’s head. Each artwork reflects religious beliefs from each time periods as well. Christianity in Justinian as world conqueror is expressed by the depiction of angles and Christ above Justinian’s head, and the Egyptians’s belief in after-life can be seen at how the sculpture of Khafre Enthroned is used as a ka statue, a statue for the ka to reside in if the mummy of the pharaoh was to