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The ‘Woman at the Window’ Came from Egypt: New interpretations of the Phoenician ivories from the Assyrian palaces of Nimrud and Khorsabad
Henriette Broekema
The ‘Woman at the Window’ Came from Egypt investigates the origin of ivory plaques found in the Assyrian palaces of Nimrud and Khorsabad from the first millennium BCE. It provides a completely new interpretation of the famous iconography of the ‘Woman at the Window’. This collection of ivories, traditionally labelled as ‘Phoenician’, is thought to have originated from locations across the Levant. However, the Egyptian Nile Delta appears to be a more accurate locale.Pharaohs of the Third Intermediate Period, especially those of the 25th dynasty, may have commissioned them to help legitimize their fragile positions. The book’s central thesis may also change our understanding and perception of the Phoenicians: it is customary to situate this Iron Age trading people in the city-states along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, but the Nile Delta’s cosmopolitan city communities should also be included. It was in these communities where the hybrid art of the Phoenician ivory carving probably originated.This book will appeal to historians studying Phoenician and Egyptian art, as well as researchers interested in the significance of the ivory panels found in Assyrian palaces.
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Front Cover
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Title Page
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Copyright Page
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Of Related Interest
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Acknowledgements
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Contents
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List of Figures
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Prologue
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1. Introduction
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2. Where did the Ivories Come From?
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Method of research
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3. Theories about the ‘Woman at the Window’
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The ‘Woman at the Window’ is a temple prostitute
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The ‘Woman at the Window’ is related to the Goddess Hathor and the Hathor-head capitals
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The ‘Woman at the Window’ is Jezebel, wife of King Ahab of Israel
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The ‘Woman at the Window’ is the Sidonian goddess Asiti
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The ‘Woman at the Window’ is the Nude Goddess
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‘The Woman at the Window’ is Mary Magdalene, ‘Mary of the Tower’
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4. Tiye, the Great King’s Royal Wife of Amenhotep III
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Queen Tiye
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Scarabs
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Lake
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Exchange of letters with Tushratta, King of Mitanni
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Titles
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Tiye divinized
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Tiye as sphinx
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Tomb
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5. Parallels between Queen Tiye and the ‘Woman at the Window’
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Queen Tiye with the Egyptian Pegged Wig
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Tiye with a smooth wig
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The vulture crown
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The wigs and forehead ornaments of the Lady on the ivories
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Ivory heads of the Lady with fillet and forehead ornament
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Ivory heads of the Lady with square forehead ornament and cross
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Three-lobed earrings
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Dreadlocks
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Tiye with ‘dreadlocks’
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Feathered garment
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The flail sceptre
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Tiye as a fertile birth goddess
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Conclusion
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6. No window
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Egypt
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Levant
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The naos-sistrum of the Hathor columns
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Conclusion
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7. No balustrade
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Drooping petals
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Assyrian furniture mouldings of round bulges
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Caryatids
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The Phoenician ‘Schalen’-palmette
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Volute capital
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Combination Volute capital and Phoenician ‘Schalen’-palmette
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Combination of the Drooping Petal and the Phoenician palmette
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Temple or bit hilani?
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Thymiateria
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The pillars of Ramat Rahel
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Conclusion
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8. The ‘Phoenician’ Egyptian and Egyptianizing ivories in Assyria came from Egypt
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Psusennes I (1047–1001 BCE), Tanite 21st dynasty
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Bubastis, the Libyan 22nd dynasty (945–720 BCE)
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The bronze statue of Pharaoh Pedubasti I, 23rd dynasty (818–739 BCE)
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Kushite (or Nubian) 25th dynasty in Memphis (744–656 BCE)
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9. When were the Phoenician ivories deposited in Assyria?
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Nimrud: Fort Shalmaneser, the Residency
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Nimrud: Fort Shalmaneser, the Great Storeroom SW 37
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Nimrud: North West Palace
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Nimrud: Burnt Palace (= Layard’s ‘South East Palace’)
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Khorsabad (ancient Dur Šarrukin)
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Til Barsip (present-day Tell Ahmar)
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Arslan Tash (ancient Hadatu)
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Sarepta (present-day Sarafand)
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Samaria
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Salamis
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Vassal kings
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Egyptian blue
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Bastet-sphinxes
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Conclusion
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10. Conclusions
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Bibliography
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Back Cover
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Citable Link
Published: 2023
Publisher: BAR Publishing
- 9781407354255 (paper)
- 9781407354330 (ebook)
BAR Number: S3145