Bronze Priests of Ancient Egypt from the Middle Kingdom to the Græco-Roman Period

Ancient Egyptian bronze sculpture appears in many major European and North American museum collections, but its inadequate study makes the sculpture very difficult to analyze. The aim of the present study is to analyze and organize the corpus of priestly bronze statuary, a rather large subgroup of non-royal ancient Egyptian bronze statuary. To this end, the author utilizes several factors intrinsic to each three-dimensional figure: epigraphical, stylistical, contextual, and technical, to show the temporal development of the ancient Egyptian priest and priestly figure in bronze. With this study the author provides a foundation for further study in the area of non-royal bronze statuary in general and a clearer view of the artistic contribution of priestly bronze statuary in particular, as well as a better understanding of the role and development of priestly bronze statuary.