92
JOHN D COONEY
red quartzite and was clearly madc as a royal portrait as there is a large rectangular opening for the traditional uraeus. The face is not unlike thal of the Dayton sculpturc, lacking any distinct individuality and difllcult to dale. The slender eyebrows are in high relief. At first glance the head seems to represent a bald man but kings, whatcver their actual State, are ncvcr represented as bald in Hgyptian art. That area of the skuli which seemingly is bald is, in faet, the undecorated surface of a Junior Blue Crown. Such crowns, though infrequent, are known both in relief and in the round. In good light the edge or band of this headdrcss is clearly visible above the forehead. It is now impossible to determine if this crown was always plain or was originally covered with gesso and thcn decorated with paint. But, clearly, a Junior Blue Crown il has.
Thus, the Dayton, Bloomington and Brooklyn sculptures share the same crown, one which is, as 1 have remarked, rare in sculptures in the round. In addition, the Bloomington and Brooklyn hcads have characteristics which tcnd to limit their datę rangę and to suggest they are of Theban origin. The Bloomington head has llesh folds in the neck while the Brooklyn head has indications of piercing in the car lobes. Both features first appeared in Egyptian art lale in the reign of Amenhotep III at a datę after the year 25 of his reign. Both dctails wcrc standard features of Theban work for a very long time. They were standbys of Amarna art and survived at least into latc Dynasty XXI, though with decreasing frequcncy. I doubt that cxamples of these details are to be found so late as Dynasty XXII though of this I am uncertain. In any case both details were chiefly characteristic of the Theban school and though found in Lower Egyptian work they hardly survived in the work of that area after later Dynasty XIX. Ali of which tends to suggest a Theban origin for the two heads under discussion which, in turn, tends to favor an origin not later than Dynasty XXI for that was the very last period in which Thebes was favored with royal patronage. Another and minor detail supports this dating and that is the presence of glass in the diadem of the Bloomington head. The last appcarance of that materiał was in royal funerary equipmcnt of Dynasty XXI at Thebes after which it is unknown in Egypt until a very much later datę.
These little studics in Egyptian art are my tribute to the fond memory of my old friend Jacques Vandier. That he was a great scholar and an outstanding curator of a great collection are- so obvious as to need no comment. He was an even greater friend and human being and, whal is rare in this time, a devout Christian with a profound faith in God and in the essential goodness of his fellow men. His spiritual q ualities, profound faith and charity, will always live in his memory. In his departure Paris has lost much.