The importance of the Pyramid Texts in Egyptological studies is confined not only to the content of the formulas or to their value in terms of the afterlife of the king; we can also focus attention on the epigraphic perspective and therefore on the semiotic one as well. Of interest here are the processes altering the grapheme and, in particular, the human classifier that we can recognize in almost all the Pyramid Texts of the 5th and 6th dynasties. The manipulation of signs seems to be viewed as a definite way to affect reality. In Egyptian written signs are not only the messengers of a spoken language but they come into existence and start to work from the very moment they are engraved onto stone. The ancient origins of these texts can explain their performative values: hieroglyphs are characterized by a creative power and sometimes by dangerous properties, so they require expedients in order to prevent them from damaging the dead king. This contribution is part of a broader PhD topic, whose goal is to attempt an interpretation of the particular graphic solutions of the human figure occurring in the Pyramid Texts and to evaluate if they can be compared with specific examples of manipulation of the image in different contexts of the contemporary iconographical scenery repertoire.
Image Processing. Elaboration and Manipulation of the human figure in the Pyramid Texts
IANNARILLI, FRANCESCA
2017-01-01
Abstract
The importance of the Pyramid Texts in Egyptological studies is confined not only to the content of the formulas or to their value in terms of the afterlife of the king; we can also focus attention on the epigraphic perspective and therefore on the semiotic one as well. Of interest here are the processes altering the grapheme and, in particular, the human classifier that we can recognize in almost all the Pyramid Texts of the 5th and 6th dynasties. The manipulation of signs seems to be viewed as a definite way to affect reality. In Egyptian written signs are not only the messengers of a spoken language but they come into existence and start to work from the very moment they are engraved onto stone. The ancient origins of these texts can explain their performative values: hieroglyphs are characterized by a creative power and sometimes by dangerous properties, so they require expedients in order to prevent them from damaging the dead king. This contribution is part of a broader PhD topic, whose goal is to attempt an interpretation of the particular graphic solutions of the human figure occurring in the Pyramid Texts and to evaluate if they can be compared with specific examples of manipulation of the image in different contexts of the contemporary iconographical scenery repertoire.
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