Overall, the Venus suggests that women were important. They were essential to life and survival because child bearing capabilities ensured the survival of the people. During the Paleolithic period, hunters and gatherers were constantly being killed, and in order to thrive as a society the woman was a necessity. With the changing roles of men and women in society, the depiction of women in art was not only defined as images of fertility, but of companions and royalties. In the New Kingdom, humans were no longer hunters and gatherers because they understood the danger they faced, and the unstable life that they lived.
They also realized that there were resources available to be able to live a healthier life. With this advancement, the art produced by artists of Egypt during the new kingdom effectively showed life as it was. Before this period, artists were focused heavily on portraying war, mythical creatures, and nature. Generally the art of the new kingdom was characterized by statues of the wealthy and the royal, and also of lives of everyday people. This was new to the art world because artists were not interested in that reality of society.
This is important because through the art they created, there was a real depiction of life that was not limited to the lives of the wealthy. The depiction of women in art in Egypt reflected this new society. Women were no longer shown just as fertility images. They played a larger role in society as wives and queens. An example of this new depiction can be seen in the statue of Menkaure and one of his wives Khamerernebty. This was found in the temple of Menkaure at Gizeh in 1910. As most early dynastic art, this statue was still connected to the stone block from which it was carved.
Analyzing Menkaure in this sculpture is important when trying to understand why his wife, or women in general, was portrayed as subordinate to men in the dynastic period. Menkaure is depicted in a traditional Egyptian pose almost seemingly standing straight up extending his left leg. This is particularly interesting because there was no shift in the hip, but this was because the Egyptians did not recognize that if a leg is extended the hip would slightly shift. This realism was not present until the archaic period with contrapposto.
Contrapposto means counter pose and is present when a figure is shifting most of its weight on one foot so that there is a shift in the hip and shoulders showing a naturalistic rendering of the human body in that stance. Menkaure’s arms were stiff at his side and his fists were clinched holding an object. This could very much indicate his power and the stress and tenseness that come with being powerful. His face is carved idealistically and he appears to be assertive and powerful. Menkaure’s body was crafted to seem naturalistic except in areas that are emphasized which are common to Egyptian statue.
Another thing common to Egyptian culture is the headdress. In the sculpture, Menkaure we are a headdress and this is a symbol of his status in society. Next to him stands Khamerernebty. Her representation in this statue is so pivotal and after analyzing Menkaure, the role of his wife can then be defined. Khamerernebty stands more naturalistic than Menkaure in this statue. This is symbolic of the role wives played in the predynastic period. It was important that she was depicted naturalistically because it exudes calmness in comparison to his tense posture.
She may also be portrayed naturalistically because of her importance. The sculptor ensured that Menkaure was sculpted idealistically, and in a sense someone is supposed to look at this sculpture and want to be him. Khamerernebty on the other hand is important but not because she is a ruler. She is important for the mere fact that she is one of his wives and this is why she is not rendered. Unlike dresses of the women in later Ancient Greece, Khamerernebty is sculpted wearing a long thin close fitting linen garment. The garment that she wears covers her whole body; it stops just at her ankles.
Her breasts carved and her nipples are shown vividly through the dress just as her navel and budge of her tummy. The sculptor sculpted the dress irregularly and it clings unnaturally around her vulva showing the tracing of her pubic area. The triangular shape is broad and has two lower converging sides and a sharply drawn horizontal line indicating the top of her pubic area. The emphasis to the pubic area would suggest that the sculpture is also a sort of fertility image as seen in the Paleolithic period. The difference in portrayal is that the women are not shown alone.
The rendering of her body is used to compliment the man hence enhancing her role as a wife, and also showing her subordination to him. In the sculpture, In the sculpture, she reaches around his waist, and her left arm is holding on to his left arm. This position also shows that she is subordinate to the Pharaoh and is his comforter and confidante. Also of great importance, her hands are open in comparison to his clinched hands, and her left foot does not extend as far forward as the Pharaoh’s foot. The hands symbolize her openness and understanding and her stance symbolizes that she is subservient.
Her pose has been elucidated as passive and dutiful standing supportively next to her powerful husband. Though this was a clear and defined role of women in Egypt during the predynastic period, it was not the only role. Women in Egypt enjoyed the same legal and economic rights as men therefor while many women were subordinate to men, many of them flourished as queens and other highly ranked positions. The busts of Queen Nefertiti and queen Tiye prove this assertion to be true.. One might wonder why a goddess would be used as a sex symbol, and the answer is quite easy.
