"Stelophore leuchten". Bemerkungen zur Entwicklung eines Statuentypus

The study traces the main lines of the typological, iconographical and textual development of the stelophorous statue highlighting the potential of a multidimensional approach to a corpus of ancient Egyptian statuary. Based on about 190 sculptures, it spans the period from the 18th dynasty to the beginning of the Ptolemaic era. In order
to structure this corpus, the statues are classified according to a new and straightforward typological system distinguishing between the seven types A.I, A.II, S.I, S.II, S.III, S.IV and S.V (A = “Adorant”; S = “Stelophor”). Throughout the following analysis, it will be shown that the stelophorous type includes a wide range of statues stemming from different contexts and covering various functions. The majority of them bear sun hymns and thus
manifest the solar theology of the first half of the New Kingdom and its impact on the funerary costumes. Due to the multifunctionality of the stela, a second very heterogeneous group using other texts soon emerged within temple precincts. This functional development finally ensured the persistence of the stelophorous statue through the religious changes of the first millennium B. C.