Formal Resonances and Iconic Remotivations. The Allograms of 𓂘 [D32] in New Kingdom Sources

This paper aims to analyse the variety of formal resonances and iconic remotivations activated by specific occurrences of the hieroglyphic grapheme D32 in New Kingdom sources. It will first be argued (§1) that the frequent combination of with the -nw pot in hieratic sources triggered the emergence of hieroglyphic variants of D32. Their shape could not be interpreted easily from an iconic viewpoint during the Middles Kingdom (§2). In the New Kingdom sources, occurrences of this hieroglyph show that painters and lapicides adopted different approaches to monumentalizing the underlying cursive form, some of which clearly attest to a re-iconisation process (§3). In the discussion, I will attempt to identify the motivations behind the choice of specific variants, considering the context in which they were used, formal resonances with iconic motives, and indexical hieroglyphic networks (§4).