Dance Like An Egyptian

Its something that could have come back with Indiana Jones. The bust resembling Michael Jackson at the Chicago Field Museum has opened suggestions about Jackson’s karma due to the spitting image between the somewhat androgynous though generally acknowledged female egyptian bust and that of the singer’s mug. The missing piece of her nose is also unresolved and concurrently, finding the reason for its disintegration  may reveal new twists in the Jackson  saga.

The Egyptian bust recalls the psychic Edgar Cayce ,his belief in reincarnation and how many of his ”readings” brought the subject back to contentious personal issues in ancient Egypt, its mysticism and hidden mystery such as those found in the Book of the Dead. Cayce believed the scientific and cultural advances of Egypt were based on its founders  origins who were from the lost civilization of Atlantis. The bust in question is from the New Kingdom period of  which the pharoah Ramesses is known for. The New Kingdom art was characterized by a loose and enthusiastic style with the works tending towards the grandiose, impressive and sometimes ostentatious. It was a break with the Old Kingdom’s emphasis on fine details, tightness and precision.

Prancing Horse, 1391-1353 B.C

In the reign of Akenhaten, ” new portraits of the royal family replaced graceful images with shocking new pictures. Kings and Queen’s had skinny chests and shoulders, and massive hips, thighs and buttocks… Akenhaten’s willingness to ditch tradition altogether was a forerunner of things to come… the backlash against his actions and ideas was brutal; ancient Egypt was a conservative country and soon traditional paintings were back ” .

The New Kingdom marked the end of Egypt’s glorious empire after which fragmentation and civil war were the norm. it was also the era of stunning art and architecture  and erotic symbolism found in the lyrical poetry of the period which reflected emotional attachment, love and and romance. Lynn Meskell has stated , ”male artists created vernacular art that was replete with erotic signifiers, exclusively revolving around the sexualization of the female body…”

Chicago Field Museum, New Kingdom Period