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• 1 2024-11-05T16:44:14-08:00 Where did this relief go? 2 plain 2024-11-21T09:31:21-08:00

  We do not know the original location of this relief. However, a strikingly similar victorious representation of Arikankharer’s immediate predecessors, Queen Amanitore and her co-regent Natakamani, is found on the monumental arched gateway of the temple of Apedemak in Naqa. The reliefs at Naqa depict twin images of Amanitore and Natakamani in identical postures to Arikankharer, each smiting an enemy held by the hair while lions devour fallen enemies between the victorious rulers’ legs, and a vulture-like animal hovers nearby each ruler. Some surviving images of Amanitore and Natakami also contain depictions of the young Arikankharer: at Naqa, the scenes on the western main wall of the temple represent Natakamani and Amnitore being legitimized by Apedemak and the god Amun in the presence of Arikankharer; the scenes on the back wall show the three rulers worshiping a three-headed Apedemak. 
  These depictions further suggest that other representations of Arikankharer, such as this relief, may have also been displayed on a temple wall. Although a large part of the left side of the relief is missing, we know that it showed at least one group of captives, as a small part of this group remains at the left border of the relief. However the missing section may have also contained the figures of deities, as the victory reliefs of Amanitore and Natakamani show the rulers giving up their enemies to the gods. While we cannot know for certain that the missing part of the relief represented deities, this theory would further support the belief that the object was displayed in a sacred space.
  
  Nevertheless, some scholars refute the idea that this relief was displayed in either a palace or temple, arguing that even the intact object would have been smaller than the monumental reliefs of Amanitore and Natakamani, and that its shape would have made it difficult to attach to a wall. It was found around 1903 by Wilfred Bishop, Soudan Civil Service, who was stationed at Shendi (according to his widow) and was later purchased by the Worcester Art Museum in 1922. 
  
  Sophie Sundaram, Class of 2026, College of the Holy Cross