The earliest images of horse and chariot battle in Egypt
A Re-Evaluation
Date
Location
Sponsor
ARCE-NY
Admission
Open to the public; up to 40 seats
RSVP required
FREE | ARCE members with promo code
$15 | Zoom access to attend online
About the Event
Since the discovery at Abydos in 1993 of fragments of a complex horse and chariot battle narrative in the remains of the pyramid temple of King Ahmose (ca 1550-1525 BCE), a number of previously unknown or lost fragments of similar battle scenes featuring equids have come to light. In particular, the recent publication of battle scenes from the temple of Thutmose I in Qurna, rediscovered in a tomb used as a storeroom, allows a more thorough re-evaluation of the Ahmose fragments in relation to these stylistically related decorative programs. The apparent influence of the innovative Ahmose scenes, the earliest yet known in Egyptian art, will be elucidated in an effort to sketch the development of the horse and chariot genre during the first half of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
About the Speaker
Since 1993, Stephen Harvey has been Director of the Ahmose and Tetisheri Project, which centers on excavation of the pyramidal complex of King Ahmose at Abydos, southern Egypt. He received his Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology in 1998 from the University of Pennsylvania, and his B.A. in Archaeological Studies from Yale University in 1987. Harvey’s fieldwork in and around the pyramid complex of Ahmose (ca 1550-1525 BC) has resulted in major discoveries, including several previously undiscovered temples, the identification of the pyramid of Queen Tetisheri, and the analysis of thousands of fragments of the temples’ decorative program. In addition to extensive fieldwork at Abydos, Harvey has worked in Egypt at Giza and Memphis, as well as on archaeological projects in the United States, Syria (Tell es-Sweyhat), and Turkey (Gordion).
Harvey has held teaching and curatorial positions at a number of leading Egyptological institutions. From 2003-2006, Harvey was Assistant Professor of Egyptian Archaeology in the Oriental Institute and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, The University of Chicago. In 2006, he led the reinstallation of the Picken Family Nubian Gallery of the Oriental Institute Museum, together with co-Curator Bruce Williams. From 1998 to 2002, Harvey was Assistant Director of the Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology and Assistant Professor in the Department of Art of the University of Memphis, TN. Harvey was Assistant Curator for Egyptian Art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland from 1996 to 1998.
Harvey has also held research associate appointments at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and Stony Brook University. He has been interviewed for and consulted on many international television documentaries, including the series “Scanning the Nile/Mystères du Nil,” (Label Films, France, 2020); “Unearthed” (Windfall Films, 2018-2021); “Mysteries at the Museum” (Travel Channel, 2018); “Building Pharaoh’s Chariot” (NOVA, PBS 2013); “Egypt: Engineering an Empire” (History Channel); and “Egypt’s Golden Empire” (PBS), and “Lost Treasures of Egypt” (National Geographic), in addition to national and local news programs in the US.
He has been invited to public and academic audiences throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Egypt, France, Australia, and New Zealand. Since 2000, Harvey has also been a popular lecturer and host on more than 25 tours to Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Lebanon sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America, the Smithsonian Institution, the Field Museum, the Explorer’s Club, and the Petrie Museum. He has also taught several courses for the Bloomsbury Summer School in London and in Egypt.
Hungry?
Salmagundi members are welcome to reserve for dinner in the dining room via our Reservations page.