Prestige or propaganda? Egyptian and Egyptianizing objects in the Late Bronze Age Near East and their implications for understanding New Kingdom foreign policy
Abstract
Various aspects of the interaction between Egypt and other political and cultural centres of the Ancient Near East have always sparked the attention of scholars, trying to understand this multi-layered and complex issue - ranging from the interpretation of finds of Egyptian or Egyptianized objects at the ANE sites to a misapprehension in communication resulting from considerably different concepts of royal power and authority. While for the Egyptian audience, the king himself represents one of the key pillars that supports the functioning of the system, the non-Egyptian evidence provided by written sources (Akkadian, Hittite, Ugaritic) clearly shows a very distant glimpse of the figure of the Egyptian king and his authority in the Late Bronze Age Near East.
Similarly, Egyptian or Egyptianizing objects found in archaeological contexts of the Late Bronze Age are usually regarded as objects of prestige. But what is the evidence for such a claim? What are objects of prestige? Can we identify the objects mentioned in written documents with actual pieces? It is the aim of this presentation to highlight several aspects of these relations and set it into a wider cultural and political context.