The aim of this book is to approach Ptolemaic and Imperial royal
sculpture in Egypt dating between 300 BC and AD 220 (the reigns of
Ptolemy I and Caracalla) from a contextual point of view. To collect
together the statuary items (recognised as statues, statue heads and
fragments, and inscribed bases and plinths) that are identifiably royal
and have a secure archaeological context, that is a secure find spot or
a recoverable provenance, within Egypt. This material was used,
alongside other types of evidence such as textual sources and numismatic
material, to consider the distribution, style, placement, and functions
of the royal statues, and to answer the primary questions: where were
these statues located? What was the relationship between statue,
especially statue style, and placement? And what changes can be
identified between Ptolemaic and Imperial royal sculpture? From analysis
of the sculptural evidence, this book was able to create a catalogue of
103 entries composed of 157 statuary items, and use this to identify the
different styles of royal statues that existed in Ptolemaic and Imperial
Egypt and the primary spaces for the placement of such imagery, namely
religious and urban space. The results, based on the available evidence,
was the identification of a division between sculptural style and
context regarding the royal statues, with Egyptian-style material being
placed in Egyptian contexts, Greek-style material in Greek, and
Imperial-style statues associated with classical contexts. The functions
of the statues appear to have also typically been closely related to
statue style and placement. Many of the statues were often directly
associated with their location, meaning they were an intrinsic part of
the function and appearance of the context they occupied, as well as
acting as representations of the monarchs. Primarily, the royal statues
acted as a way to establish and maintain communication between different
groups in Egypt.
