{"id":"cma-101392","titulo":{"en":"Seated Scribe of Medthu","es":"Escriba sentado de Medthu"},"titulo_original":"Seated Scribe of Medthu","autor":"Unknown maker / Autor desconocido","fecha":"c. 1479–1425 BCE","cultura":"Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Tuthmosis III (1479–1425 BCE)","tecnica":"limestone, originally painted","fuente":"Cleveland Museum of Art","licencia":"CC0-1.0","licencia_url":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/","credito":"Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust","url_original":"https://clevelandart.org/art/1920.2004","imagen_url":"https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.2004/1920.2004_web.jpg","ficha":{"en":{"titulo":"Seated Scribe of Medthu","se_ve":"A limestone sculpture, photographed frontally against a smooth grey background that darkens toward the top, occupies the center of the image. A man sits cross-legged on a thick, rectangular, rough-textured base of pale, eroded stone. His legs form a wide, horizontal mass in the foreground; over them lies a papyrus, partly unrolled and curled around his right thigh. His left hand holds the rolled portion, while his right hand rests flat, fingers extended, on the inscribed surface. Seven columns of hieroglyphs in sunk relief, oriented toward him, can be made out. He wears only a short, belted kilt, stretched tight over his lap. His bare torso is broad and still, with remnants of reddish-brown paint, black spots, scratches, and pale areas where the surface has worn away. His striated, bell-shaped wig reveals his ears and falls behind his shoulders; the fine lines run parallel across his forehead. His face, lit from the left and shadowed on the other half, has a calm expression, a slight smile, and one more visible eye. The stone looks porous, chipped at the edges of the base and legs, giving the figure an aged, fragile presence despite its compact, symmetrical mass.","contexto":"According to the source, this unknown-author limestone sculpture, originally painted, dates to around 1479–1425 BCE, in Egypt's New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, during the reign of Thutmose III. It depicts Medthu, overseer of the two granaries and scribe of accounts of the fields of Amun. The cross-legged pose, the papyrus unrolled over a tight kilt, and the bell-shaped striated wig are characteristic of scribe statues. The source notes that this type of wig, inherited from the Middle Kingdom, helps place the work early in the dynasty. Where it was found and how it was originally displayed are not stated in the data provided.","como_mirarla":"Start with the hands: one holds the roll, the other rests flat, as if work were about to resume. Then look at the lap, where the kilt becomes a desk, and at the face, half-lit and half in shadow. That contrast between the permanence of the stone and the fragility of writing changes the statue from a portrait into a scene of work paused.","dato_curioso":"A surprising visual observation: although he is a scribe, he holds no writing instrument. It is his own body — his crossed legs and stretched kilt — that becomes the support for the papyrus.","preguntas":["What does it mean to portray someone not through power or wealth, but through the act of writing and accounting?","How does the loss of the original paint change our perception of his body, his clothing, and his status?","If the hieroglyphs face the scribe and not the viewer, who is this image really made for?"]},"es":{"titulo":"Escriba sentado de Medthu","se_ve":"Una escultura de piedra caliza, fotografiada de frente sobre un fondo gris liso que se oscurece hacia arriba, ocupa el centro de la imagen. Un hombre está sentado con las piernas cruzadas sobre una base rectangular, gruesa y rugosa, de piedra clara y erosionada. Las piernas forman una masa ancha y horizontal en primer plano; sobre ellas descansa un papiro parcialmente desenrollado, que se curva alrededor de su muslo derecho. La mano izquierda sostiene la parte enrollada y la derecha se apoya plana, con los dedos extendidos, sobre la superficie inscrita. Se distinguen siete columnas de jeroglíficos en relieve hundido, orientados hacia él. Solo viste una falda corta con cinturón, tensada sobre el regazo. Su torso desnudo es ancho y quieto, con restos de pintura café rojiza, manchas negras, rasguños y zonas claras por el desgaste. La peluca estriada, en forma de campana, deja ver las orejas y cae detrás de los hombros; sus líneas finas corren paralelas sobre la frente. El rostro, iluminado de un lado y en sombra del otro, tiene expresión serena, una leve sonrisa y un ojo más visible. La piedra se ve porosa, con despostilladuras en la base y las piernas, lo que le da una presencia antigua y frágil pese a su volumen compacto y simétrico.","contexto":"Según la fuente, esta escultura de autor desconocido, en piedra caliza originalmente pintada, data de alrededor de 1479–1425 a.C., en el Imperio Nuevo de Egipto, dinastía XVIII, durante el reinado de Tutmosis III. Representa a Medthu, supervisor de los dos graneros y escriba de cuentas de los campos de Amón. La postura con las piernas cruzadas, el papiro desenrollado sobre la falda tensa y la peluca acampanada y estriada son propias de las estatuas de escribas. La fuente señala que ese tipo de peluca, heredado del Imperio Medio, ayuda a ubicarla en la parte temprana de la dinastía. No consta en los datos dónde fue hallada ni cómo se exhibía originalmente.","como_mirarla":"Empieza por las manos: una sostiene el rollo, la otra se apoya plana, como si el trabajo fuera a continuar. Después mira el regazo, donde la falda se convierte en escritorio, y el rostro, mitad iluminado y mitad en sombra. Ese contraste entre la permanencia de la piedra y la fragilidad de la escritura convierte la estatua de retrato en una escena de trabajo en pausa.","dato_curioso":"Una observación visual sorprendente: aunque es un escriba, no sostiene ningún instrumento para escribir. Es su propio cuerpo —las piernas cruzadas y la falda estirada— el que se convierte en soporte del papiro.","preguntas":["¿Qué significa retratar a alguien no por su poder o riqueza, sino por el acto de escribir y llevar cuentas?","¿Cómo cambia la pérdida de la pintura original nuestra percepción de su cuerpo, su ropa y su estatus?","Si los jeroglíficos miran hacia el escriba y no hacia quien observa, ¿para quién está hecha realmente esta imagen?"]}},"etiquetas":{"en":["ancient egypt","new kingdom","18th dynasty","seated scribe","limestone","papyrus","hieroglyphs","ancient sculpture","administration","writing","serenity","erosion"],"es":["egipto antiguo","imperio nuevo","dinastía xviii","escriba sentado","piedra caliza","papiro","jeroglíficos","escultura antigua","administración","escritura","serenidad","erosión"]},"objetos":["estatua","hombre sentado","papiro","jeroglíficos","peluca","base rectangular"],"colores":["#4b4b4f","#c9bba7","#a6705d","#8a5a4a","#e3d9cb","#2e2a28"],"animo":["sereno","concentrado","atemporal"],"epoca":"c. 1479-1425 a.C.","certeza":"alta","advertencias":[],"capa":{"voces":[{"guia":"la restauradora","en":"I pause on the surface of this painted limestone, which today looks porous and eroded. Traces of reddish brown paint remain, with darkened areas, scratches and chips on the base and legs. I am interested in how the sculptor resolved the compact volume of the body and the bell-shaped striated wig, whose parallel lines frame the serene face. The unrolled papyrus resting on the taut skirt preserves seven columns of sunken relief hieroglyphs. It is a piece that feels fragile and solid at once, marked by centuries.","es":"Me detengo en la superficie de esta piedra caliza pintada, que hoy se ve porosa y erosionada. Aún quedan manchas de pintura café rojiza y zonas oscurecidas por el tiempo, con rasguños y despostilladuras en la base y las piernas. Me interesa cómo el escultor resolvió el volumen compacto del cuerpo y la peluca acampanada estriada, cuyas líneas paralelas enmarcan el rostro sereno. El papiro desenrollado sobre la falda tensa conserva siete columnas de jeroglíficos en relieve hundido. Es una pieza frágil y sólida a la vez, marcada por los siglos."},{"guia":"el astrónomo aficionado","en":"As if observing another sky, I imagine Medthu, overseer of the two granaries and scribe of accounts of the fields of Amun, dated to around 1479 to 1425 BCE, during the reign of Thutmose III. His task was to measure, count and record, just like someone mapping stars. The cross-legged posture with papyrus on the lap speaks of concentration and calculation. The wig inherited from the Middle Kingdom helps place him in the early Eighteenth Dynasty. It is the serenity of one who upholds order through writing.","es":"Como si observara otro cielo, imagino a Medthu, supervisor de los dos graneros y escriba de cuentas de los campos de Amón, fechado hacia 1479 a 1425 antes de nuestra era, en el reinado de Tutmosis III. Su trabajo era medir, contar y registrar, igual que quien mapea estrellas. La postura con piernas cruzadas y papiro sobre el regazo habla de concentración y cálculo. La peluca heredada del Imperio Medio nos ayuda a ubicarlo en la temprana dinastía dieciocho. Es la serenidad de quien sostiene el orden con escritura."},{"guia":"la niña de ocho años","en":"This man is sitting cross-legged as if he is about to do homework on the floor. He wears a short little skirt and a bell-shaped wig that covers to his shoulders and lets his ears show. On his legs there is a rolled papyrus that curves and has little drawings that are hieroglyphs. One hand holds the roll and the other rests open on top. His face looks calm and he smiles a little, even though the stone is scratched and stained. It seems he has been sitting there a long time, taking care of his writing.","es":"Este señor está sentado con las piernas cruzadas como si fuera a hacer tarea en el piso. Tiene una faldita corta y una peluca como campana que le tapa hasta los hombros y deja ver sus orejas. En sus piernas hay un papiro enrollado que se curva y tiene dibujitos que son jeroglíficos. Una mano agarra el rollo y la otra está abierta encima. Su cara se ve tranquila y sonríe poquito, aunque la piedra está raspada y manchada. Parece que lleva mucho tiempo ahí sentado, cuidando su escrito."}],"retos":[{"pregunta":{"en":"How many columns of hieroglyphs can be seen on the papyrus resting on his lap?","es":"¿Cuántas columnas de jeroglíficos se distinguen sobre el papiro que descansa en su regazo?"},"pista":{"en":"Count the vertical lines of carved signs on the light surface of the papyrus.","es":"Cuenta las líneas verticales de signos grabados sobre la superficie clara del papiro."}},{"pregunta":{"en":"What object does the scribe hold partially unrolled over his crossed legs?","es":"¿Qué objeto sostiene el escriba parcialmente enrollado sobre sus piernas cruzadas?"},"pista":{"en":"It is light-colored, curved and has ancient writing on it.","es":"Es claro, curvo y tiene escritura antigua encima."}},{"pregunta":{"en":"What shape is the thick and rough base the man is sitting on?","es":"¿De qué forma es la base gruesa y rugosa sobre la que está sentado el hombre?"},"pista":{"en":"Look at the light, eroded stone that forms the seat at the bottom.","es":"Mira la piedra clara y erosionada que forma el asiento en la parte inferior."}}],"conexiones":["escriba sentado","papiro y jeroglíficos","piedra caliza pintada","administración del antiguo Egipto","peluca estriada acampanada","erosión y restauración","escritura como poder"]},"salas":[],"escrita_por":"muse-wonder-1.0"}