The practice and significance of inlay in New Kingdom monuments as a reflection of royal ideology: The evidence from Malkata and Amarna.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This dissertation represents the first thorough investigation of the innovative use of faience, a glazed material, and other substances as architectural inlays in certain royal cult monuments of the Egyptian New Kingdom dating mainly from Amenhotep III to Akhenaten. These purposeful additions to the monuments reveal concepts of royal ideology specific to these buildings. The inlays, rarely found in the original context, have survived in many collections. My research involved a first-hand analysis of material from early excavations involving the study of thousands of tile fragments and inlays and examining published and archival resources. I have reconstructed the contexts of use and have reassembled the material for the purpose of explaining the appearance, function, and iconography of the inlays in their original setting. My analysis focuses on the l8th Dynasty in order to explore the initial development of the practice, which utilized two trends followed later. The first is the use of symbolically significant blue faience combined with gold based on an Old Kingdom tradition and the second concerns polychrome faience. In the period of Amenhotep III blue and gold inlay embellished royal kiosks used during the celebration of the sed festival at Malkata. At el-Amarna under Akhenaten the extensive use of architectural inlay in polychrome faience flourished. My study reconstructs new forms designed for ceremonial settings in the Amarna Central Palace; their symbolic iconography reinforced royally endorsed concepts of kingship. Tile-clad throne room columns in brilliant organic colors resembled growing papyrus plants. Figurative tiles duplicating painted compositions portrayed the natural world over which the king held dominion. Lotus tiles symbolized regeneration. Plant plaques showed seasonal growth. Inlaid names of the Aten and the king were displayed throughout the palace. Other inlays include large-scale figures of the king and queen worshiping the Aten; these images perpetuated the offering cult, providing a focus for public veneration. I also demonstrate that forms and techniques of architectural inlay established in the 18th Dynasty continued in use with further developments in Ramesside royal monuments: the palaces of Seti I and Ramesses II at Qantir, Merenptah at Memphis, and two cultic temples of Ramesses III.