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The Bull Apis from the Tomb of Psammuthis
Ricci, J, 1820, Lithograph
The Bull Apis from the Tomb of Psammuthis
The Bull Apis from the Tomb of Psammuthis
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Item no
31059
Title
The Bull Apis from the Tomb of Psammuthis
Artist / maker
Ricci, J
Date
1820
Size
7.5 x 30.0 cm
Type
Lithograph
Location
Reference Library
Giovanni Battista Belzoni was an Italian explorer and archaeologist, born in Padua (Padova). In 1803 he was working in England as a circus strong man, and exhibiting models of hydraulic engines. In 1815 he went to Cairo to try and sell his hydraulic engines to Muhammad 'Ali Pasha, and within two years had begun a new career, excavating Egyptian tombs and temples.
The cult of the Apis bull started at the very beginning of Egyptian history, probably as a fertility god connected to grain and the herds. Apis was a protector of the deceased, and linked to the pharaoh. This animal was chosen because it symbolized the king's courageous heart, fighting spirit, great strength and virility. The Apis bull was even considered to be a manifestation of the pharaoh, as bulls were symbols of strength and fertility, qualities which are closely linked with kingship ("strong bull of his mother Hathor" was a common title for gods and pharaohs).
Psammuthis was an Egyptian Pharaoh of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty during 393 BC.
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Drawings from Belzoni's expedition in Egypt
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Egypt
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