A New Interpretation of the Grid System Reform in the Late Period

Abstract

This paper offers a new art-historical interpretation of the grid reform of anthropomorphic representations in Egypt around the mid-seventh century BC. The objective of this paper is two-fold. First, it will demonstrate the problems with previous interpretations, which depended, on the one hand, upon the written record of Diodorus Siculus regarding the Egyptian method of statue production, and upon comparative analyses of the two-dimensional representation of human figures on the other. Secondly, this paper is devoted to providing a new understanding of the art-historical context of the grid reform. This reform – in which Late Period Egyptians abandoned the tradition that had been utilised for nearly 1,800 years and created a completely new system by uniting the Egyptian metrological system and the traditional method of grid projection – less reflects improvement in the appearance of the image, and rather demonstrates a metaphysical development that had never been seen or experienced before.