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Date of Illustration: between 1290-1224 BCE

Description: In a scene on a wall in the Temple of Abu Simbel, the battle of Qadesh (probably about 1286 BCE but certainly between 1290-1224 BCE) is depicted. In this image, soldiers are seen preceding a trumpet player, who is blowing his instrument. One author observes that only two images show the trumpet player following the soldiers, this being one of them.

In a paper from 1988, Fischer illustrates the same player but with a significant difference. Fischer’s illustration shows three tassels on the upper part of the trumpeter’s body, these perhaps indicating military rank. Such differences illustrate the limitations of reliance on other worker’s interpretations of iconography.

Citations: Wreszinski 1923: II, pl. 170, 171

Image:

IC571