The ritual-magical functions of the decoration of Thutmose IV’s Chariot. An interdisciplinary analysis
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6401-2025-4-186-201
Abstract
The article deals with an interdisciplinary study of the decoration of the ceremonial chariot of Thutmose IV (18th Dynasty, New Kingdom), discovered in tomb KV43 in the Valley of the Kings. Overcoming the limitations of traditional iconographic and stylistic analysis, the author focuses on the psychological functions of the imagery within its specific burial context. The central hypothesis posits that the battle scene on the chariot served not a propagandistic, but a ritual-magical function, aimed at ensuring the pharaoh’s power in the afterlife. The research methodology combines approaches from art history, archaeology, historical psychology, and anthropology. The study provides a detailed analysis of the object’s material characteristics, its iconography, and archaeological context to reconstruct an implicit model of perception. Particular attention is paid to the polysensory experience of interacting with the object, including tactile and kinesthetic aspects, which are considered an integral part of ritual practice. A semiotic analysis demonstrates that the visual rhetoric of the decoration – including hierarchy of scale, deliberate iconographic conditionalities, ethnographically detailed depictions of enemies, and performative hieroglyphic inscriptions – was designed to construct an image of the eternal triumph of the deified ruler. It is concluded that the chariot’s decoration constitutes a complex ritual-psychological instrument intended for the magical affirmation of the pharaoh’s power in the afterlife. The results of the study confirm the effectiveness of the interdisciplinary approach for understanding ancient Egyptian art and visual culture.
About the Author
Yu. S. Reunov
Russian Academy of Sciences Centre for Egyptological Studies
Россия
Россия
Yury S. Reunov, Cand. of Sci. (Art History)
bldg. 8, bld. 29, Leninsky Avenue, Moscow, 119071
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Review
For citations:
Reunov Yu.S. The ritual-magical functions of the decoration of Thutmose IV’s Chariot. An interdisciplinary analysis. RSUH/RGGU BULLETIN. Series Philosophy. Social Studies. Art Studies. 2025;(4):186-201. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6401-2025-4-186-201
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