Trumpeter on Wall Painting

Iconography | IC066

Date of Illustration: 1182-1151 BCE

Description: A scene showing a trumpeter in action is illustrated on the north outside wall at Abu Simbel. This shows Ramses III’s troops storming the city of Tunip between 1182 and 1151 BCE. Among the victorious Egyptian troops, who scaled the walls of the defeated city, are a standard bearer and a trumpet player who blows his instrument in the tumult of the battle. It is significant that the trumpet player is standing right beside the standard bearer, both apparently playing a significant role in the military action and a pattern which is mirrored in much later Roman iconography when the cornicines stood close to the standard in battle.

Citations: Komorzynski 1938: p. 156, Hickmann 1946: No. 11d, Figure 16

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