Why do so many ancient Egyptian statues have broken noses?
The ancient Egyptians were masters of the arts. They carved countless statues depicting the society of the Pharaohs, religious symbols, and the country's wealthiest citizens.
But even though these statues depict different people or animals, many of them have one thing in common: a broken nose.
This “epidemic” of broken noses is so widespread that people suspect that these are just random accidents or that something more sinister is going on.
The truth is that in most cases of broken noses, the cause is intentional.
According to Adela Oppenhein, Museum Manager in the Department of Egyptian Art, New York Museum of Art, USA, these statues have broken noses because many ancient Egyptians believed that statues also have life, and if a hostile force accidentally discovered a statue and wanted to destroy its power, the best way to destroy the statue's power was to break its nose.
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Face of Pharaoh Senwosret III, 1878–1840 BC. Like many other statues, this one had its nose broken to remove its power. |
Of course, the ancient Egyptians knew that even if statues were alive, they could not stand up and move because they were made of stone, metal or wood, and they also knew that statues could not actually breathe like humans. However, their belief in the invisible or mystical in their thoughts and spirits still held that if statues were alive, then like humans, life would enter or exit through the nose, just like the way we breathe.
Oppenheim also said that when the ancient Egyptians performed rituals to invoke the gods into statues, the opening of the mouth was very common. In this ritual, the mouth of the statue was anointed with fragrant oils and various objects were put into it to make the statue “come alive” and have power.
The belief that statues have life force is so widespread that those who oppose them often want to destroy this power when they rebel. For example, those who loot temples, tombs, and other sacred places often believe that statues have life force that can punish or avenge, so they must be “killed” and an effective way to do this is to cut off the nose of the statue or painting or relief, so that they can no longer breathe.
However, sometimes bad guys do not stop at just cutting or breaking the statue's nose, but also break the statue's face, hands and feet to completely destroy the statue's vitality.
There are also some cases where statues are destroyed by nature or corroded due to unstable materials, but there are traces of intentional destruction caused by humans that can be recognized if you look closely.
