Relief fragment from the depiction of a battle
New Kingdom
Builders reused one complete block (13.181.21) and this part of another, originally belonging to a large depiction of a battle, in the foundation of the mortuary temple of Ramesses IV, subsequently excavated by the Metropolitan Museum. In this part of a block western Asiatic enemies are seen clinging to one another. They may be paying homage to the victorious pharaoh.
When they were excavated, this and the larger block 13.181.21 were dated to the reign of Ramesses II. A recent study of their stylistic and iconographic features, however, has caused scholars to redate them earlier, probably the reign of Amenhotep II. The new date indicates that by the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty, monumental battle scenes had become part of the decorative scheme of temple walls.
The garment with long sleeves covering the upper part of a man's body is best understood as denoting rank.
