Wiebe Reints

 

The meaning of an object:

How the Shabti of King Senkamanisken can be seen as a semiophore of cultural exchange

 

Abstract: This paper sheds a light on the importance of the meaning that is given to an object. The Shabti of King Senkamanisen is eminently an example of the Egyptian influence on Kushite culture. However, there is a long-led discussion on the origin of that influence. Since George A. Reisner was the excavator, his ideas about Egyptian influence on Kushite culture remained of importance within the field of Egyptology. Only, his ideas are based in the imperial and racist worldview that was widespread at the beginning of the 20th century. With the use of Krzysztof Pomian’s theory on semiophores, this paper aims to show that it is important to take the discussion on the origin of Egyptian influence on Kushite culture into account, when giving meaning to the shabti. The value of a semiophore is the meaning that is given to it and the story it tells through that meaning. In the case of the shabti, the story that it tells is that of Egyptian influence on Kushite culture. The Shabti of Senkamanisken can either enforce the, burdened, ideas of Reisner as well as other theories on the Egyptian influence of Kushite culture. However, since all of these theories are based on assumptions, this paper argues that the shabti also can be a semiophore of a broader history of cultural exchange. By doing this, less attention is given to the uncertain history of Egyptian cultural influence and a better link is made to the globalised world of today, which is characterised by the exchange of cultural phenomena.

 

 

Bio: Wiebe Reints finished his bachelor’s in History in 2020. He specialised in Cultural History with a focus on museums and restitution of colonial artefacts. Within the master Museums Studies, he aims to set forth this specialisation, but is also interested in the theoretical base of museums and the semiotics of objects on display.