Quote:
The date seems to be 1923, but it doesn't make sense, as the Islamic calendar is different.
Christians that live in the Arab world write the AD date using Arabic numerals like this. You can even find it written this way on the coins of Egypt.
And this piece is Egyptian in origin - you can see a couple of pyramids in the background, above the doorway. The date "1923" is significant in Egyptology; in that year, Tutankhamen's Tomb was discovered and excavated. And as far I can determine, it is indeed the name "Tutankhamen", written in Arabic (where it is rendered "Twt eankhmwn") above the date. So I assume the doorway is meant to represent Tutankhamen's tomb entrance.
So I would conclude this was a piece made for sale to tourists some time after 1923, probably some time in the 1930s when tourism to Egypt was popular, and possibly made and sold at or near the Valley of the Kings site. The use of Arabic rather than English implies it was aimed at local tourists, rather than Western tourists, though of course if a Western tourist bought one they wouldn't complain.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
to the CCF
Posted 03/22/2023 11:41 am
