Un exercice de sculpteur associé à l’inhumation d’un chien au temps de Padiamenopé
Résumé
Publication of an unfinished limestone sculpture found a few centimetres from a dog burial in the backfill of the foundation trench of Padiamenope’s pylon (TT 33). The statue represents a left human foot and is interpreted as a student’s practice piece performed in the context of a sculpture workshop engaged in carving the funerary furniture during the construction of the mausoleum. An inadvertent breaking of the stone interrupted the carving. The fact that this object appears in a stratified context is noteworthy, as this category of artifact, although well documented in museum collections, is generally decontextualized, which makes it difficult to determine their date and production background. The apprentice’s replica may have been deliberately associated with the dog’s grave, in the manner of a funerary tribute to a beloved pet, or their proximity may be purely coincidental.