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Stela of Mentuwoser
Artist / Origin: Egyptian artist, Abydos possibly, Northern Upper Egypt
Region: Africa
Date: Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1954 BCE
Period: 3000 BCE – 500 BCE
Material: Painted limestone
Medium: Sculpture
Dimensions: H: 41 1/16 in. (104.3 cm.), W: 19 9/16 in. (49.7 cm.)
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Edward S. Harkness/Photo by Max Yawney
Bamboo in the Wind
Artist / Origin: Wu Zhen (Chinese, 1280–1354)
Region: East Asia
Date: Yuan Dynasty, 1350
Period: 1000 CE – 1400 CE
Material: Ink on paper
Medium: Calligraphy, Illumination, and Illustrated Books
Dimensions: H: 8 ft. 2 2/5 in. (250.4 cm.), W: 21 1/3 in. (54.1 cm.)
Location: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Credit: Courtesy of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Both Chinese and ancient Egyptian writing systems were based on visual signs. What’s more, in both traditions, images were almost always accompanied by text of some sort. These two objects demonstrate the rich dialogue that can occur between visual and textual elements placed in proximity.