Valley Temple of Khafre
unknown (Egyptian (ancient))
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Alternative Title
Valley Temple of Chephren
Date
-2520--2494Description
General view of the interior, looking southeast; In general, however, the complex of Khafre is much better preserved than that of Khufu: parts of the mortuary temple survive, while the valley temple has been substantially reconstructed, and the entire length of the causeway can be traced. The valley temple at the end of the causeway, beside the Sphinx, is an austerely beautiful building, square in plan, with twin entrances, battered exterior walls and a central T-shaped hall lined with monolithic piers which supported a flat roof; the contrast in colour between their pink granite casing and the polished white calcite floor is highly effective. In places the temple's granite facing was carved with hieroglyphic inscriptions in sunk relief displaying great mastery of the hard stone; they are among the earliest known examples of this technique. The spaces between the piers may have been occupied by the magnificent seated hardstone statues of Chephren [Khafre] found in the temple (e.g. Cairo, Egyp. Mus., JE 10062); fragments of 23 similar statues were found in a pit in an antechamber. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/15/2008)
Type of Work
necropolis (cemetery form); templeSubject
architectural exteriors, death or burial, deities, rulers and leaders, Egypt--Civilization, Old Kingdom (Egyptian), Fourth Dynasty
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only