The purpose of the image dictates its content and appearance, i.e.
This includes considering a variety of factors including its location, authorship, target audience, whether it is sacred or secular in nature, who commissioned it, etc. This means that one must be aware of an image’s purpose when analysing its significance within different contexts. With that being said, the value of an image as a historical source is tied to its original purpose. Two-and three-dimensional images are important sources about the ancient world as they can tell us many things about the culture that produced them. It will show why it is important for scholars to focus on the image/object’s purpose, their resemblance to their subject, and their meaning in terms of the message(s) they are meant to convey. This article will use depictions of the horse in ancient Egyptian and Greek art to highlight some of the challenges one encounters when studying ancient images’ relationship with reality.
Rather than looking for reality through the notion of resemblance, the degree of reality should instead be assessed through the way the subject is being conveyed as the image’s purpose dictates its appearance. When studying ancient images, the viewer should always keep in mind its original purpose.
It can create a bias that limits the researcher’s ability to analyse and interpret the image(s) to their full potential.
This fixation on reality has often affected the assessment of ancient imagery. The more ‘realistic’ an image is deemed, the more it is appreciated for its historic and aesthetic value. How ‘real’ the image looks is inextricably linked to its evaluation and therefore the viewer’s estimation of its quality. When modern (Western) viewers look at ancient art, the first feature of the image that is often assessed is its relationship to ‘reality’.
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