Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Colombia 20007, USA.
Am J Med Genet A. 2010 Oct;152A(10):2556-62. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.33616.
The ancient Egyptians left an impressive artistic legacy documenting many aspects of their society including the existence of dwarfs as highly valued members. In previous publications in the Journal, I discussed dwarfs and skeletal dysplasia in ancient Egypt. In this study, I examined the ancient Egyptian representations of dwarfs of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the highlights of the collection is a group of five ivory figurines from Predynastic Times (pre 3500-3100 BCE) depicting a couple, a man with a child, and two females. Representations from other periods include ordinary as well as dwarf deities. The dwarf gods, Bes and Ptah, are frequently depicted holding or biting snakes or standing on crocodiles symbolizing their ability to ward off dangers. A couple of statuettes from the Greco-Roman Period that, in contrast to earlier Egyptian Periods, depict harsh physical anomalies, twisted bodies, and facial pain. The artistic impression can be interpreted as either tragic or humorous. The grotesque depiction of dwarfs during the Greco-Roman Period in ancient Egypt is believed to be due to a greater infusion of Hellenistic influence. This study provides a microcosm of the legacy of dwarfs in ancient Egypt and supports the premise that dwarfs were accepted and integrated in the ancient Egyptian society, and with a few exceptions, their disorder was not depicted as a physical handicap.
古埃及人留下了令人印象深刻的艺术遗产，记录了他们社会的许多方面，包括矮人的存在，他们是备受重视的成员。在我之前发表在《期刊》上的文章中，我讨论了古埃及的矮人和骨骼发育不良。在这项研究中，我检查了马里兰州巴尔的摩沃尔特斯艺术博物馆的古埃及矮人的形象。该系列的亮点之一是一组五个象牙小雕像，来自前王朝时期（公元前 3500-3100 年），描绘了一对夫妇、一个男人和一个孩子，以及两个女性。其他时期的代表包括普通和矮化的神灵。矮化神贝斯和普塔经常被描绘成持有或咬住蛇，或站在鳄鱼上，象征着他们能够抵御危险。有几个来自希腊罗马时期的小雕像，与早期的埃及时期不同，描绘了扭曲的身体和面部疼痛等严峻的身体异常。艺术印象可以被解释为悲剧或幽默。在古埃及的希腊罗马时期，对矮人的怪诞描绘被认为是由于更多的希腊化影响。这项研究提供了古埃及矮人遗产的一个缩影，并支持了这样的前提，即矮人在古埃及社会中被接受和融合，并且除了少数例外，他们的疾病并没有被描绘为身体残疾。
