Monday, January 20, 2014

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Centipede Edition.

Copper Centipede brings us another of his carved Cthulhu idols, this time with an Egyptian theme.


3 comments:

CoastConFan said...

Basswood is an excellent medium and so is Tupelo gum. I’m always pleased to see people working in a carving medium be it wood or stone. I like the figure a lot.

I’m not sure I can buy into a classic Egyptian aesthetic on this piece, even though it has hieroglyphics. The large Asiatic eyes and the heavy limbs point to a more Semitic origin or influence. Of course if you argue that it is predyanstic then the foreign influence is understandable. A rededicated figure with a newer text would work quite well. Then it would be 6,000 plus years old under that scenario. Of course it could be an ancient figure brought in by the Hyksos or one imported by a repressed cult rather than a home-grown group. It’s not too hard to make a plausible backstory to insert it into the timeline for an RPG or LARP.

http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-02enl.html

http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/predynastic-egypt-met-museum5-15-12.asp

http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/timelines/egypt/early.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Predynastic_collage.png

Anonymous said...

Thanks Propnomicon for another feature! Copper Centipede here.

CoastCon, thanks for the comment! Personally, carving away wood and stone comes much more naturally than sculpting up with clay.

This was commissioned by a client who wanted an idol exactly like one of my previous commissioned pieces, save for the base inscription and the eyes. He specifically wanted slanted almond shaped eyes. I agree that the aesthetic of the figure in whole does not come off as Egyptian, though I didn't really ask about the intended backstory of the piece he wanted me to create...
An underground cult with multiple blended/borrowed elements type scenario was the kind of thing I was imagining.
The client was very happy with the piece all in all, which was my aim. Not sure if he'll be using it for a LARP/RPG though he said it was going to be featured in his home's altar.

Always impressed at the amount of historical knowledge a great deal of the mythos fanbase has...
Great links, thank you for sharing.
Always been interested in ancient art, culture, and history but never had the time to really delve in as much as I'd like to. Perhaps I should put down the chisels and pick up some books when I can. : )

- Dreggs

CoastConFan said...

The credit goes to the makers of these props shown on this blog and for Propnomicon who daily comes up with interesting and thought provoking props and techniques.