Hi Ritva,

You wrote,

>As for the facing south and having
>the head turned. Firstly, use your
>common sence: a person can turn his/her
>head any way he/she wishes and yet
>the basic orientation of his/her
>worldview does not change.

The head of the Sah personification figure isn't just turned sideways as in characteristic AE figures. The head of the Sah figure is rotated completely backwards to look in reverse. This is herf-haf, meaning 'he whose face is turned backwards'. This is a particular representation that does not conform to the standard AE canonical tradition of depicting a human figure. The reason it is different -- the face in reverse -- is because it was most certainly intended to convey a change in directional orientation.

And you wrote,

>The orientation of their worldview that
>is the basis of all their perception
>and conceptions did not change even
>if their bodies moved.

I think this is a very simplistic, rigid and motoric statement that belies a lack of understanding regarding AE postures, gestures and many other nuances. It is in my opinion a specious assertion that would be difficult to support by facts or evidence. If you could provide some facts or evidence to support your statement, of course I would be happy to consider them.

And you wrote,

>Secondly, haven't you noticed that the
>AE ways of picturing things that do
>not always concord with "reality", such
>as all faces pictured from the side,
>while the bodies were twisted to show the
>upper body from front and the lower from side.

Well . . . are you now the 'Decider' who gets to determine what 'reality' is? The fact is that in AE art, both 2D, in relief, and 3D, the face was shown not only in profile but in 'full face'. I suggest for those interested in ancient Egyptian art, particularly that dealing with the human figure, the writings of Gay Robbins.

And,

>We do kow (sic) that this sort of convention
>in art was used in the funerary art also.


Here you imo miss the the significance of the Sah personification figure with its head rotated backwards. It is obviously and imo intentionally unconventional for the purpose of emphasizing a reverse of directional orientation.

And,

>Therefore I don't see any point in you
>taking sAH out of the context.

What context? Perhaps you mean the convention of a face directed to the south (as well explained and illustrated by Katherine on this thread). But how do Katherine, Ritva, Robert and etc. explain the 'unconventional' figure of the Sah personification with its head twisted around completely to look backwards?

Ken

PS: You wrote a 266+ word post without answering my simple question: If the AE convention is for the face to be directed to the south, what direction would the face be directed to if it is turned backwards?