What makes a miniature?

Small WORLD: Ancient Egyptian Architectural Replicas from the Tomb of Meketre

“…The preference for replica is not motivated by the lack of formal 'realism' usually attached to models (see, e.g., the discussion of model vs. miniature in terms of realism in [18] (p. 121), [20] (pp. 28-32), [21] (p. 72), [22] (pp. [11][12][13][14], even though their scale and function imply per se a distorted reality [23] (pp.…”

“…Such selection does not cover the reality of this world, but creates an environment on the verge of two planes of existence, pre and post-mortem, in which a limited array of needs is chosen to be met with the most adequate of means. Although mimesis and scaling are at the core of replicas, simplification remains a major constraint [22] (pp. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11], the same essentialism that pervades the Egyptian (icono)graphic system [24] (pp.…”

“…To ancient Egyptian eyes, unrealistic architectural replicas were certainly not 'dysfunctional', since their modus operandi was performative [25], [26] (pp. [21][22][23][24], [27] (pp. 411-413), [24] (8, 83, 155, 214-215, 427), allowing things to be done with images as that may be done with words: a piece of bread, adequately depicted on the tomb wall and probably 'activated' during the funerary ritual, would function as well as the offering of a fresh loaf, a piece of clay in its shape inside a bakery replica, the word 'bread' in the offering formula written on the wall and/or pronounced in the liturgy.…”

“…Architectural replicas concentrate essential activities in an autonomous space: these microcosms 'have their own independent veracity: they are neither scrupulous and small reproductions of larger totalities, nor fragments of larger entities' [21] (p. 71). Mack's words are particularly pregnant here, as they underscore the separate existence of the replica's small world, an affinity with 'something less tangible' [22] (p. 7) than the structure it refers to. As we have seen, not all replicas of organized activities were inserted in an architectural environment, and if they were not, such lesser contextualization was closer to murals: wall scenes usually lack the minimal context of the workshop's space, ignored in favor of personnel, attitudes, tools, materials, and final products.…”

“…[9][10][11][12], and the tomb surely must have been one of the finest of the Theban area [4] (pp. [22][23]. Although, as it is often contended, crude replicas were substitutes for costly carved or painted wall décors in tombs of low-rank officials [2] (p. 1068), some members of the elite could obviously afford both (see, e.g., tomb of Niankhpepykem at Meir, Dynasty 6 [12] (pp.…”