Hi Scott

No presuppositions..

It would make sense to me if the block were painted in the quarry prior to installation.

HOWEVER..
It would be extremely fortunate that the graffiti were positioned on the block in such a way that it would not be hidden behind the side wall masonry .
Bearing in mind that there may be at least another six feet of block hidden in the masonry.

The adjacent glyphs appear in photographs to be slanting. Each character.. left to right top to bottom. this would indicate that the glyphs were painted in situ.
it is a natural trait for a right handed person. standing to the left and painting vertically to the right.

The adjacent glyphs and cartouche ..appear to run out of space and are compressed toward the end . this is also a natural trait for an untrained sign writer. This would also not be the case if the painting was done before the block were installed. hence my attempt at humour with the "NO PARKING " sign analogy.. (It's an art school standing joke)

I feel that the looping and sinuous nature of the brush strokes are reminiscent of 19th century and first half of the 20th century British, English handwriting as I was taught at school, there have been changes since.

I work in the world of art these days and recently had to do some renovation work on a Victorian military fort. The style of semi-formal, hand, sign writing on plaster seemed to remind me of this.

There are experts in this field who verify signatures .. Paintings. etc..
It may be worth looking into this.

I tend to play myself down .. Don't want to appear big headed.. :)
However I am experienced in this field.. "Masters Fine Art"
It is after all a painting ..
So why not consider the opinion of an arts professional..??
Or is this exclusively for the Egyptologists..??



Post Edited (15-Jul-14 19:02)