The old manuals told the image-maker to meditate first and to see the deity described in its dhyāna verse before touching stone. The verse was the brief. Finished images were brought to life by opening their eyes. Egypt's sculptors knew a parallel rite, the Opening of the Mouth, and one of their words for sculptor meant "one who causes to live." We work in that lineage of attention. Each scene below is remade for several peoples with its sacred attributes kept intact.
The guild is still working. Mamallapuram's Government College of Architecture and Sculpture was founded in 1957 to carry the sthapati tradition into the modern era. In Swamimalai, around 1,200 Vishwakarma sthapatis still cast Chola-style bronzes by lost wax (beeswax, resin and groundnut oil, 4:4:1). The craft has held a Geographical Indication since 2008–09. (source)
We are testing these features and looking to develop them. This is Hathor's alpha work, made on our own servers — the images and videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate. Tell us what works and what doesn't: every video page has 👍/👎, comments and timestamped notes.
The full gallery, every scene in every look: https://hathor.soapbox.community/remakes · Shilpa Shastra gallery: https://hathor.soapbox.community/gallery
Hathor as cow emerging from the western mountain
Source: Papyrus of Ani, Book of the Dead, British Museum EA10470 (facsimile) · photo/scan: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; original ar · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted
Isis and Nephthys adore the rising sun
Source: Papyrus of Ani, Book of the Dead, British Museum EA10470 (facsimile) · photo/scan: Published by James Wasserman; facsimile made by E. A. Wallis Budge; original ar · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Original: 
Realistic — Egyptian · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Nut, Shu and Geb: the separation of sky and earth
Source: Greenfield Papyrus (Book of the Dead of Nestanebetisheru), British Museum EA10554 · photo/scan: Photographed by the British Museum; original artist unknown · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Original: 
Realistic — Egyptian · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Queen Nefertari led by Isis
Source: Tomb of Nefertari (QV66); facsimile by Nina de Garis Davies, Metropolitan Museum 30.4.145 · photo/scan: Charles Wilkinson · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Original: 
Realistic — Egyptian
Sennedjem and Iineferti in the Field of Reeds
Source: Tomb of Sennedjem (TT1), Deir el-Medina; facsimile by Charles K. Wilkinson, Metropolitan Museum 30.4.2 · photo/scan: Charles Wilkinson · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Original: 
Realistic — Egyptian · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
The Great Cat of Ra slays the serpent Apophis
Source: Wall painting in a Deir el-Medina tomb, Luxor · photo/scan: Mig Gilbert · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · cropped to the scene
Original: 
Realistic — Egyptian · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
The Opening of the Mouth before the tomb
Source: Papyrus of Hunefer, Book of the Dead, British Museum EA9901 · photo/scan: Hunefer · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Original: 
Realistic — Egyptian · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy Portrait of a Woman with Earrings
Source: Harvard Art Museums, 1923.60; c. 130–140 CE; public domain
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of Eirene
Source: Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart; Commons author field: Ernst von Sieglin, 1923; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of Lady Aline, Hawara
Source: Neues Museum, Berlin; tempera on linen, from Hawara (excavated 1892); photo Carole Raddato; CC BY-SA 2.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of Petrie's 'red youth', Hawara
Source: Petrie Museum, London; Roman period, from Hawara; photo Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a bearded elderly man, er-Rubayat
Source: Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, München, SMÄK 3; tempera on wood; photo ArchaiOptix; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a bearded man, Hawara
Source: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, E.2.1888; encaustic on wood; photo ArchaiOptix; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a bearded young man, er-Rubayat
Source: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, ÆIN 681; encaustic on wood; photo ArchaiOptix; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a boy
Source: Musée du Louvre; photo TimeTravelRome; CC BY 2.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a child, Athens EAM 1631
Source: National Archaeological Museum, Athens, EAM 1631; tempera on stuccoed linen; photo ArchaiOptix; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a girl, Hawara, München SMÄK 1307
Source: Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, München, SMÄK 1307; encaustic on wood, set in a rhombic-wrapped mummy; photo ArchaiOptix; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a girl, er-Rubayat
Source: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, ÆIN 682; encaustic on wood; photo ArchaiOptix; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a man, Tübingen Inv. 7517
Source: Museum der Universität Tübingen, Inv. 7517; wax paint on wood, late 2nd century CE; photo Wuselig; CC BY-SA 4.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
Mummy portrait of a mature woman, München ÄS 1
Source: Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, München, ÄS 1; Early Roman period; photo captmondo; CC BY-SA 3.0
Original: 
Realistic — As depicted · Nubian · Libyan (Amazigh) · Levantine · Pale
All 20 scenes in this set, and every other remake, are in the gallery: https://hathor.soapbox.community/remakes. Made on our own servers in Hathor Studio; each scene links to its place in the gallery.