Transcript Egyptian Art

Ancient Egypt
3,500 - 500 BCE
Giza Sphinx (Old Kingdom)
King Tut Tomb (New Kingdom)
Maps of Egypt
Egyptian Art
Recorded
roughly between 3,500
and 500 BCE
Egypt’s history is divided into
periods
–Pre-Dynastic (3500-3000 BCE) Egypt
was not yet unified
–Old Kingdom (2700-2280 BCE)
–Middle Kingdom (2050-1800 BCE)
–New Kingdom (1550-1200 BCE)
–Late Period (After 1080 BCE)
Artistic ideas all through this time were
the same: Rigid and conservative
 The 3 most important things to Egyptians:
(1) their king, (2) the Next World, (3) the
Nile - this is reflected in their art
 Tomb paintings, sculptures, pyramids, and
pottery were the art forms of ancient
Egypt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOUjDIX37o4
The Art of Ancient Egypt

Sculptures and Pyramids (tombs)
– Huge to show power
– Contained art showing pharaoh's daily life
believing this made their spirit (Ka) enjoy a
happy afterlife.
– Some burial chambers were deep
underground/some built in center of pyramid

Paintings and Drawings
– Head, pelvis, legs, feet in profile but eye and
shoulders in front view.
– Pharaohs appear stiff and formal
– Peasants/workers are shown farming, building
The Artists
No independent artists, instead skilled
craftsman who supervised making
sculptures, pyramids, paintings, and
drawings
 Bound to king, therefore, guaranteed
economic security
 Historic record shows they were not slaves

Egyptian Social Pyramid
1.Pharaoh
2.The Royal Family
3.Scribes, Architects
4.Craftspeople, Slaves
__1__
____2____
_______3_______
__________4 _________
Art and Kingdoms

Pre-Dynastic (3500-3000 BCE)
Pottery from Hierakonpolis tomb
(Hierakonpolis was palace city of upper Egypt.)

The Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BCE)
– Rapid development of the qualities that make
Egyptian art (flat paintings, stiff sculptures)
– Age of the pyramids
Palette of Narmer
(Narmer was the king)
Nofret and Prince Rahotep
Palette of King Narmer
from Hierakonpolis, Egypt
3,000-2,920 B.C.E.
slate
approximately 25 in. high
•
Every image on the palette conveys Narmer’s
might and importance.
•
He is protected by Gods:
Hathor (protective goddess)
Horus (falcon god of the sky and kingship)
•
Narmer’s name appears in a pictograph in a small
square at the top
•
He wears the white crown of Upper Egypt, and
from his waistband hangs a ceremonial
bull’s tail, signifying strength.
•
•
Holding a mace (a club), Narmer bashes his
enemy. Two more dead enemies below his feet.
•
The papyrus (a plant from Lower Egypt) and man’s head
represent that Lower Egypt has been tamed.
He is taller, more central and more powerful. He
destroys his enemies and their cities. The
Palette is a statement of his power for it
celebrates the king’s divine right to rule
and illustrates his ability to do so.
• Narmer is shown in the top register wearing
a Red Crown of Lower Egypt, making
it clear that he now rules both lands.
• Decapitated bodies have been placed in
rows with their heads between their
feet. (looking from above)
• The intertwining necks of the two feline
creatures is possibly another reference
to the union of the Two lands.
• The bull in the bottom register menaces a
fallen foe outside the walls of a
fortress. The bull, an animal of
strength may symbolize the king.
These images affirm the absolute
power of the ruler over the entire
country of Egypt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgZiO3JfXk
Giza and Saqqara
burial sites
Great Pyramids of Giza
Dynasty 4
2601-2515 BCE
• The pyramids were built by kings Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura
• The oldest and largest pyramid is that of Khufu standing 450’ tall and
covering 13 acres. It was finished with a polished limestone.
• Khafra’s pyamid is slightly smaller than Khufu’s and Menkaura’s is
considerably smaller with a polished red granite base.
• Each cut stone block weighed on an average of 2.5 tons.
• These immense monuments reflect not only the desire of kings to attain
immortality but also the strength of the Egyptains’ belief that a
deceased ruler continued to affect the well-being of the state and his
people from beyond the grave.
Great Sphinx
Giza, Egypt
2520-2494 B.C.E.
sandstone
approximately 65 ft. high
Old Kingdom
cont.
The Great Sphinx combines the pharaoh’s head with a crouching lion.
Great Sphinx
Giza, Egypt
The figure conveys dignity, calm, and above all
permanence with the body firmly anchored in
the block it ensured a lasting presence.
The statue was carved of anorthosite gneiss an
unusual stone from Nubia. When the stone is
out in the sunlight it glows a deep blue.
Symbolism
Khafra sits erect with falcon god Horus on the
back of his throne.
Lion paws form the thrones legs - a symbol of
regal authority
Lotus and papyrus plants symbolize the king’s
power over Upper and Lower Egypt.
A linen headdress with a cobra symbolize
Ra and the false beard is symbolic of royalty.
Khafra , approximately 5’6” tall
from Giza, Egypt
2500 BCE
anorthosite gneiss
Menkaura and Khamerenebty
Giza, Egypt
2500 BCE
graywacke
Approximately 54 ½ in. high
• Menkaura is Khafra’s son who has been
sculpted with his queen, Khamerenebty.
• This statue was discovered in Menkaura’s valley
temple – close by Menkaura’s pyramid
• Menkaura is depicted as a Egyptian ideal –
athletic and youthful with a balanced
pose of one foot forward.
• The queen is equally youthful wearing a sheer,
loose fitting garment which reveals the
curves of her body. She also strides
forward but with a smaller step.
• The couple ‘s separate figures, close in size,
form a single unit, tied together by the
stone. They are further united by the
queen’s symbolic gesture of embrace.
Seated Scribe
Saqqara, Egypt
Dynasty 5
2494-2345 BCE
Painted limestone, 21 “ high
• The seated scribe is from the
tomb of Kai
• Kai was a vizier (like a prime minister)
who advised the king
• This statue could be a representation
of Kai
• His statue appears more lively and less
formal than the royal portraits.
• His pupils are slightly off-center – giving the illusion
of being in motion
Like other Egyptians, most scribes came to their occupation by following
their fathers’ footsteps. Training began at age five for boys. (And they were
always boys; girls usually didn’t learn to read and write.) They mixed
pigments for ink, rubbed rough papyrus with a stone to create a writing
surface, and made brushes from reeds. They mastered practical math for
accounting. Most important, they memorized the Egyptians’ 700-plus
formal hieroglyphic symbols, as well as hieratic script. They learned by
copying selected texts: sample correspondence, instructions on proper
morals and behavior, and eventually manuals on government
administration.
As an educated class in a largely illiterate society, scribes also performed
very personal services for their fellow villagers. When a peasant needed to
compose a letter, formally petition for redress, or even offer a specific
prayer to the gods, he went to a scribe to write it down.

The Middle Kingdom (2050-1800 BCE)
– Same style but higher quality craftsmanship
– Rules for artists were reduced somewhat and
more naturalism was permitted
Rock-cut tombs
Bani Hasan, Egypt
ca. 1,950-1,900 B.C.E.
Bani Hasan - Bani Hasan is a small village
and an important archaeological locality
in Middle Egypt.
There are 39 ancient tombs
here of Middle Kingdom
Interior hall of rock-cut tomb
of Amenemhet (Ruler of the 12 dynasty)
Tomb art
included wall paintings, reliefs,
and small figurines.
Model showing brewing, baking and butchery
(other figurines from Middle Kingdom tombs)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mharrsch/1312007949/in/photostream/
Middle Kingdom cont.
• Reflects the new sensibility –
shows the monarch is
preoccupied and emotionally
drained . He is wise in the
ways of he world but lonely,
saddened and burdened by
responsibility.
• Sesostris was a dynamic king and
a successful general.
Portrait of Sesostris III
Dynasty 12, 1836-1818 BCE
Yellow quartzite, height 17 3/4”
• He maintained armies to patrol the
country’s borders and
constructed large-scale
channel connecting to the
Nile.

The New Kingdom (1550-1080 BCE)
– Combo of Old (huge scale) and Middle
(craftsmanship/quality) but reached a peak
and then began to decline
Portrait of Tutankhamun
Four Colossi of Ramses II
Akhenaten - Egyptian Pharaoh
1369-1332 BC

Queen Nefertiti
Akhenaten's Great Royal Wife
The religious ideas of King Akhenaten radically changed
Ancient Egypt from a polytheistic religion, worshipping
many gods, to monotheism which was the worship of one
god. Aten, the life-giving sun deity (depicted as the sun
disc) became the single supreme god. He abandoned
Thebes, capital of Egypt, and built a new capital calling it
Akhetaten (“Horizon of the Aten”)
Akhenaten and His Family,
1348-1336 BCE
Limestone relief
Akhenaten, Queen Nefertiti, and three daughters exemplifies the new openness and
a new figural style. The outlines of the figures have been carved into the surface of
the stone instead of being formed by cutting away the background – the king and
queen sit on cushioned thrones playing with their children. The artist has conveyed
the engaging behavior of the children and the loving concern of their parents in a way
not even hinted at in earlier royal portraiture in Egypt.
King Tutankhamun
ruled 1336-1327 BCE
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Tutankhamun returned to the religious beliefs of Amun and moved
his court to Thebes. (turning his back on Akhenaten’s city, Amarna)
Tutankhamun died quite young and was buried in the Valley of the
Kings.
King Tut's Tomb lay undisturbed for roughly 3,300 years until
English archaeologist Howard Carter discovered it Nov. 1, 1922.
Carter and his team happened upon it as they dug near a spot
where the tomb of Ramses VI had been found years earlier.
Digging thirteen feet below the Ramses tomb they discovered a
staircase that led to King Tut's Tomb.
The tomb room contained more than five thousand objects, many of
which were covered with gold and beautifully carved. The most
famous of these objects is probably the lifelike gold mask that
covered the face of Tutankhamun's mummy. Also uncovered were
military items, clothing, jewelry, and many statues of Tutankhamun
and Egyptian gods.
King Tut’s body lay inside three nested coffins. The innermost coffin in the
Shape of a mummy made of several hundred pounds of solid gold decorated
With colored glass and semiprecious gemstones.
The ruler holds a crook and flail – an implement used in threshing grain. The flail
symbolizes the Pharaoh's role as provider of food for his people and the crook
symbolizes his role as the shepherd of his people.
King Tut’s mummy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euEZkUILBjM&feature=related
Temple of Ramses II
from Abu Simbel, Egypt
ca. 1290-1224 B.C.E.
colossi approximately 65 ft. high
King Ramses is often regarded as the
greatest, most celebrated, and most
powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire.
The facade of the Great Temple of Ramses is about 38
meters long and 31 meters high. The temple is dedicated
to the most important gods of the New Kingdom, Ptah
(the creator god of Memphis), Amun-Re (the great god of
Thebes) and Re-Harakhte (sun god of Heliopolis), as well
as to the Pharaoh Ramses II himself. The four colossi,
statues of Ramses II (c. 1290-1224 BCE), are more than
20 meters high and about 4 meters from ear to ear.