Transcript c 715-332 BCE - HCC Learning Web

* Before we begin…*
1. Write your email address on sheet that’s
passed around.
2. Group Project: Theme proposal due
Monday, Sept. 22 in class.
3. You will need to meet with your group
at some point within the next 12 days.
4. I’ll provide feedback on Wed. the 24th.
Ch. 3
Ancient Egypt
Area surrounding the Nile, now called Egypt, was
a resource-rich area--made the necessity of
shifting to a settled Neolithic lifestyle not urgent,
so the region didn’t transition until about 5000
BCE.
From c. 5000 BCE to 2950 BCE, Egypt was ruled
by a series of tribes and small cultures and was
divided into two main areas: Upper and Lower
Egypt
Upper Egypt—south, toward Africa
Lower Egypt—north, toward the Mediterranean
Nile flows to the Mediterranean Sea, so Lower Egypt is
where the Nile let out
Unification of Egypt
-c. 3000 BCE; Egypt was unified under one ruler, Menes from Upper Egypt
-For the next almost 3000 years, Egypt is relatively stable and unified and exhibits a
remarkably consistent artistic style—religious in all periods
-Ancient historian, Manetho, listed 30 ruling dynasties (families of kings) who ruled
Egypt from 3000 to 332 BCE, when they were conquered by Alexander the Great
from Greece
-Egypt from 3000 to 332 BCE is divided into 5 primary sub-periods:
-Early Dynastic Period (3000-2575 BCE)
-Old Kingdom (2575-2150 BCE)
-Middle Kingdom (1975-1640 BCE)
-New Kingdom (1539-1075 BCE)
-Late Egyptian (715-332 BCE)
Early Dynastic Egypt; 2950-2575 BCE
Eqyption creation myth: Ra (sun god) creates himself out of the “waters of chaos”
-By spitting, Ra creates Tefnut and Shu (gods of wetness and dryness)
-Tefnut and Shu begat Geb and Nut (earth and sky gods)
-Geb and Nut produce 2 sons: Osiris and Seth,
and 2 daughters: Isis and Nephthys
-Osiris and Isis marry and Osiris becomes king; Seth gets jealous and kills Osiris;
Isis and Nephthys bring him back to life
-Osiris and Isis have a son, Horus, who defeats Seth and becomes king of the earth
-Osiris retires and becomes overseer of the underworld.
-These are the main gods, among others, that appear throughout Egyptian art.
Horus
Front and back of The Narmer Palette; Early Dynastic Period; 25” tall
-Style typical of Egyptian art throughout its history: Met Museum
Twisted Perspective—profile head, frontal
shoulders, profile feet
Memory image—how we think of something as
looking, not based on strict observation of
things (also known as schematic)
Old Kingdom standard grid—proportions
based on a consistent measurement, like the
width of a closed fist, for example. Determined
the proportions for figures; everything had an
ideal or proper proportion.
These are conventions.
Mastaba: flat-topped, one story building built above an underground burial
chamber. Most common tomb structure of Early Dynasty.
-Might have numerous underground chambers for whole families.
-Standard burial for Eqyptian elite for centuries.
Ka: life force, or spirit. Believed to live on after death doing the same things it had
done in life, but it would need a body to live in, so a sculpted likeness of the
deceased would be placed in the serdab of the mastaba.
Necropolis: “city of the dead,” funerary complexes on the west bank of the Nile—
because the land of the death was believed to be in the direction of the setting sun
-2 most extensive necropolises: Saqqara and Giza outside modern Cairo
The step pyramid and sham buildings. Funerary complex of
Djoser, Saqqara
The Old Kingdom
c. 2575 – 2150 BCE
-time of social and political stability
Pyramids at Giza: most recognizable
Egyptian landmarks
Angled sides may have been
designed to mimic the rays of the sun
Oldest and Largest: Khufu’s (13
acres at its base)
Originally covered in polished
limestone—made it 480’ high
Site planned to follow the sun’s path
Actual burial vaults are inside the
tombs, not under
Great Pyramids, Giza; Granite and limestone, height of
pyramid of Khufu, 450‘, c. 2575–240 BCE
Erected by (from the left) Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu
Old Kingdom Sculpture:
-Very life-like, solid and compact
-Displays permanence, stability
Khafre; Anorthosite gneiss,
height 5' 6⅛“; (ruled c. 2520–
2494 BCE)
Giza, Valley Temple of Khafre
Menkaure; heir of Khafre.
-Sculpture is less formal than his father’s,
with affection from his wife
-Balanced pose with foot striding—typically
Egyptian
-Found in Menkaure’s valley temple, but
never finished polishing it; suggests it was
commissioned only a few years before his
death
Menkaure and a Queen;
Graywacke w/ traces of red and
black paint, height 54 ½”; ruled c.
2490 – 2472 BCE
Following Menkaure’s dynasty, more
generic portraits of rulers are made and
personalized with inscriptions on the base
Pepy II and His Mother, Queen AnkhnesMeryre; alabaster, c. 2323-2152; height 15
¼” x ~10”
-Ruler depicted as a child because he
inherited the throne at 6 and his mother
likely acted as regent until he was old
enough to rule
Old Kingdom sculptors also made
figures of less prominent people,
like this scribe found in the tomb of
Kai in Saqqara
Seated Scribe; painted
limestone; 21” high, c.
2450-2325 BCE
Wealthy tombs often included wall
decorations featuring everyday activities
that the Ka would continue to do after the
death of the entombed person.
Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt;
painted limestone; 45” high; c. 2450-2325
Middle Kingdom; c. 1975-1640 BCE
The old kingdom was followed by approx.
150 yrs of unrest and turmoil—1st
intermediate period
Eventually, the ruler Nebhepetre Menthutop
reunited the country and the Middle
Kingdom, another high point in Egyptian
history began
Art of the period is characterized by an
awareness of the struggles that preceded it
Head of Senusret III; Yellow quartzite; c
1938-1755; 17” high;
Rock-cut tombs, Beni Hasan, Middle Kingdom
Located south of the present-day Minya, Egypt
Hippopotamus; Faience, c. 19381755; tomb of Senbi
-Middle Kingdom art of all kinds displays excellent attention to accurate detail.
-Middle Kingdom tomb offerings and
decorations continue to show us much
about everyday life at the time.
Stele of Amenemhat I; c. 1938-1755
BCE, 11” x 15”; painted limestone
Model of a Garden House; tomb of
Meketre, c. 2125 – 2055 BCE; painted
and plastered wood, 33” long,
New Kingdom; c. 1539-1075 BCE
-followed 2nd Intermediate period—more turbulence interrupted
the ruling dynasties
-Egyptian rulers reunify Egypt by 1539 BCE
-Thutmose III (ruled 1479-1425 BCE) extended the Egyptian
empire as far as present day Syria; first ruler to refer to himself as
“pharaoh” (literally means “great house”)
-Thutmose III made diplomatic gestures with Near East (main
rulers in the Near East at this time; Hittites in Anatolia) to extend
Egyptian influence
-undertook major building projects along the Nile at the height of
the New Kingdom
The ruins of the Great Temple of Amun, at Karnak,
Egypt
-Hatshepsut; ruled 1473-1458—one of only a
few women rulers in Egypt; left greatest legacy
of monuments.
-Mother of Thutmose III, had herself declared
king before he came of age
-She was depicted in all the ways a male ruler
was depicted
-Tomb in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens on
the west bank of the Nile
c. 1353, ruler named Amenhotep (later Akhenaten) changed Egypt
to a monotheistic society worshipping sun-god Aten
-Art of this time very stylistically different; elongated, fluid forms
(Amarna syle)
Amarna style portraits: Queen Tiy (Akhenaten’s mother-left) and Nefertiti (Akhenaten’s wife-right)
Tutankhamun, Akhenaten’s son, quickly returned to
the traditional beliefs and artistic styles of Egypt, after
his father’s death
Inner burial tomb never plundered and was in its
original condition when discovered in 1922
Sarcophagus is 240 lbs of gold
Temple of Rameses II; Abu Simble; c.
1279-1213 BCE
people
Nefertari
(Queen)
touching
Rameses’ leg at
Temple
Temple Interior
Deceased in accepted into the afterlife and kneels before the 9 gods of Heliopolis; the
sacred city of sun god, Ra
Maat
Deceased
Deceased’s
heart
Anubis; god of embalming and
cemeteries.
Nephthys &
Isis
Thoth
Osiris
Feather of truth
Ammit; “Eater of the
dead”
A Book of the Dead; Judgment
of Hunefer Before Osiris; c 1285
BCE; ~15” high
Osiris’ sons
Late Egyptian; c 715-332 BCE
-Egypt heavily influence by foreign powers who were
attracted to Egypt’s wealth and art
-Alexander the Great (from Greece) conquered Egypt
in 332 BCE and his generals later divided up the
empire
-Art of this time reflects the occupying cultures; not
very Egyptian
Mummy wrapping of a young boy; Linen wrappings with
gilded stucco buttons and inserted portrait in encaustic
on wood; height of mummy 53⅜", c. 100–120 CE