The Art of Ancient EgyptThe Art of Ancient Egypt

Geographical Context• The Nile River, the longest river in the world (over 4000 miles), begins in the mountains of central Africa, and runs northward through Egypt, dispensing into the Mediterranean. • Sediment brought down the Nile River from central Africa created rich, fertile soil. • In the rainy season, the Nile would flood, dispensing the nutrient-rich silt throughout the farmlands, making the crops plentiful.• Because Egypt is otherwise arid (dry), most cities developed along the Nile.• The banks of the Nile were marshy, supporting fish and amphibian life that the Egyptians hunted, as well as large amounts of papyrus.

Geological Context• Unlike Mesopotamia, Egypt had a plethora (variety) of stone to use in art and architecture, including diorite (the hardest), granite, limestone, and slate.

• Between the rocky terrain and the arid climate, the Egyptian civilizations were much more defendable than their Mesopotamian counterparts. This resulted in a relatively stable, unchanging culture.

Examples of the rocky Egyptian landscape

Upper v. Lower Egypt• Initially, Egypt was divided in to Upper and Lower regions.

• Each region had a symbolic crown, shown in the image on the right.

• It may seem counter-intuitive that Lower Egypt was actually north of Upper Egypt, but there is actually a reason for it. What is the reason?

Symbolic crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt

Religious Context• Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians were primarily polytheistic, and believed strongly in an afterlife.

• Believed that before the beginning of time, the primeval waters existed alone in the dark. Then, a mound rose up out of the waters, on which the creator god (Amun) appeared and brought light to the world, and created the other gods.

• The pyramid-shape is significant as it recalls the mound of the creation myth.

The Egyptian Pantheon

(set of gods)

Religious Context• Instead of making a sharp distinction between body and soul, Egyptians believed each person had a life-force known as a ka.

• The ka could live on in the body after death, but to do so, the body had to remain as unchanged as possible, which is why bodies were mummified.

• In some cases, statues of the deceased were also included in the tomb, to give the ka an alternate place to live if the body disintigrated.

Funereal Customs• Because the ka was believed to continue living after a person died, people were buried with all the things the ka would need in the afterlife, including protective amulets and scrolls, utensils, food, drink, and figurines called ushabtis (answerers) that did any labor the deceased needed in the afterlife.

• To ensure immortality, the mummy and the contents of the tomb needed to be protected, so the outer walls of the tomb were fortified with heavy stone blocks.

• Because of the strong fortification of tombs, and the wealth of items enclosed, much of our knowledge of ancient Egyptian culture comes from artifacts found within them.

HippopotamusFrom the tomb of Senbi

Glazed ceramicc. 1900 BCE

Political Context• Egyptian society was very hierarchical, with clearly defined classes.

• The ruler of Egypt was known as a pharaoh, who was considered the son of a god, and was deified after death.

• Typically, power passed from the pharaoh to the pharaoh’s son, creating a dynasty of pharaohs from the same family line (there are several different dynasties over the course of ancient Egyptian history).

• Although most pharaohs were male, there were four female pharaohs (the two most important of which were Hatshepsut and Cleopatra).

Burial Mask of Tutankhamun

c. 1320 BCE

The Rosetta Stone• During an expedition in 1799, a small group of officers, being lead by Napoleon Bonaparte, discovered the Rosetta Stone in the delta region of Rosetta, Egypt.

• The stone is made up of three registers of text. The top register is Egyptian hieroglyphic, the second register is demotic (a simplified, cursive form of hieroglyphics), and Greek.

• Although the ancient Egyptian language had died out, it was possible for the discoverers to read the Greek portion.

• By 1818, the remainder of the stone was fully deciphered, giving archaeologists a huge asset in learning about ancient Egyptian culture.

The Rosetta Stone

DemoticDemoticDemoticDemotic

HieroglyphicHieroglyphicHieroglyphicHieroglyphic

GreekGreekGreekGreek

Depiction of Human Figures• Canon of proportion – artists used a system, based on a grid drawn out beforehand, to lay out an idealized figure. Distance from heel to hairline was 18 units (1 unit = width of a fist), ankle was always on the first horizontal, knee was always between fifth and sixth horizontal, and so on.

• Use of twisted perspective - each body part was depicted at most characteristic angle (head in profile view, eye in front view, torso in front view, etc.)

• Depictions of royalty highly idealized – toned physiques, youthful features

The Palette of King Narmer• Narmer – first king to unify upper and lower Egypt• A palette was a flat stone with a circular depression on one side, used for grinding eye-paint in. This particular palette is much larger than usual, because it is for ceremonial use.• Use of hieratic scale to connote divine status

• Hieroglyphics in the top center spell out Narmer’s name (fish = nar, chisel = mer)

The Palette of King NarmerSlate, 2’ 1” high. c. 3000 BCEOld Kingdom, Pre-dynasticHierakonpolis, Egypt

back front

Upper Egypt Lower Egypt Unified Egypt

back front

What symbols do you see represented?

What might they mean?

Cow’s head is symbol for protective goddess Hathor

back front

On this side, Narmer is depicted wearing the crown

of Upper Egypt

On this side, Narmer is depicted wearing the crown of Lower Egypt

Ceremonial bull’s tail, symbol of strength

God Horus (falcon with human arm)

shown with a human head on a tether next to a stylized

papyrus plant (representing lower

Egypt)

Fish (Nar)Chisel (mer)

The superhuman strength of Narmer is symbolized by a great bull knocking down a rebellious city (seen from an aerial view)

Intertwined lioness necks may be another reference to Egyptian unity

On both sides, Narmer is shown as larger and more

important than other humans, and solely responsible for his

victorious triumphs.

Egyptian Burial Structures• Basic burial structure was a mastaba. Included an underground burial chamber (shaft filled in with rocks), a chapel in which food and drink were ceremonially placed for the deceased, and sometimes a serdab (a room to house the ka statue).• Originally housed single burials, but later became more complex to house families.• Chapel had a false door through which the ka could rejoin the world of the living to partake in the offered food.Mastaba

The Stepped Pyramid ofKing Djoser (Zoser)

• King Djoser’s burial tomb was designed by the first recorded artist, Imhotep.• Imhotep expanded upon the idea of a mastaba by adding multiple layers to create a stepped pyramid, as well as a more extensive network of several hundred interior rooms.• Each face of the pyramid was oriented to the cardinal points of the compass.• Dual function of the temple was to protect the king and his possessions and to symbolize, by its gigantic presence, his absolute and godlike power.• Earliest known use of columns. Columns were engaged (attached) to walls, and resembled papyrus stalks (symbol of lower Egypt).

The Stepped Pyramid of King DjoserImhotep. 2630 BCE. 200 ft. high. Pre-dynastic.

Suqqara (necropolis for Memphis)

Capitals (tops of columns) resemble papyrus blossoms

The Great Pyramids at Giza• Took 75 years to build.• Served as the tombs for Old Kingdom pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure.• New tomb shape probably reflects the influence of Heliopolis, the seat of the powerful cult of Ra (sun deity), whose emblem was a pyramidal stone called a ben-ben. • The Great Pyramids are symbols of the sun, and the sun’s rays were the ladder the pharaoh used to ascend to the heavens.• The pyramids were where Egyptian kings were reborn in the afterlife, just as the sun is reborn each day at dawn.• The reflective, light color of the limestone would have underscored the connection to Ra.• The Great Sphinx is probably Khufu or Khafre depicted as a sphinx, which was associated with Ra. Combines human intelligence with strength and authority of a lion.

The Great Pyramids at Gizac. 2500 BCE (Old Kingdom)

Primarily limestone

The Great Pyramids at Giza• The largest pyramid (Khufu) is 775’ wide, and 450’ tall.• Stones were cut from the ground, moved via rollers and sleds, then chiseled and polished to a perfect fit. Building using carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in construction and fit together without mortar is referred to as ashlar masonry.• Stones would have been moved up ramps into position.• Priests made offerings in the mortuary (or funerary) temple, which was located on the East side of the pyramid (side of the rising sun)• A covered causeway (an elevated road) connected the mortuary temple to the Valley Temple, which was the main entrance to the pyramid complex, and would have connected the complex to the Nile River via canal.• After the death of a pharaoh, his body would be ferried across the Nile to the Valley Temple, where ceremonies took place. The body was then sent along the causeway to the funerary temple, where the family would present it with offerings of food and drink, and priests would perform the “opening of the mouth” ceremony. The body was then entombed in the burial chamber.

The Great Pyramids at Gizac. 2500 BCE.

Seated Ka Statue of Khafre• From Khafre’s valley temple (one of many)• Made of diorite, imported from 400 miles away via Nile.• Sits upon a throne made of abstracted lions.• Intertwined lotus and papyrus plants (symbols of united upper and lower Egypt) between chair legs.• Falcon-god Horus protects Khafre’s head with his wings.• Idealized face and body, and shown wearing usual headdress and false beard of a pharaoh.• Serene expression and bi-laterally symmetrical pose invoke feeling of eternal stillness.

Seated Ka Statue of Khafrec. 2500 BCE (Old Kingdom)

Diorite, 5’ 6” tall

Seated Scribe• A scribe would have had a high place in Egyptian society (which was mostly illiterate), but not nearly as high as the pharaoh. • As such, it was acceptable to depict a scribe in a less idealized way. The scribe’s physique shows signs of aging that would be considered disrespectful on a sculpture of a pharaoh.• Although it was more realistic, the scribe was not intended to be a portrait of a specific individual, but was rather a composite of conventional types.

Seated Scribec. 2400 BCE

Painted limestone1’ 9” high

Saqqara, Egypt

Menkaure and a Queen• Figures are carved of graywacke, a type of sandstone. Since the figures are not free-standing, this could be considered high relief.• The function of this statue is to serve as an eternal place for the ka, supported by the sense of serenity and timelessness evoked by the depiction.• The poses of both people are highly standardized, and found frequently in ka statues. • Idealized physiques and serene, youthful faces• Menkaure is stepping forward, but his hips do not turn as they naturally would to accommodate a step• The queen’s gesture indicates their marital status

Menkaure and a Queenc. 2500 BCE. 4’ 6” high.

Painted graywackeGiza, Egypt

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

• Hatshepsut was daughter of Thutmose I, and married her half-brother, Thutmose II, who ruled for 14 years.• Upon the death of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut was appointed regent for her underage (14 year old) son, Thutmose III. • She had herself declared king (based on the claim that Thutmose I had declared her king during his lifetime, substantiated by a relief in Thutmose I’s funerary complex depicting him crowning her in the presence of the gods). • She ruled for 20 years, during which time she commissioned many sculptures of herself (which were unfortunately mostly destroyed during her son’s later rule), as well as a vast funerary temple.• It is referred to as a funerary temple instead of tomb because her actual tomb (burial place) is in the nearby Valley of the Kings.

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Deir el-Bahri. c. 1450 BCE

New Kingdom

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

• The temple is oriented towards the nearby Temple of Amun at Karnak.• The complex follows an axial plan, meaning that all of its separate elements are symmetrically arranged along a dominant center line (axis).• A causeway lined with sphinxes once ran from a valley temple on the Nile to the first level of the complex, a huge open space before a long row of columns known as a colonnade.• The complex included shrines to Thutmose I, Amun, Hathor, Anubis, and of course Hatshepsut herself.• The complex contained many (over 200) statues of Hatshepsut in various poses, as well as reliefs depicting scenes from her life that underscored her divinity (such as one showing that her father Thutmose I was in fact Amun).

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Deir el-Bahri. c. 1450 BCE

colonnade

causeway

Hatshepsut Kneeling

• Both artworks are from the funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri• Both depict Hatshepsut wearing the false pharaoh’s beard and male headdress, as well as a man’s kilt. The inscriptions also refer to her as “his majesty.” • The body of the kneeling figure is anatomically male, but there are other sculptures of Hatshepsut that are anatomically female.• The kneeling figure was smashed by vandals, but recently restored, and depict Hatshepsut partaking in a religious ceremony in which she gives offerings to the sun god.

Hatshepsut KneelingDeir el-Bahri, EgyptRed granite, 8’ 6”

Hatshepsut as SphinxDeir el-Bahri, EgyptRed granite, 5’ 4”

Nebamun Hunting FowlTomb of Nebamun,

Thebesc. 1400 BCE. 2’ 8” high.

Tomb of Nebamun: Wall Paintings

• Some tombs also had wall paintings, such as these from Nebamun, who was a scribe and counter of grain.• Nebamun is depicted standing on a boat, flushing birds out of the papyrus reeds, while his wife and daughter gather lotuses. This is a depiction of a recreational activity.• Animals are depicted naturalistically, realistically• This is an example of fresco secco, in which a painting is done upon a dried plaster wall (as opposed to buon fresco, in which the painting is done upon still-wet plaster). • Hunting scenes were an allegory for the myth of the god Horus hunting down his uncle Seth, god of chaos and darkness, who had murdered Osiris (Seth’s brother and Horus’ father). The hunt symbolized good triumphing over evil.

Tomb of Nebamun: Wall Paintings

• This fresco secco depicts two women dancing for an audience of noble-persons at a banquet (symbolized by the vessels in the lower right). • Discuss the people depicted. Where is Nebamun? What is unusual about the figures in the bottom register?

Funerary Banquet SceneTomb of Nebamun,

Thebesc. 1400 BCE. 2’ 10” high.

• Nebamun is probably one of the men depicted in the top register.

• The women in the bottom register break from traditional profile-view depictions, and show movement in their hair.

• In addition to displaying the luxury of living in the nobility class, this banquet may also represent the yearly ceremony of the family bringing food to the tomb for the ka to eat.

• Music and dance were sacred to the goddess Hathor, who aided the dead in their passage to the afterlife.

• The sensuous girls may also be symbolic of fertility and rebirth.

Colossal Figure of Akhenaton• Akhenaton (originally called Amenhotep IV) abandoned the worship of most of the Egyptian gods in favor of Aton, identified with the sun disk, whom he declared to be the universal and only god (monotheistic). • Akhenaton moved the capital from Thebes to present-day Amarna, which he called Akhetaton.• Akhenaton removed “Amen” (aka Amun) from all inscriptions (including those of his father, Amenhotep III) and emptied the old temples, infuriating the priests.• In addition to his revolutionary religious ideas, the artwork made during his rule diverges widely from the traditional. Contrast the style of his depiction with that of Menkaure.

Colossal Figure of Akhenatonc. 1330 BCE

Temple of Aton, KarnakSandstone, 13’ tall

Amarna Period, New Kingdom

Akhenaten and his Family

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Akhenaten and his Family

Nefertiti

•••

Nefertiti

Queen Tiy

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Queen Tiy

Tutankhamen

•••

Inner Coffin of Tutankhamun’s

Sarcophogas

Tutankhamun’s Funerary Mask

Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak

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Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak

Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak

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Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak

Temple at Abu Simbel (Ramses II)• Inside of temple are colossal statues of Ramses II in the guise of Osiris, carved as one with the pillars (non-loadbearing).• Pillars sculpted to resemble humans are called atlantids if male, and caryatids if female.•

Interior of the Temple of Ramses IIAbu Simbel, Egypt65’ high. Rock-cut.

1225 BCE

Temple at Abu Simbel (Ramses II)• Temple cut out of the living rock (carved out of the side of an existing mountain or rock).••

Façade of the Temple of Ramses IIAbu Simbel, Egypt65’ high. Rock-cut.

1225 BCE