EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

• Surroundings• Religion• Art• Sculpture• Pottery• Furniture• Glass• Clothing

Hieroglyphs Papyrus Holy animals Products

SURROUNDINGS

• To its north side is the Mediterranean sea.• To its west there is a large Libyan desert.• To its east is the red sea.• Along its coast there is a mountain range going

from north to south.

EGYPTIAN HISTORY• Egypt is one of the most fertile areas of Africa,

and one of the most fertile of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Because it is so fertile, people came to live in Egypt earlier than in most places, probably around 40,000 years ago. At first there were not very many people, but gradually Egypt became more crowded, so there was more need for a unified government. Around 3000 BC (5000 years ago), Egypt was first unified under one ruler, who was called the Pharaoh.

CULTURE

• The Culture of Egypt enjoys an international reputation for its

• uniqueness, • grandeur and• technological skills.

• Tourists from all over the world come to Egypt to enjoy the beauty and splendor of culture that is more than 7000 years old and is harmonious fusion of the Egyptian, Mediterranean, Greek and Arabic Cultures.

• PYRAMIDS: The highlight of the Egyptian Culture is the pyramids. There are several pyramids in Egypt that have created a lot interest in the minds of not just historians and archaeologists but also tourists. The Pyramids are the single largest selling point of tourism industry in Egypt.

• PAINTING: The paintings have also been associated with the Culture of Egypt. The paintings have always been an integral part of the monuments of Egypt, which were ornamented with symbolic drawings. Modern artists in Egypt keep the culture of painting alive with their skills.

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART

• Ancient Egyptian art refers to the style of painting, sculpture, crafts and architecture developed by the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 BC to 300 BC. Ancient Egyptian art as expressed in painting and sculpture was both highly stylized and symbolic. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past

ART STYLE• Because of the highly religious nature of ancient

Egyptian civilization, many of the works of ancient Egypt depict gods, goddesses, and pharaohs, who were also considered divine. Ancient Egyptian art is characterized by the idea of order. Clear and simple lines combined with simple shapes and flat areas of color helped to create a sense of order and balance in the art of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian artists used vertical and horizontal reference lines in order to maintain the correct proportions in their work. Political and religious, as well as artistic order, was also maintained in Egyptian art.

SYMBOLISM• Symbolism also played an important role in

establishing a sense of order. Symbolism, ranging from the pharaoh's regalia (symbolizing his power to maintain order) to the individual symbols of Egyptian gods and goddesses, is omnipresent in Egyptian art.

• Animals: Animals were usually also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art.

• Colors: Colors were more expressive rather than natural: red skin implied vigorous tanned youth, whereas yellow skin was used for women or middle-aged men who worked indoors

• blue or gold indicated divinity because of its unnatural appearance and association with precious materials

• the use of black for royal figures expressed the fertility of the Nile from which Egypt was born.

MATERIAL USED

• There were different types of materials used in EGYPT namely,

• COPPER: Until the New Kingdom most of the copper used in Egypt was seemingly mined in the eastern desert or Sinai.

• GOLD: Egypt was richer in gold than any other country of the region, especially after the conquest of Nubia.

• ELECTRUM: Electrum is a gold-silver alloy which occurred naturally. It had a silver contents somewhat higher than twenty percent. It was mostly imported from countries south of Egypt: Punt, Emus, the south countries.

• SILVER: Egypt had little silver which was not part of gold deposits. Silver was imported from western Asia, though it is unclear which were the supplying countries.

• BRONZE: The introduction of bronze was a huge improvement in tool and weapon manufacture. Unlike iron which was a difficult material to work with, bronze technologies were similar to the techniques improved during the copper age: It could be cast, hammered cold, improved its toughness.

• IRON: Iron is a very common element and in Egypt iron ores occur in the mountainous areas of the eastern desert and Sinai.

• LEAD: Lead was of minor importance. Too soft for making tools or weapons

RELIGION

• Egyptians were polytheistic (they believed In many Gods).

• Pharaoh was believed to be the representative on earth of the god, or may be a kind of God himself.

• Everything of Egypt belonged to the pharaoh.

ART• Most of what we know about Egyptian art comes

from the paintings.• Paintings showed all sorts of things that people

did in their regular lives.

SCULPTURE

• Egyptian sculptor used stone as it was the most • plentiful and • permanent,• available in a wide variety of colors and

• hardness.• Sculpture was often painted in vivid hues as well.• Egyptian sculpture has two qualities that are

distinctive; it can be characterized as • cubic and • frontal.

SEATED MAN

• 2465-2323 B.C.• Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5; • Polychromed limestone; • height 40 cm (15 3/4 in.)

• The Seated Man is a representation of someone who lived in the Pyramid Age, during the Old Kingdom.

SEATED SCRIBE

• 1350 B.C.• New Kingdom, Dynasty 18• Basalt• height 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.)

• The small Seated Scribe was once part of a votive offering toThoth, the patron god of writing. It is a particularly graceful example of the artistic production.

SEBEK EM HAT, A LEADER OF PRIESTS

• ca. 1780 B.C.• Middle Kingdom, late Dynasty 12-

early Dynasty 13• Limestone• 48.3 cm (19 in.)

• The subject of the standing statue of Sebek em hat can be identified as a leader of a group of priests in a temple.

POTTERY

• Ancient Egyptians used carved small pieces of vases and several other objects.

• They also discovered the art of covering pottery with enamel.

• Different types of pottery items were deposited in burial chambers of the dead.

FURNITURE• Common pieces of furniture

were small 3 and 4 leg stools

• The ever present stool was made from wood, and had a leather or woven seat.

• Wealthy people had their stools and all furniture in general was richly decorated with gold or silver leaf.

GLASS• Glass-making technology initially

began in Egypt with the manufacture of small beads in the pre-dynastic era.

• The technology was a result of the process of firing clay pots. The sand and slag utilized in making clay pots melted together to make glass.

• It was determined that when metal oxides were added to the glass nuggets, various color hues resulted.

CLOTHING• Both men and women in Egypt

wore tunics which were sewn to fit them.

• These tunics were like a long t-shirt which reached to the knees (for men) or to the ankles (for women).

• They were usually made of linen and were nearly always white.

• Men working outside usually wore short skirts instead of tunics.

• When dressed up fancy both men and women wore blue and green eye shadow and black kohl eyeliner.

• Both men and women wore gold jewelry if they could afford to.

HIEROGLYPHS

• Hieroglyphs are "sacred-drawings“.

• They are basically drawings of familiar objects, simplified to make them easier to draw.

PAPYRUS

• The first use of papyrus paper is believed to have been 4000 BC.

• The raw material of papyrus paper comes from the plant Cyperus papyrus.

CANOPIC JARS

• 1070-712 B.C.• Egyptian, Dynasty 21-22• Limestone• height 48.3 cm (17 1/2-19 in.)• Their internal organs were separately treated

and, during much of Egyptian history, placed in jars of clay or stone. These so-called Canopic Jars were closed with stoppers fashioned in the shape of four heads -- human, baboon, falcon, and jackal -- representing the four protective spirits called the Four Sons of Horus.

HOLY ANIMALS

• Sacred Cat of Bast

• Falcon of Horus

SACRED CAT OF BAST

• 664-525 B.C.• Late Period, Dynasty 26• Bronze• height 26.4 cm (10 3/8 in.)

• The Sacred Cat of Bast is associated with the goddess Bast or Bastet, and she was sometimes represented as a human figure with the head of a cat. The natural grace, and perhaps the motherly qualities of the cat, suggested to the Egyptians some aspect of the goddess.

FALCON OF HORUS• 664-525 B.C.• Late Period, Dynasty 26• Bronze• height 39.4 cm (15 1/2 in.)• The Falcon of Horus wearing the double crown of

Upper and Lower Egypt is an image of royal kingship. The king was associated with the sky god as the "Living Horus," and he was thought to represent the rule of the gods on earth. Statues such as this were sometimes used as containers for the preserved remains of the animal or bird they represented.

PRODUCTS

ARROWHEAD

• Neolithic period• 7000–4500 B.C.• From the Faiyum area• Chert• H. 1 5/8" (4.1 cm)• W. 1 1/8" (2.8 cm)

BOWL WITH HUMAN FEET

• Predynastic Period• 3750–3550 B.C.• Ceramic• H. 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm)• Dia. 6 in. (15.3 cm)

VESSEL

• Predynastic Period, Naqada II

• 3450–3300 B.C.• Painted pottery• H. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm)

COMB

• Predynastic Period• 3200 B.C.• Ivory• H. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)