Egyptian Arts

EGYPTIAN ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE

the buildings, sculpture, painting, and decorative arts of ancient

Egypt from about 5000 BC to the conquest of Egypt by Rome in 30

BC

PREDYNASTIC EGYPT(5000-3000 BC)

The Dynastic period began around 3000 bc when lands along the Nile River were united under one ruler.

From about 5000 bc until 3000 bc, a time known as the Predynastic period, Egypt was not a unified nation.

As time passed, however, these groups were incorporated into larger political units, until a single state was formed around 3000 BC

PREDYNASTIC EGYPT(5000-3000 BC)

The Egyptians began creating art early in the Predynastic period, using materials such as bones, clay, stone, and the ivory teeth of hippopotamuses.

They made figurines of animals, birds, and human beings, and decorated the tops of hair combs and pins with carved birds and animals.

Stone palettes used for grinding minerals for eye paint took the shape of birds, turtles, and fish.

PREDYNASTIC EGYPT(5000-3000 BC)

Pottery also was decorated typically with geometric or animal designs painted in white on a red background.

The designs included flamingos, horned animals, human figures, plants, wavy lines, and boats with oars.

Most of this pottery has been found in cemeteries, and it may have been made specifically for use in funerals.

DYNASTIC EGYPT (3000-30BC)

The most important buildings in ancient Egypt were temples, tombs, and palaces.

Temples housed rituals for the worship of the gods.

Tombs served as the burial locations for the king and the elite.

The king lived in the palaces, where he performed governmental and religious duties.

ARCHITECTURE

The royal tombs and pyramids of ancient Egypt were elaborate structures with important religious purposes.

located along the Nile River, the vital waterway that runs the length of the country.

royal tombs were built on the Nile’s west bank. Because the sun set in the west,

Egyptians believed that the western desert was the entrance to the underworld, or duat, where the dead dwelled and through which the sun passed at night.

The Pyramid of Khafre was built as the final resting place of the pharaoh Khafre and is about 136 m (446 ft) high

Step Pyramid of King Djoser was built during the 3rd Dynasty at Şaqqārah, Egypt. It was designed by the architect Imhotep. The pyramid was the first monumental royal tomb and is one of the oldest stone structures in Egypt.

Bent Pyramid, constructed in Egypt during the reign of King Sneferu (2575 bc-2551 bc)

BOOK OF THE DEAD

BOOK OF THE DEAD

Prince

Rahotep

and His

Wife Nofret

(2575-2467 bc)

In about 1250 bc Ramses II, pharaoh of Egypt, built two sandstone temples at Abū Simbel in southern Egypt.

Temple at Luxor(1200 bc)

Temple at Al Karnak(1400 bc)

SCULPTURE

Most statues of gods and kings were housed in temples. In addition to the cult statue, larger images of gods, or of gods and the king together, were placed within temple areas.

elite people presented offerings at temples of small bronze images of gods and of the animals sacred to those gods.

They also put brightly painted wooden statues of funerary gods in tombs to help the deceased pass safely into the afterlife

Thutmose IV

and Mother

The hippopotamus was a symbol of rebirth in ancient Egypt

stone figure of

Egyptian king

Khafre (2500 BC)

165 cm (66 in) high and is an idealized representation of the king

life-sized statue of

Egyptian king Pepi l in

Hierakonpolis, Egypt

Shrine inTutankhamun’sTombcovered in gold leaf was

found in the tomb of Egyptian king Tutankhamun. A goddess stands on each side of the shrine, facing inward with arms outstretched in a protective gesture. Inside the shrine were alabaster jars containing the internal organs of Tutankhamun

PAINTING AND RELIEF

Ancient Egyptians decorated the walls of temples and tombs with painted scenes.

The painting might be flat or in relief, meaning that figures and background occupy different levels of the wall surface.

In raised relief, the background was cut away so that the figures stood out.

In sunk relief, the figures were cut back to a slightly lower level than the background.

The ancient Egyptians decorated tombs with paintings and reliefs to ensure that the deceased spent eternity in a comfortable and familiar environment. This relief, from the 5th Dynasty (2465 bc-2323 bc), shows the deceased seated at a table stacked with offerings of food.

Geese of Meidum, the 4th-dynasty

Artists in ancient Egypt were not concerned with representing the world realistically, and they did not attempt to incorporate the illusion of depth in their art.

They represented objects by their most characteristic view, sometimes combining different views within a single picture.

For example, a chair might be drawn in profile (viewed from the side), and an animal skin in full view (viewed straight on).

The human figure was a composite, with a face in profile that showed the full view of an eye and eyebrow, and full-view shoulders and chest facing the viewer.

The waist, buttocks, and limbs were shown in profile. The different sizes of figures indicated their relative importance, with more important people shown larger.

Amon-Ra, Father of the Gods The Egyptian god Amon-Ra was a combination of Amon, a god from the city of Thebes, and Ra, the sun god. Amon-Ra is depicted with a hawk’s head surmounted by a sun disk in this painting from the Tomb of Sennedjum, in Luxor, Egypt. (13 bc)

The ankh, a cross with a circular loop at the top, appears frequently in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and art. For the Egyptians, the ankh sign represented LIFE

THE END

Prepared by: JC de Egurrola

jeelchristine@i.ph