Egyptian Old Kingdom

2649-2150 BCE

Credit to Gardner’s Art Through The Ages 12th Ed.

Predynastic Art

• Art made in Egypt before the “Old Kingdom”• Still Painted in tombs, still focused on funerary

scenes/afterlife • Before the dynasties, Egypt was divided

geographically and politically into:– Upper Egypt (the southern, upstream part of the Nile)

a narrow tract of grassland that encouraged hunting – Lower Egypt (northern Egypt where the rich soil of the

Nile Delta islands encouraged agriculture and raising livestock)

Upper and Lower = Backward! Nile runs South to North

Memphis

Egyptian Old Kingdom 2649-2150 BCE

• When Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization

• The “Age of the Pyramids”• Period of internal security and prosperity• Centered in Memphis• Dynasties 3-6 (out of 31 total!) • Most dynamic period in Egyptian Art

Old Kingdom

• Pharaohs were called Kings in this period, and were considered “living gods”

• There were many kings during the Old Kingdom, but the most important to know for Art History are:– King Narmer– King Djoser– King Sneferu– King Khufu– King Khafre– King Menkaure

Upper Egypt + Lower Egypt =

• The Old Kingdom was a result of the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, supposedly under the reign of King Narmer, as evidenced in “The Palette of Narmer”

• The palette is an elaborate version of a utilitarian object used to prepare eye makeup– Used to protect eyes from irritation and glare from the

sun – One of the earliest historical (vs. prehistoric) artworks

that is labeled with someone’s identity (Narmer)

Narmer's Palette; 3000 BCE; Egyptian Old Kingdom; Carved Stone I Saw this in person at the Egyptian

Museum in Cairo!

Narmer's Palette; 3000 BCE; Egyptian Old Kingdom; Carved Stone

This is the back of the palette

Top: Cow with woman’s face x 2 = Hathor

Narmer’s name in hieroglyphs

Upper Right: Falcon with human arms = Horus

Horus is standing on a papyrus plant, a symbol of lower Egypt

King Narmer is wearing the white bowling-pin-shaped crown of Upper Egypt

King Narmer is defeating his enemies

Narmer's Palette; 3000 BCE; Egyptian Old Kingdom; Carved Stone

This is the front of the palette

Top: Cow with woman’s face x 2 = Hathor

Narmer’s name in hieroglyphs

King Narmer is wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt and ruling over the people

Elongated necks of 2 felines intertwining represents the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt

The circle their necks form is where the eye makeup would be prepared

How do we know all of this about King Narmer???

• Napoleon Bonaparte coincidentally discovered the Rosetta Stone on a military expedition to explore Egypt (didn’t set out to find it specifically)

• Rosetta Stone: – Gave scholars the key to deciphering Egyptian

hieroglyphic writing– 3 languages on the stone:

• Greek (which was easily read)• Demotic (Late Egyptian)• Formal hieroglyphic

Old Kingdom

• Most art from the Old Kingdom comes from tombs – Walls of tombs (not meant to be seen)– Pyramids of the Pharaohs or less important men

and women

Tombs

• The standard tomb in early Egypt was the mastaba (Arabic for “bench”) – Rectangular brick or stone structure with sloping

sides over an underground burial chamber – A shaft connected this chamber with the outside,

providing access for the “ka” (spirit) – Originally housed single burials, later in Old

Kingdom for multiple family burials and became increasingly complex

Mastaba Diagram

Mastaba

King Djoser

• 1st King of Dynasty 3• Ordered large-scale building at Saqqara, to become a

“necropolis” in Memphis– Necropolis: Greek for “city of the dead”

• Djoser’s Architect: Imhotep– Developed building with stone and idea for the step pyramid – Step pyramid: Djoser’s tomb/home for the afterlife, the first

grandiose royal tomb in Egypt– He was mummified even though this practice wasn’t standard

until Dynasty 4– Each side of the pyramid faces a cardinal direction (North, South,

East, West)

Saqqara

Djoser

Imhotep

Step Pyramid of King Djoser; 2680 BCE; Imhotep; Egyptian Old Kingdom; Stone, located at Saqqara

King Sneferu

• Dynasty 4• Built 3 pyramids in different places:– 1. Medum Pyramid: unstable and abandoned

before it was finished– 2. Bent Pyramid– 3. Red Pyramid, which served as the polished

technique for pyramid building hereafter (as in the pyramids at Giza)

King Sneferu

Sneferu’s Pyramids

1. Medum Pyramid 2. Bent Pyramid 3. Red Pyramid

Khufu

• Sneferu’s son• Ordered the construction of the Great

Pyramid of Giza for his tomb, the largest of the now 3 pyramids at the Giza necropolis

Khufu

The Great Pyramid of Giza

Khafre

• Khufu’s son• Ordered construction of the sphinx• Ordered construction of the 2nd largest

pyramid at Giza (for his own tomb)

Khafre

Great Sphinx of Giza; 2560 BCE; Khafre; Egyptian Old Kingdom; Carved of Stone at Giza

Menkaure

• A later king in the 4th Dynasty, Menkaure, built the third and smallest pyramid at Giza

Pyramid Complex at Giza

Pyramid Complex at Giza

Pyramid Complex at Giza

Old Kingdom

• Artists learned to express their culture’s worldview in images and forms that endured for generations

• Architects and masons mastered the techniques for building monumental structures in stone

• Sculptors created the earliest portraits of people and the first life-size statues in wood, copper, and stone

Old Kingdom

• Perfected the art of carving intricate reliefs• Keen observation of the natural world– Detailed images of animals, plants, landscapes

• Painted and carved scenes from their world on the walls of temples and tombs

• These images and structures had 2 main functions:– Ensure an ordered existence– Defeat death by preserving life into the next world

Old Kingdom

• Established a formal artistic canon (set of rules) that would define Egyptian Art for over 3,000 years– Yet remained flexible enough for subtle variation

and innovation in these artistic techniques– This canon held up even after Alexander the

Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332 BCE

Rule of Frontalism #1 (part of Egypt’s artistic canon)

• Head in profile• Frontal view of eye and eyebrow

Rule of Frontalism #2: Color

• Men painted in red ochre• Women painted in yellow ochre

Rule of Frontalism #3: Stance

• Hips have a three-quarter turn• Chest and shoulders shown at their full width• Both feet, legs, arms and hands must be

shown

Rule of Frontalism #4: Scale

• Size of figures reflects social status• Men are often larger than women of equal

status

Rule of Frontalism #5: Proportions

• Hands and feet are often large compared to the rest of the body

Old Kingdom

• Although the main point of creating art in Ancient Egypt was to preserve life after death, Egyptians also surrounded themselves with beautiful objects to enhance their lives in this world– Elegant jewelry– Finely carved furniture– Cosmetic vessels

Ti, Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt; 1350 BCE; Egyptian Old Kingdom; Carved and Painted Limestone

Knowing what you do about Frontalism,interpret at least 1 thing from this painting

Archers (detail), Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reigns of Khufu to Khafre, ca. 2551–2494 B.C. Egyptian; Excavated at Lisht, reused in the pyramid of Amenemhat

I, probably originally from Giza,Painted limestone; H. 10 in.

Relief Carving

Originally decorated one of the 4th Dynasty pyramids at Giza

Striding Figure, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, ca. 2575–2465 B.C. From Egypt, Southern Upper Egypt, el-Kab (Elkab; Eleithyaspolis) possibly Quartzite, paint,

H. 35 ¼ in.

Statue from a tomb other than the pyramids at Giza

The artistic style differs from those found at Giza

Likely a regional style from elsewhere in Egypt

Nikare with his Wife and Daughter, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5, reign of Niuserre or later, ca. 2420–2389 B.C. From Egypt, Memphite Region, Saqqara probably

Limestone, paint h. 22 7/16 in.

Nikare, a known scribe

His wife kneels at his left

His daughter stands at his right

Notice the exaggeration in difference of size

Sistrum, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, reign of Teti, ca. 2323–2291 B.C. Egyptian alabaster; H. 10 1/2 in.

A musical instrument specific to pharaonic Egypt,called a “naos sistrum”

Similar to a rattle

Shaken to a cadence to keep rhythm in religious ceremonies

The noise is believed to ward off evil gods, in this particular case, Hathor, who although is carved into the instrument as a woman with cow’s horns with a sun disk resting on them, was believed to take the form of a fearsome lioness

According to the inscriptions, this belonged to King Teti, the first king of Dynasty 6

This kind of instrument is still used in Ethiopia’s Coptic Churches

Two Vases in the Shape of a Mother Monkey with Her Young, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, reign of Merenre I, ca. 2255–2246 B.C.

Egyptian alabaster; H. 7 1/4 in.

Intended to hold perfumed oils

Reflects commerce as Egypt began totrade with nearby areas, nowSudan and Ethiopia

Monkeys were not originallynative to Egypt, but rather, were brought there through trade

The End of the Old Kingdom

• 5th Dynasty: less construction of pyramids, more art to honor the sun god, Re

• After the 6th dynasty, the Pharaoh/King of Egypt had less power and influence than did local governors – Egypt erupted into civil wars– A severe drought hit the Nile, causing famine and

the collapse of the Old Kingdom