Art of Ancient Egypt

3000 BC-30 BC● Kemet (kmt) black land

● Deshret: red land

● Upper Egypt: south Nile

● Lower Egypt: north Nile, delta

● Predynastic: 5000-2575 BCE

● Old Kingdom: 2575-2134 BCE

● Middle Kingdom: 2040-1640 BCE

● New Kingdom: 1550-1070 BCE

Egyptian religion● Animal-headed

Anthropomorphized gods

● Egyptian king is Horus incarnate. After death, becomes Osiris

● Ra: sun god/father of all● Hathor: love and fertility● Thoth: writing, science, law● Anubis: embalming, cemeteries● Amun: (NK, god of Thebes)● Maat: truth, order, justice

King’s job is to uphold Ma’at over the forces of chaos (Isfet)

King is link between the people and gods: intercession

Egyptian rules for representation:● Images have life and power!● The more important the

subject, the stricter the rules● Use set formulae:

○ Hierarchical scale○ Use registers to show

space○ Thick contour lines;

simplified shapes○ Twisted perspective○ Set proportions

❏ Palette of King Narmer. Predynastic Egypt. c.3000 BCE. Greywacke. 2’1’’

Context: End of predynastic period→ unification of Egypt under one ruler

Function: A palette to grind kohl (eye makeup), BUT it is very large and decorated● Ceremonial function? ● Ever actually used? ● Found with other objects ritually buried

in a temple in Hierakonapolis

Important! ● One of the first monuments of unified

Egypt!● First time we see Egyptian rules of rep.

○ Hierarchical scale○ Figures in registers○ Twisted perspective○ Set proportions

Overall theme: Narmer unifies upper and lower Egypt

Side A: Nar-mer in hieroglyphics (catfish-chisel)

Side B:

1. What theme seems most central in the Palette of Narmer?a. the power of the godsb. political stabilityc. death and the afterlifed. political unification

2. The horizontal bands that organize the imagery in the Palette of Narmer are called: a. friezesb. hieroglyphicsc. conventionsd. registers

3. All of the following are associated with the King’s regalia EXCEPT:a. a kiltb. a false beardc. a bull’s taild. leopard skin robes

Egyptian burial practices: ● Mastaba: rectangular

structure with sloped sides erected over a burial chamber○ common in early Egypt○ had chapel for the ka, the

spirit (‘vital spark’) to join the world of the living■ ka needed food and

drink■ ka statue served as

house for deceased

Pyramid complex at Saqqara. Stepped Pyramid of Djoser. (stacked mastabas!)

3rd dynasty, c. 2630 BCE.

15. Seated Scribe. Saqqara, Egypt. Old Kingdom. Fourth Dynasty. c. 2500 BCE painted limestone. From Saqqara, site of oldest pyramid

complex● Found near tomb of Kai

○ Is it Kai’s ka statue? ● Intended for afterlife

Scribe (elevated social status)● still not really a portrait● holds papyrus scroll & writing

instrument (now gone)

Form: ● More naturalistic, because he is

not royal○ Sagging chest, belly = rich!

● Still frontal, symmetrical ● Painted, with inlaid eyes

17. Great Pyramids (Menkaure, Khafre, Khufu) and Great Sphinx. Giza, Egypt. Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty. c. 2500 BCE. Cut limestone.

Old Kingdom context:● Social and political

stability, growing wealth → large monuments

● Implies vast control over labor and finances

● By the Nile ● Part of large funerary

complex

Pyramids: Monuments to deceased pharaohs● House bodies and

grave goods

Mortuary temple for ka: site for rites performed for the deceased; keep ka alive ● Causeways

connecting to….Valley Temples: cult of deceased king

Workers’ cemetery

Pyramids: ● Limestone and covered

with shiny limestone veneer (now lost)

● Square base, sloping sides

○ Represent sun’s rays?

● Sides oriented to cardinal directions

● Contained false passageways to fool robbers

Khufu: oldest, largestKhafre: smaller, some veneerMenkaura: smallest, red granite base

Great Sphinx (human-headed lion) of Khafre. c. 2500 BCE. ● Carved in situ from rock● Depict and glorify ruler

○ Animal strength + human intelligence

○ Protective? ● 65’ x 240’

Nemes headdress: striped cloth behind ears and over chest● uraeus: cobra/lower

Egypt/divine authority

● nekhbet: vulture/upper Egypt○ apotropaic

Menkaura and Queen. Old Kingdom. Fourth Dynasty. c.2500 BCE. Greywacke.

Found in Valley Temple with other greywacke sculptures

Function: for worship of the king

Ideal male and female; ideal rulers● M depicted with signs of kingship:

○ nemes headdress, false beard, kilt● Queen wears wig, tight linen dress● Embracing ● Idealized: young, strong forever!

Menkaura and Queen. Old Kingdom. Fourth Dynasty. c.2500 BCE. Greywacke.

Form: ● Block-like: carved from single block

○ Hard-to-carve stone! ● Static, though hint of movement

○ Clenched hands, forward foot, staring out● See naturalistic body under clothes ● Slightly under lifesize (4’6’’) ● once painted

Unfinished!

Quick: how many differences can you find?

1. Which Egyptian kings built the great pyramids at Giza? Choose all that apply:a. Khufub. Khafrec. Menkaured. Djosere. Tutankhamun

2. Fill in the blanks: Associated with the pyramid of _____________, the Great Sphinx represents the head of the Egyptian king on the body of a ___________.

3. The shape of the pyramids is probably a reference to:a. a mountainb. the moon c. the sund. a river

Rock-Cut Tombs, Beni Hasan,12th Dynasty, c.1900 BCE

Context: ● In New Kingdom: Rock cut tombs and temples

in Valley of the Kings (Deir el-Bahari) for royalty

● Hatshepsut: one of few female Egyptian rulers

○ Often shown with male attributes

○ After death, son ordered her portraits destroyed

21. Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. Near Luxor, Egypt. New Kingdom. 18th Dynasty. c.1450 BCE Sandstone, partially carved into rock cliff

Oriented toward Karnak (temple site), across Nile

Contained colossal statues, and painted reliefs of Hatshepsut, sphinges of H

Form:● 3 colonnaded terraces

connected by ramps

○ Terraces probably had gardens

● Colonnades (rows of columns) create alternating light and dark

○ Echoes patterns on cliffs

● Symmetry, axiality, order

20. Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall, Karnak, near Luxor. New Kingdom. 18th and 19th Dynasties. Temple, c.1550 BCE; hall c.1250 BCE. Cut Sandstone and mud brick.

Pylon: monumental gateway marked by two flat, sloping walls flanking a smaller entrance

Peristyle: colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a courtyard

Hypostyle hall: large hall supported with a forest of columns

NK: growth of huge temple complexes● Older temples were simple ‘house for god’● Begun in MK, enlarged by later pharaohs

○ Esp. Ramesses II! ● Oriented towards Nile

Form:● Perimeter wall around ~250 acres.

○ Sacred lake from creation myth

● E-W axis● Enter through massive pylon gate→ ● Large courtyard surrounded by columns→ ● Hypostyle hall → smaller and smaller, and

darker, rooms○ Increasing inaccessability○ Only priests and pharaoh in final room

Priests clothe, feed, bath cult statue

Hypostyle hall:● Clerestory: the

fenestrated part of a building that rises above the roof of another part○ Lets light into hall!

● Massive columns (66’ h)○ Lotus & papyrus

capitals (Nile!) ○ Carved, painted

reliefs of the pharaoh in his roles

Amarna style: art created during the reign of Akhenaten; more relaxed and androgynous style ● Akenaten founded new religion worshipping Aten, a sun deity ● Founded new capital, Akhetaten (modern-day Tell el Amarna)

22. Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters. New Kingdom (Amarna), 18th Dynasty. c. 1350 BCE. Limestone.

sunken relief: outlines are deeply carved away so the figures seem to project forward (easier to see in sunlight/creates fewer shadows)

Probably used as altar for worship of Aten, royal family

New scene: everyday life● Pharoah and family in

private scene○ intimate,

informal● Religious significance:

Aten shines down, offers rays of life (ankhs)

● Still wear traditional royal regalia New form:

● Soft, swelling bodies (esp. stomach, thighs)● Thin neck supports egg-shaped head● Children shown as miniature adults● STILL uses twisted perspective

The images below depict the plans of the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak and Stonehenge.

Discuss in writing how the form of the architecture directs the viewer’s experience of each building.

1. Where is the god Aten in Akenaten, Nefertiti and His Daughters? a. the round disk in the center of the imageb. the female figure on the left of the compositionc. the child sitting in the lap of the womand. the male figure on the left of the composition

2. How does that sculpture depart from the stylistic conventions of earlier Egyptian art? Choose all that apply:a. anatomical distortions d. intimacy of the sceneb. relaxed postures of the figures e. composite view of the bodyc. relief carving technique

3. How does this image reinforce the belief that Akenaten and Nerfertiti are Aten’s only representatives on earth?a. the couple’s many childrenb. the throne is inscribed with a symbol of Atenc. the rays of the sun and the ankhs radiate to the central figuresd. the use of hierarchical scale

23. Tutankhamun’s tomb, innermost coffin. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty. c.1325 BCE, Gold with inlay of enamel and semi precious stones.

Context:

● Son of Akhenaten returned Egypt to traditional religion, traditional style● Tomb discovered in Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter 1922

○ Never plundered = shows richness of royal burials ■ 3500 items to be used for the afterlife

Innermost coffin of three nested coffins● Sacrophagus = coffin● Preserves mummified body for eternity● Richest of the three

○ 240 lbs gold○ Decorated with glass, jewels ○ Incised designs and hieroglyphics○ 6’ 7’’

● Criss-crossing Horus wings ● Signs of royalty:

○ Nemes headdress● Symbols of Osiris:

○ Holds crook and flail○ Blue false beard

Young, idealized face● Thin nose and full lips = echoes of Amarna?

Death mask placed over the mummified body

Mummified body wrapped with amulets and charms, anointed with precious liquids

24. Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer, from his tomb (page from the Book of the Dead). c.1275 BCE. Painted papyrus scroll.

Context: ● In NK, a new variation on the afterlife: judgment after death!

○ Series of trials, then ka is weighed against feather of Ma’at■ If not balanced, ka is eaten by Ammit, eater of the dead

● “Books of the Dead” buried with deceased to guide them through trials

● Here, Hunefer led by Anubis, who weighs his heart● He passes the test, is led to Osiris● Top register: Hunefer accepted into afterlife, kneels before 9 gods and 5

personifications

Continuous narrative: depicts multiple scenes of a narrative within a single scene (characters appear multiple times) ● Note: same conventions of representation as at the beginning of Empire

The Ka Returning HomeThe night sun rests in the lap of a bear, dreaming in the northern sky. A half-moon, I shine above the legs. I come forth from the edge of heaven. I climb to the deepest pit of the sky and rest awhile above cooling rocks, above houses in the cities and people who sleep warm nights on the roofs under a half-moon, dreaming. Oh, I am weak and feeble at the sight of my children sleeping. Oh, I am weak with wonder to see my dark wife dreaming, her hair unbraided and perfumed, falling across her eyes and in her red, red mouth and around her firm, brown shoulders. I am weak and feeble, gliding in cloudless dark. Forgetful of the teeth and tongues of snakes, I rest above my homeland dreaming.Below are my house and cattle. I grow a little stronger. My beams of light are arrows which wound the night and drive it back. I am the eye of a sleeping lion who dreams of stalking the fields with his mate. I am the eye of a resurrected man come home to kiss his wife. I am a half-moon, high in the darkness, a cup of light spilling dreams from the sky. I must move on to the furthest edge of heaven. The wheat in my fields has sprung up in straight rows. I am a half-moon in the night, keeping watch. I must move on.

1. How many times does Hunefer appear in the Judgment of Hunefer?a. 1b. 2c. 3d. 4

2. What evidence in this image demonstrates that Hunefer has led an ethical life and will be admitted to the afterlife?a. his heart weighs less than a featherb. Anubis gives him an ankhc. Osiris forgives him of his sinsd. Thoth finds his name on a list

3. What was the function of the Books of the Dead in the New Kingdom?a. to provide guidance and help in the afterlifeb. to document ethical actions done in one’s lifetimec. to serve as a memorial for one’s familyd. to document the life of the deceased

Created for Malagan: cycle of funerary rituals of people of New Ireland, PNG: ● Honor and dismissing the dead● Frees living of obligation ● Affirms clan identity

● Ceremonies can begin months after death, last for months ● Masks are meant to be used once and then destroyed (or let rot) ● Displayed in specially created structures

○ this one originally displayed in a carved canoe

NOT portraits: represent life force/soul● can be intricately carved● colors denote violence, war, and magic: have clan symbolism