Egyptian art: New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE
Rock-cut Tombs, Beni Hassan
Middle Kingdom,These offer a rare chance to see the distinctive style of mortuary art characteristic of the early Middle Kingdom with their colourfully painted scenes of daily life, recreation and military activities. The location of the cemetery on the east bank of the Nile is somewhat unusual - the west being the domain of Osiris. The necropolis was recorded by several early explorers
Great Temple of Amun, Karnak
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE
Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE,
Nefertiti
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE, Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten, or the sun disc. Akhenaten and Nefertiti were responsible for the creation of a whole new religion which changed the ways of religion within Egypt. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of Ancient Egyptian history.[4] Some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten after her husband's death and before the accession of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate
Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Dier el-Bahri
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE, Representative of New Kingdom funerary architecture, it both aggrandizes the pharaoh and includes sanctuaries to honor the gods relevant to her afterlife.[6] This marks a turning point in the architecture of Ancient Egypt, which forsook the megalithic geometry of the Old Kingdom for a temple which allowed for active worship, requiring the presence of participants to create the majesty. The linear axiality of Hatshepsut's temple is mirrored in the later New Kingdom temples. The architecture of the original temple has been considerably altered as a result of misguided reconstruction in the early twentieth century AD.
Funerary Mask of Tutankhamen
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE, The Ancient Egyptians were obsessed with the prospect of life after death - the eternal afterlife. The Ancient Egyptians used elaborate masks to great effect. Egyptian masks were generally used as Death Masks and Ritual Masks. The fabulous King Tut Mask was a death mask. Royal death masks or burial masks such as the fabulous death mask of Tutankhamun, the boy King Tut, were made of gold in the image of the deceased. The King Tut mask was used to cover the face of the mummy of the pharaoh and ensure that his spirit would be able to recognize the body.
Akhenaten and his Family
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE, This was intended to aid in the solidification of the singular god Aten, as well as to separate the reign of Akhenaten from his predecessors. What Akhenaten chose, however, for the artistic community was drastically different from what had once been. Naturalistic physical features, familial affection, and the singular god Aten replaced the unrealistic human proportions, rigidity, and god-given leadership images of the past
Inner coffin of Tutankhamen
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE, he inner coffin, however, was made of solid gold. When Howard Carter first came upon this coffin, it was not the shiny golden image we see in the Egyptian museum today (below). In his excavation notes, Carter states, it was "covered with a thick black pitch-like layer which extended from the hands down to the ankles (top image). This was obviously an anointing liquid which had been poured over the coffin during the burial ceremony and in great quantity (some two buckets full)."[2]
Judgment of Hunefer Before Osiris
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BCEThis particular scene is part of the judgment that all Egyptians must face before entering into the afterlife. The primary purpose of this painted scene is to emphasize the Egyptian belief in the importance of the Afterlife
