M3 | Ancient Egypt, Mexico and China

This is Nefertiti, Akhenaten's primary wife. This work was made by Thutmose, Akhenaten's court artist, and is dated 1353 BCE. You may be surprised to learn that the statue was never meant to be seen by the public. Rather, it is a model that was used by the pharaoh's court artist in his studio. During this period in history, the artists would capture a sketch of the face necessary for a true likeness. The body and clothing would have been idealized, as taken from a pattern book. In this way, only a bust was necessary as a working model for the artist. Scholars have disputed the physical characteristics of Nefertiti. Her neck and head appear unusually elongated. This may have been an idealization and exaggeration of her natural beauty.

Thutmose, Nefertiti, c. 1353 BCE

• LONG-TERM, RELATIVELY STABLE, UNIFIED MONARCHY IN EGYPT/DIVINE KINGSHIP • STRATIFICATION OF LABOR, TRADE + MILITARY • STRUCTURED POLYTHEISTIC RELIGION; HERO-PRIEST-KING AS GOD • EXPERTS IN QUARRYING STONE/STONE CUTTING + CARVING

KEY GLOBAL EVENTS

slate, c. 3000 BCE The Palette of King Narmer imagery exemplifies the king as strong man. Historically, the narrative shown marks an important transition in early Egyptian culture, the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. The figures are represented in low relief and a hierarchy of scale. Narmer is the most important and therefore the largest figure shown. The visual information is organized into three registers or friezes. Narmer is wearing the tall crown of Upper Egypt.

Palette of King Narmer

This is another type of reserve statue made for a lesser court official. It was installed in his tomb as a body double for his ka. The scribe is shown with a soft body made of Limestone which is a comparatively softer stone. Note, too, that the statue is painted, or polychromed. The figure appears more naturalistic, but not at all idealized like portraits of the king. In the ancient world, scribes were important members of society, typically associated with the state religion and government. They were usually literate. They could read and write. This scribe was wealthy and important enough to afford mummification and a ritual burial in a mastaba.

Seated scribe, painted limestone, c. 2500 BCE

It is made of limestone and dated 1353 BCE. Akhenaten and his family are shown here beneath the sun disk, Aten, who appears as the personification of a pregnant belly. This fertility may be associated with the graces Aten showers on the royal family. Notice the rays of light that flow down in the shape of a pyramid. According to the pharaoh's new religion, he alone, and by extension his family, served as intermediaries between Egypt's one god and the people. According to this religious scheme, the faithful would offer their prayers to Aten by way of the pharaoh. Interesting, too, that the family is wearing shoes. Perhaps a move away from the traditional notion of the pharaoh as divine.

Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their daughters, limestone, c. 1353 BCE

Amenhotep IV was a new kingdom pharaoh who changed his name to Akhenaten in honor of the sun disk, Aten. He then shifted the seat of power to his new capital of Amarna, an act referred to as the Amarna Revolution. Akhenaten is best known for disavowing the Egyptian pantheon in favor of worship of Aten alone. During this period in history, all cultures were polytheistic with the exception of the Jewish people who are monotheistic. Monotheistic means the worship of one god. While scholars still debate the exact nature of Akhenaten's religious revolution, as far as we can tell, it reflects monotheistic belief. This was a radical shift for the time from the worship of many gods to the worship of one god alone. the medium here is sandstone. Akhenaten is also shown with curvy hips and obtruding abdomen.Akhenaten had adopted the characteristics of the sun disk, Aten, who is described as asexual, having both male and female attributes.

Akhenaten, sandstone, c. 1353 BCE

was among the most powerful and significant gods of ancient Egypt, even more so when combined in the New Kingdom with the attributes of the sun god Ra

Amun

is separated from the body. Through a series of prayers and rituals, the ka is eventually reunited with the mummified body to enjoy the afterlife for all eternity. To facilitate comfort in the afterlife, the dead are buried with all the items used in daily life, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, books, and musical instruments.

Ancient Egyptians believed that at the moment of death the ka or life force

he Great Pyramids of Giza consist of three pyramids for three kings-- father, son and grandson-- Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. During this period in the Old Kingdom, the Necropolis was located at Giza. The Giza Necropolis consisted of multiple smaller step pyramids and mastaba to accommodate the royal wives, children and important court officials. The pyramids themselves were built of limestone bricks with a fine, shimmering, limestone outer layer that glistened in the sun. They are approximately 30 stories tall and align with the cardinal directions of the compass. This astronomical connection is significant given the Pharohs' connection to the heavenly bodies-- that is, the planets in the sky-- particularly the sun. Further, the reference to the four corners was a common way to promote a Bronze Age King. we associate pyramid building only with the Old Kingdom. In the Middle Kingdom, rock cut tombs, which were easier to hide and also defend, became the norm. In the New Kingdom, members of the ruling class were buried in the Valley of the Kings.

Great Pyramids of Giza, c. 2500 BCE

the cow or the lovely lady- She represents dancing, music, joy, and love. She was shown as a cow to represent motherly love.

Hathor

Temple of Amun-Re, Karnak. Temple of Amun-Ra, Karnak served as the spiritual center of Egypt for many decades. It is one of the largest temple complexes in the world, and was built over a period of time by several pharaohs. Egyptian temples reflect the moment of creation when the mound of earth-- the Benben-- emerged from the marshy wetlands of the Nile. Here, the columns mimmick papyrus and Lotus stalks. Architecturally, windows and doors are challenging elements, as they present negative space-- literal emptiness. the combination of shorter and taller columns allows for this configuration of windows, clear story windows, at the upper level. A distinctive feature of the columns at Amun-Re is sunken relief. Sunken relief is literally sunken rather than raised- may reflect sociopolitical insecurity as nothing can be cut away from the surface cause its already cut into the stone. It's argued that the path of the sun at certain times of day cuts straight through the straight axis pathway through the complex.

Hypostyle Hall

This is a step pyramid designed by Imhotep, the king's vizier. In ancient Egypt, a vizier was the King's chief steward. Imhotep was a well known medicine man, architect, and advisor to the king. The plans and designs of any Egyptian king's tomb begins early in the king's reign. (Note: associate pyramids with the Old Kingdom only, beginning with the step pyramid that evolves to the true pyramid form we'll see in Giza) Scholars believe Djoser's tomb began as mastaba, a simple one story structure. Also believed the pyramid shape mirrored the way sunlight hits the Earth, like a triangle from the disk of the sun down to the land. This divine communication between the king and his father, Ra, therefore was symbolized as a pyramid.

Imhotep, Step Pyramid of King Djoser, Saqqara, c. 2630 BCE

This is a reserve statue of Khafre, who is associated with the Great Pyramid in the middle and Sphinx at Giza. This life-sized statue was originally installed in Khafre's Valley Temple. That is the funerary temple connected by a causeway to the king's pyramid. It is carved from diorite, a hard, expensive, imported stone. As was the norm in Egyptian art, the statue retains the blocky shape of the original stone. The arms and legs fit closely to the body and throne, with no gaps. There are important reasons for this. First, limbs and body parts that extend into space could break off more easily. This is a bad thing if the statue is used as an alternate body for all eternity. Second, the literal block shape is associated with the everlasting, unchanging character of hard stone. This timeless, lasting quality is a key characteristic of most pharaonic art. Khafre's portrait here is all about conformity and convention.

Khafre, diorite, c. 2520 BCE

pyramid building fell out of favor and was replaced in the Middle Kingdom with rock-cut tombs such as the one shown here, literally cut from the hillside. The interior columns are not weight-bearing, but merely decorative. This period in Egyptian history is one of comparative turmoil and insecurity. Scholars have argued that the defensive, rather than grand and auspicious, nature of the Middle Kingdom tombs reflects the relative unrest of the period. constitutes a large, multi-level, rock-cut structure.

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, c. 1473 BCE

This is a fresco from the mastaba tomb of Nebamun. Nebamun was a court bureaucrat-- the official counter of grain. In other words, the royal accountant. The interior of his mastaba, like other upper class tombs of the period, would have been decorated on the interior with wall frescoes. The animals are associated with lively unpredictable action. This is strongly contrasted with Nebamun's formulaic predictable posture and movement. In the afterlife, he is caught up in the endless cycles of nature that never change, like the coming of spring or the daily rising and setting of the sun. This is Nebamun's hope for eternity. In ancient Egyptian belief, the soul either lived on eternally or was extinguished.

Nebamun Hunting Birds, from tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, fresco, c. 1400 BCE