Chapter 3- Art of Ancient Egypt
Living Pharaoh (short, squared-off beard)
A living king is portrayed with a shorter, squared-off beard
SUNKEN RELIEF STELE. This provides a rare look at this royal family. The pharaoh, his wife Nefertiti and their three daughter bask in the sun-god's rays. Akhenaten lifts his daughter to kiss her in an affectionate gesture. The other daughter is pointing to the king, while the youngest one is trying to play with one of her mother's crown pendants. A portrait of unprecedented intimacy and informality in Egyptian art. Aten, represented by the sun, has rays ending with ankhs offered to the royals for protection.
Akhenaten and His Family, from Akhetaten (present-day Tell el-Amarna). c. 1353-1336 BCE, Dynasty 18. Painted limestone relief.
Middle Kingdom
Dynasties 11-12 1975-1640 BCE
New kingdom
Dynasties 18-22 1539-1075
Old kingdom "the Age of the Pyramids"
Dynasties 3-6 2575-2150BCE King Djoser, capital of Egypt moved to MEMPHIS. Saqqara (NECROPOLIS IN MEMPHIS) ew era of building IMHOTEP (architect) built w stone, step pyramid, the age of the pyramids.
The Amarna revolution did not last past Akhenaten's death. The priests of Amun quickly regained power and crowned Tutankhaten as Tutankhamun to reflect the reinstatement of the previous god. Tutankhamon ruled for 10 years and died at age 18. The surface is decorated with glass and semiprecious stones
Funerary mask of Tutankhamun (ruled 1332-1322 BCE, Dynasty 18). Gold inlaid with glass and semiprecious stones.
Imhotep Statue - History's First Architect Beginning in the New Kingdom he was invoked as the patron of writing and wisdom, and by the time this statue was made he had achieved fully divine status, with his own mythology and cult. Imhotep was also invoked for his intercession in sickness and infertility
Imhotep Statue - History's First Architect
PRE-DYNASTIC (3100-2950 BCE) EARLY DYNASTIC (2950-2575 BCE) (1st to 3rd DYNASTY) OLD KINGDOM (2575-2150 BCE) First Intermediate period MIDDLE KINGDOM (1975-1640 BCE) Second Intermediate Period NEW KINGDOM (1539-1075 BCE) AMARNA PERIOD (1353-1336) Third Intermediate Period LATE PERIOD (715-332 BCE) ALEXANDER THE GREAT'S CONQUEST IN 330 BCE
TIMELINE
Ankh
The ankh is symbolic of everlasting life,
what the pharaoh carried
The cobra was a symbol equated with the sun, the king, and other deities
Old Kingdom tombs usually included small figures of servants at work, so that they could take care of the deceased in the afterlife. Another example of a realistic, lifelike rendition of a non-royal figure. Depicting a butcher who has just slaughtered an ox. Note the concentration and poise
Butcher, Fifth Dynasty, painted limestone, 2450-2325 BCE
Amenhotep IV revolutionized Egypt's religion and, therefore, its political and cultural life. He declared one supreme God, sun deity Aten , and changed his name to Akhenaten, or " he who is effective on behalf of Aten. He erased the name of the god Amun from all inscriptions, emptied the temples, moved the capital to Thebes, and enraged the priests. He called the new capital AKETATHEN, building new shrines. The place is now called AMARNA, which is the name given to the period during the reign of Akhenaten. (AMARNA PERIOD) . He claimed to be both the son and sole prophet of Aten, and the only one who could receive revelations, thus effectively undermining the power of the priests. Additionally, the sun god Aten no longer was represented in human or animal form, but simply as the Sun. This heretical period dramatically altered artistic representations: this statue is frontal, as it was usual for emperors, but the body I depicted as effeminate, fleshy, ethnically distinct and curiously misshapen. It is NOT a HEROIC body. Modern doctors have tried to explain his physique with a variety of illnesses, but it is probably just an accurate portrait of the king, as deliberate reaction to the prevailing representational style. Experts argue that artists attempted to create a new androgynous way of representing the king based on the fact that he represented Aten, the Sun, a gender-less entity. It is otherwise a traditional depiction, wearing the false beard and holding the flail and shepherd's crook (symbols of Osiris)
Colossal figure of Akhenaten, from the temple known as the Gempaaten, built early in the reign of Akhenaten (ruled c. 1353-1336 BCE), just southeast of the temple of Karnak. Sandstone with traces of polychromy.
Hatshepsut undertook one of the most spectacular building programs: her temple at Deir-el-Bahri It was constructed on three levels connected by ramps and fronted by colonnades. A hypostyle hall fills the upper level and contains chapels dedicated to Hatshepsut, Tutmose I, and gods Amun and Ra-Horakhty. Axial plan. It gradually connects the desert to the rocky cliffs. Once, its first court was connected to a temple on the Nile by a causeway lined by sphynxes, This temple's terrace was landscaped with rare myrrh trees. Visitors ascend two ramps Second court's portico was fronted by statues of Anubis and Hathor. Third court: colossal statues fronted a colonnade that led to a hypostyle hall (with chapels dedicated to Hatshepsut, her father, Amun and Ra) and, further into the rock wall, the innermost sanctuary.
Funerary temple of Hatshepsut (ruled c. 1473-1458 BCE, Dynasty 18), Deir el-Bahri.
Khafre's complex is dominated by the Sphynx, which is thought to be a portrait of the pharaoh, although experts disagree on whether it is Khufu or Khafre. Originally, it was completed by the pharaoh's ceremonial beard and uraeus headdress. It portrais the sphynx, a lion with human head, which was associated with the Sun god, and therefore with the pharaoh. The composite form suggests that the pharaoh combines human intelligence with the strength of the king of beasts.
GREAT SPHYNX OF KHAFRE, 2520-2494 BCE
Great Pyramids, Giza. Erected by (from left) Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu. c. 2575-2450 BCE, Dynasty 4. Granite and limestone. Height of pyramid of Khufu 450' (137 m). These pyramids represent the architectural evolution in tombs started with the MASTABA. The slanted walls seem to have had represented the slanting rays of the sun, as pharaohs were often depicted as climbing these rays to reach the Sun god Ra (Djoser's pyramid may have been also conceived as a giant stairway to the heavens). The three pyramids at Giza were built in succession by Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. Located near modern-day Cairo.
Great Pyramids, Giza. Erected by (from left) Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu. c. 2575-2450 BCE, Dynasty 4. Granite and limestone. Height of pyramid of Khufu 450' (137 m). Khufu (2551-2528) Khafre (2520-2494) Menkaure (2490-2472)
Royal portraits took on a new sensibility, aware of the hardship and frailty of human existence. Twelfth Dynasty King Sensuret III's was a capable military leader who successfully fought attacks by the Nubians and reestablished order and unity after the First Intermediate Period which lasted 150 years. And which was a period of turmoil and internal strife. His statue shows sunken cheeks and drooping eyelids, looking preoccupied and emotionally drained. It is a stern portrait which 1) may be read as a more personal and emotional depiction of a human king or 2) may have been DESIGNED this way to show stoicism and impassive strength.
Head of Sensuret III (ruled c. 1836-1818 BCE, Dynasty 12). Yellow quartzite.
Innermost coffin was the most valuable artifact found by Howard Carter. It consists of a hand-forged gold container (a quarter ton of gold) Nekhbet: vulture goddess of upper Egypt Wadjet: cobra goddess of Lower Egypt They spread the wing over his body. The king is portrayed as very young, with full lips
Inner coffin of Tutankhamun, from the tomb of Tutankhamun (ruled 1332-1322 BCE, Dynasty 18), Valley of the Kings. Gold inlaid with glass and semiprecious stones.
By the new Kingdom, Egyptians had come to believe that only pious people would enjoy an afterlife. Funerary practices revolved around Osiris. After dying, a person would undergo a test by Anubis (jackal-headed god of embalming) and Osiris ( god of the underworld. Their heart would be weighed on a scale against an ostrich feather. Because of this new vision of the underworld, Egyptians started embalming the dead with scrolls containing magical spells to help them pass the test. which have now been collected in a text called the Book of the Dead. "This example shows three stages in Hunefer's induction to the afterlife. Ammit "eater of the dead", half lion-half crocodile. Thot (ibis headed) Osiris seated on a bed of NATRON (salt and sodium bicard used to desiccate the dead) . At the top, Hunefer has passed the test and is kneeling in front of the gods of the underworld.
Judgment of Hunefer before Osiris, from a Book of the Dead. c. 1285 BCE, Dynasty 19. Painted papyrus illustration.
Khufu's was the largest pyramid, and Khafre's the best preserved. The temple of Khafre's complex contained a series of colossal statues of the king enthroned with the falcon god Horus protecting him with his wings from the back of the throne. Lions are the seat's legs and lotus and papyrus plants represents the king's power of Upper and Lower Egypt. traditional royal attire: pleated kilt, flase beard, linen headdress. Gneiss stone, similar to diorite, imported from Nubia. -When illuminated by sunlight it glows in a blue color, the color of Horus
Khafre (ruled c. 2520-2494 BCE, Dynasty 4), from the valley temple of his pyramid complex, Giza.
Daughter of Thutmose I Married her half brother, Thutmose II, who died after 14 years of reign, at which point, she became regent for his underage son, Thutmose III (son of a concubine). Before he became of age, she had the priests of Amun declare her co-regent with Thutmose II, and she ruled this way for 20 years. She was represented as a male king, with the kilt, the headdress, sometimes even the ceremonial beard. The fact that she adapted to the conventional depiction even if she was a woman is an indicator of how important tradition was in Egypt in the representation of royals.
Kneeling figure of Hatshepsut (ruled c. 1473-1458 BCE, Dynasty 18), from Deir el-Bahri. Red granite.
Portrait of Menkaure discovered in the valley temple. The figures emerge from the stone as a single unit, in fact, it could be classified as a high-relief rather than a standalone statue. Here the king is depicted according to the standard convention: youthful and muscular (HEROIC DEPICTION), nude to the waist, wearing the royal kilt and headdress, striding with left for forward. The queen echoes his pose, although she is depicted as standing back slightly. Convention called for the wife to embrace the king as if showing support. Traces of paint found on the statues may indicate that they were painted or decorated. Unfinished
Menkaure (ruled 2490-2472 BCE, Dynasty 4) and a Queen, probably his principal wife Khamerernebty II, from Menkaure Valley Temple, Giza, Egypt.
The mummification of the dead continues, but the style changes. There is a Greco-roman influence in the portrayal of the deceased, and the mummy becomes a SOFT SCULPTURE The Fayum mummy wrapping includes a stylized mask, a Roman-style portrait painted in encaustic ON WOOD. Unlike the traditional Egyptian mummies, the faces reflect the deceased's individual features. Features of the deceased individual were carefully recorded
Mummy wrapping of a young boy, from Hawara. c. 100-120 CE, Roman period. Linen with gilded stucco buttons and inserted portrait in encaustic on wood.
Some of the best preserved tombs of the Middle Kingdom are at Beni Hasan. They are building that were hollowed out of a cliff, usually with a front columnar porch (portico) that led into a hall and subsequently a tomb. Every element of tis building has been carved out of the rock: note the broken column to the right still hanging from the ceiling. The column shafts are fluted
ROCK-CUT TOMB, BENI-HASAN, 1900 BCE; tomb of Amenemhet (12th dynasty)
Ramose was the mayor of Thebes and second only to the Pharaoh in importance. When Amenhotep IV left Thebes to reestablish himself in Akhetaten, the new capital, this tomb was left unfinished, with mural relief incomplete and not colorized, but it is one of the finest examples of relief art in art history. Very sophisticated textural detail and illusion of depth and form in spite of a very shallow relief.
Ramose's brother May and his wife Urel, from the tomb of Ramose, Thebes. c. 1375-1365 BCE, Dynasty 18.3.18
Giza's site was oriented from east to west. Each pyramid had a funerary temple connected by a causeway to another temple on the bank of the Nile. When a king died, his body, after being embalmed, was carried along the Nile to this temple, where a ceremony was performed. Afterwards, it was carried along the causeway to the funerary temple where the family carried food offerings and a ceremonial meal was consumed. These rites were supposed to be performed in perpetuity. Afterwards, the body was entombed in the burial chamber at the end of a narrow, steep passageway, then the burial chamber was sealed off to keep out intruders. A 50 TON block of stone was used. The building of a pyramid required great organizational skills, and a massive labor force. Most of the stones that made up the structure weighed more than 2.5 tons and had to be transported from a quarry nearby. Some mechanical tools, like logs, rollers and sloping ramps facilitated the job. The designers and architects who oversaw the building were capable of highly sophisticated calculations, and some of them may have had astronomical significance, as the structures were oriented to the points of the compass. Maintaining a CONSTANT ANGLE to the slope was one of the challenges, as there was no measurement equipment
Reconstruction drawing of the pyramid complexes of the Giza plateau.
Well preserved example of painted statuary. A fourth dynasty scribe found at Saqqara. The pose is stiff and frontal, but the color lends a lifelike quality to the statue. Although scribes occupied a position of honor in a largely illiterate society, they were in a much lower position than the pharaoh, hence this figure is not seated on a throne, but rather on the ground. Compare the realism with which this figure has been depicted (aging, flabby due to his sedentary work) with the youthful vigor reserved for pharaohs. It would have been disrespectful to represent the pharaoh, whose lineage was thought to be immortal, as aging or less than athletic. The portrait reveals a keen and alert mind. Polished crystal inlay (and pupils slightly off center) reproduces a reflective quality that makes it seem as though the scribe's eyes are in motion.
Saqqara. c. 2450-2325 BCE, Dynasty 5. Painted limestone with inlaid eyes of rock crystal, calcite, and magnesite mounted in copper.
This pyramid is the earliest known monumental architecture in Egypt. Third Dynasty's King Djoser commissioned his prime minister, Imhotep, the design. Imhotep is considered history's first architect. First planned as a one-story mastaba, later converted into a stepped pyramid (6 LEVELS.) The serdab was located outside the pyramid. There is a similarity with ziggurats, but the purpose is different (funerary and a stairway to the god Ra) Located in a funerary complex. Adjacent temple used to perform funerary rituals. Two peepholes were placed in front of Djoser's ka statue, as if he were to observe these rituals after death.
Step Pyramid, Djoser Funerary Complex at Saqqara - Third Dynasty (2630-2575 BCE)
Compared to Tutankhamun, who was a minor king, Ramses II was historically very prominent. He ruled for 66 years until his death, was a strong military leader, diplomat and political strategist. He started building programs as spectacular as the ones in the Old Kingdom at Giza. At Abu Simbel, he carved two temples in the natural rock, one for himself and one for his wife Nefertari. Abu Simbel is located north of the Upper Egypt frontier, which is the second cataract of the Nile, in the land of Nubia (Kingdom of Kush) which Ramses had conquered. 4 colossal seated statues of the king himself, flanked by smaller statues of family members, including nefertari. IN the middle, a statue of the god Ra-Horakty. Inside the temple are 23 statues of the God Osiris with the face of the king, reinforcing the pharaoh's divinity. About 500 feet away Ramses II erected a smaller temple dedicated to his wife Nefertari and various fertility, love, and art goddesses. The temples were oriented with their axis crossing the Nile. In the 1960s the entire temple and surrounding rocks were moved to higher ground by a team of international experts to avoid destruction by flooding due to the building of the Aswan High Dam. These were not funerary temples, simply ceremonial, since their tombs are in the Valley of the Kings and Queens
Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel - Nineteenth Dynasty, 1270-1213 BCE
BULL: SYMBOLIZES the king's power (he is shown wearing a bull's tail. Two lions with intertwined elongated necks allude to the union of Lower and Upper Egypt. This creates a circular depression where the eye makeup would be ground and mixed. One very important pictorial convention: royalty was depicted as idealized, whereas regular people were depicted more lifelike and realistically.
The Palette of Narmer from Hierakonpolis. Early Dynastic period, c. 2950 BCE.
Palettes were used to grind and prepare makeup, and had both utilitarian and ceremonial function. Narmer (also known as King Menes) is shown wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt and holding a rope tied around the neck of someone representing Lower Egypt, symbolizing his reign over both. Sandal-Bearer, carrying the king's sandals. The king is barefoot, indicating that he is standing on SACRED GROUND. HIERATIC SCALE Two individuals depicted at the bottom represent country and city, indicating that he rules over both. CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY DYNASTIC AND OLD KINGDOM ART: Many figures are shown in composite poses, where heads are in profile but eyes, shoulders, and torso are shown frontally. Hips, legs, and feet are also shown in profile.
The Palette of Narmer from Hierakonpolis. Early Dynastic period, c. 2950 BCE.
Wedjat (eye of Horus)
The eye of Horus (wedjat) was regarded as symbolic of both the sun and moon. The wedjat here is the solar eye.
Dead pharaoh (long, braided beard)
The false beard of a god or a god-king (in other words, a dead king) is long and braided, and it ends in a knob.
Falcon (the God Horus)
The god Horus, king of the earth and a force for good, is represented most characteristically as a falcon
Tomb of Ti at Saqqara. Tombs were often decorated with narrative reliefs or murals. Ti's tomb was decorated with reliefs of agricultural scenes or hunting expeditions. Hunting scenes had a powerful symbolic overtone, as they were a metaphor for the triumph over the forces of evil. Hippopotamus hunt. Ti is shown moving with his men and his boat through a thick papyrus marsh. The water is populated by hippopotami and fish. Hieratic scale to show rank. Ti is shown in twisted perspective (composite view) while his men are depicted more naturally. The men look frantic and busy, while Ti is depicted aloof and calm. This is designed to indicate that he is not an actor in the hunt, but rather an impassive observer of life, like his ka. The convention with which the Narmer palette was created have not changed. Painters and sculptors did not sketch their subjects from life, but followed very precise representational conventions. First they drew a grid on the wall, then they placed the various body parts on specific points on the grid. The height of a figure, for example, was a fixed number of squares. Other body parts followed the same predetermined rules. This approach lasted for THOUSANDS OF YEARS. What matters most to an Egyptian artist? COMPLETENESS (rather than realism): they drew the side that was most RECOGNIZABLE. CONSISTENCE ORDER The effect: POISE AUSTERE HARMONY The word for SCULPTOR in Egyptian meant "he who keeps alive" "WHY DO EGYPTIANS HAVE TWO LEFT FEET?"
Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt, Tomb of Ti, Saqqara. c. 2450-2325 BCE, Dynasty 5. Painted limestone relief
The famous portrait of Nefertiti shows refined and idealized features, such as an elongated neck and lidded eyes. Her name means "The beautiful one has come", and she was considered one of the most beautiful women of antiquity. It is a mannered and delicate portrait, which shows refinement and delicacy. It was left unfinished by the sculptor Thutmose (the left eye is missing the inlaid eyeball). The neck is exaggerated in its length, as if the sculptor had wanted to represent a delicate flower on a stalk. Rich hues decorate the headdress.
Tutmose. Nefertiti, from Akhetaten (present-day Tell el-Amarna). c. 1353-1336 BCE, Dynasty 18. Painted limestone.
Scarab
scarab (beetle) was associated with the rising sun and the creator-god, Atun.
