1. Lesson 3: Ancient Egypt
Understand the importance of the afterlife in Ancient Egypt
Explore religious and funerary art
Examine images of power: religious and political powers
Begin to identify stylistic conventions of Egyptian art
Practice visual comparison

2. Ch. 3
Ancient Egypt

3. Obviously wealth accounts for one reason why Egypt looms so large in our current ideas; but the number of movies, pop-culture references and stories we still tell about Egypt is A LOT
Why are the Egyptians so darn interesting?

4. Upper Egypt—south, toward Africa
Area surrounding the Nile, now called Egypt, was a resource-rich area--made the necessity of shifting to a settled Neolithic lifestyle not urgent, so the region didn’t transition until about 5000 BCE.
From c BCE to 2950 BCE, Egypt was ruled by a series of tribes and small cultures and was divided into two main areas: Upper and Lower Egypt
Upper Egypt—south, toward Africa
Lower Egypt—north, toward the Mediterranean
Nile flows to the Mediterranean Sea, so Lower Egypt is where the Nile let out
Title: Ancient Egypt

5. Unification of Egypt
-c BCE; Egypt was unified under one ruler, Menes from Upper Egypt
-For the next almost 3000 years, Egypt is relatively stable and unified and exhibits a remarkably consistent artistic style—religious in all periods
*Alexander the Great from Greece --- lurks in Egypt’s final days, to be continued.*
-Egypt from 3000 to 332 BCE is divided into 5 primary sub-periods:
-Early Dynastic Period ( BCE)
-Old Kingdom ( BCE)
-Middle Kingdom ( BCE)
-New Kingdom ( BCE)
-Late Egyptian ( BCE) – (the book includes this section, but it’s the least important for our purposes!!)
Dynasty defined as a series of rulers from the same royal house—usually related, but not necessarily

6. Early Dynastic Egypt; 2950-2575 BCE
Egyptian creation myth: Ra (sun god) creates himself out of the “waters of chaos”
-By spitting, Ra creates Tefnut and Shu (gods of wetness and dryness)
-Tefnut and Shu begat Geb and Nut (earth and sky gods)
-Geb and Nut produce 2 sons: Osiris and Seth,
and 2 daughters: Isis and Nephthys
-Osiris and Isis marry and Osiris becomes king; Seth gets jealous and kills Osiris; Isis and Nephthys bring him back to life
-Osiris and Isis have a son, Horus, who defeats Seth and becomes king of the earth
-Osiris retires and becomes overseer of the underworld.
-These are the main gods, among others, that appear throughout Egyptian art.

7. Front and back of The Narmer Palette; Early Dynastic Period; 25” tall
Horus
Palette for mixing eye makeup. Typical style;
low relief,
hieratic scale indicating important figures,
space is depicted in horizontal registers, or bands,
simple contours (outlines),
colors would have been clear (no gradation or shading) and flat,
mathematical formulas used to determine proportions of figures.
Image is considered to represent the unification of Egypt and its emergence as a great power. Narmer (ruler) is the main figure. The message is that a powerful ruler, Narmer, rules over all of Egypt. Horus, as falcon is seen above him.
Found in the temple of Horus, so may have been ceremonial in nature.
Demonstrates “twisted perspective” typical of Eqyption Art—poses not possible in real life; profile head, frontal shoulders, etc. Skewed perspective chosen because it represents forms in their most characteristic position—based on mental images (memory images) we have of things we often see—not based on observation, but an idea
Artist: Early Dynastic Period
Title: The Narmer Palette
Medium: Green schist
Size: height 25" (64 cm)
Date: Early Dynastic period, c. 2950–2775 BCE
Source/Museum: Hierakonpolis / Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Front and back of The Narmer Palette; Early Dynastic Period; 25” tall
-Style typical of Egyptian art throughout its history: Met Museum

8. Twisted Perspective—profile head, frontal shoulders, profile feet
Memory image—how we think of something as looking, not based on strict observation of things (also known as schematic)
Old Kingdom standard grid—proportions based on a consistent measurement, like the width of a closed fist, for example. Determined the proportions for figures; everything had an ideal or proper proportion.
Old Kingdom follows Early Dynastic
Title: Old Kingdom standard grid—an Egyptian canon of proportions for representing the human body
These are conventions.

9. -Might have numerous underground chambers for whole families.
Mastaba: flat-topped, one story building built above an underground burial chamber. Most common tomb structure of Early Dynasty.
-Might have numerous underground chambers for whole families.
-Standard burial for Eqyptian elite for centuries.
Ka: life force, or spirit. Believed to live on after death doing the same things it had done in life, but it would need a body to live in, so a sculpted likeness of the deceased would be placed in the serdab of the mastaba.
Before they built the pyramids; these were the tombs
Title: Elements of Architecture: Mastaba to Pyramid (Mastaba)
Source/Museum: Mastaba

10. -2 most extensive necropolises: Saqqara and Giza outside modern Cairo
Necropolis: “city of the dead,” funerary complexes on the west bank of the Nile—because the land of the death was believed to be in the direction of the setting sun
-2 most extensive necropolises: Saqqara and Giza outside modern Cairo
The step pyramid and sham buildings. Funerary complex of Djoser, Saqqara
King Djoser (c BCE) commissioned the first monumental architecture in Egypt with his tomb at Saqqara. Designed by Imhotep, first architect known by name. Form is a stepped pyramid made of 6 mustaba-like platforms—resembles ziggurats of Near East, but is different in its intention (steps are stairs to the sun god, Ra) and purpose (covers a tomb)
Title: The step pyramid and sham buildings. Funerary complex of Djoser, Saqqara
Medium: Limestone
Size: height of pyramid 204' (62 m)

11. The Old Kingdom
c – 2150 BCE
-time of social and political stability
Pyramids at Giza: most recognizable Egyptian landmarks
Angled sides may have been designed to mimic the rays of the sun
Oldest and Largest: Khufu’s (13 acres at its base)
Originally covered in polished limestone—made it 480’ high
Site planned to follow the sun’s path
Actual burial vaults are inside the tombs, not under
Thought to be built by constructing ramps to pull the stones up as they went. Each block used to build the pyramids weighs 2.5 tons—5000 lbs! Over 6 million tons of rock in total—
new theories suggest lever system may have been used
The foundation layer had to be completely level and the angle of each of the sides had to be exact and remain constant in order for them to meet precisely in the center at the top—great accomplishment of mathematical engineering.
Artist: Old Kingdom
Title: Great Pyramids, Giza
Medium: Granite and limestone
Size: height of pyramid of Khufu, 450' (137 m)
Date: Fourth Dynasty, c. 2575–2450 BCE
Source/Museum: Erected by (from the left) Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu
Great Pyramids, Giza; Granite and limestone, height of pyramid of Khufu, 450‘, c. 2575–240 BCE
Erected by (from the left) Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu

12. These elaborate tombs demonstrate wealth, and also having the freedom to focus on such concerns, other than survival.
Would be one thing if the pyramids were solid blocks—but they actual have tunnels and chambers; how did they do that while moving and working with such large stones?
Old theories of building involved long, single ramp, but too long
Next theory; suggests spiral ramp around outside
New theory involves use of simple crane
Before building, ground had to be leveled; filled foundation with water—shaved the high spots, then as it evaporated, they shaved more high spots, etc.

13. Old Kingdom Sculpture:
-Very life-like, solid and compact
-Displays permanence, stability
Khafre as an enthroned king; falcon god Horus on the back of the throne, spreading its wings over his head—protective.
Pleated skirt; traditional royal costume
Lotus and papyrus plants on throne symbolize his rule over both upper and lower Egypt.
The stone glows blue in sunlight and illuminated through sky lights in the tomb, it would have reflected off the white alabaster surroundings and created a blue radiance.
Artist: Old Kingdom
Title: Khafre
Medium: Anorthosite gneiss
Size: height 5' 6⅛" (1.68 m)
Date: Fourth Dynasty (ruled c. 2520–2494 BCE)
Source/Museum: Giza, Valley Temple of Khafre / Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Khafre; Anorthosite gneiss, height 5' 6⅛“; (ruled c. 2520–2494 BCE)
Giza, VTemple of Khafre

14. Menkaure; heir of Khafre.
-Sculpture is less formal than his father’s, with affection from his wife
-Balanced pose with foot striding—typically Egyptian
-Found in Menkaure’s valley temple, but never finished polishing it; suggests it was commissioned only a few years before his death
valley temple; temple built as part of the pyramid complex; place for worship and the start of the funeral ceremonies
Menkaure and a Queen; Graywacke w/ traces of red and black paint, height 54 ½”; ruled c – 2472 BCE

15. Following Menkaure’s dynasty, more generic portraits of rulers are made and personalized with inscriptions on the base
Pepy II and His Mother, Queen Ankhnes-Meryre; alabaster, c ; height 15 ¼” x ~10”
-Ruler depicted as a child because he inherited the throne at 6 and his mother likely acted as regent until he was old enough to rule
Title: Pepy Ii and His Mother, Queen Ankhnes-Meryre
Medium: Egyptian alabaster
Size: height 15¼ X 9 13/16" (39.2 X 24.9 cm)
Date: Sixth Dynasty, c. 2323–2152 BCE (ruled. c. 2246–2152 BCE).
Source/Museum: The Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York. Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund (39.119)

16. Seated Scribe; painted limestone; 21” high, c. 2450-2325 BCE
Old Kingdom sculptors also made figures of less prominent people, like this scribe found in the tomb of Kai in Saqqara
Seated Scribe; painted limestone; 21” high, c BCE
Kai was a government official—his tomb where sculpture found
Scribe was a well respected position in Egypt b/c it got you out of the sun into a sedentary job
Slightly off-center irises in the eye give the impression of motion—like he’s looking for something. Very life like.
Artist: Old kingdom
Title: Seated Scribe
Medium: Painted limestone with inlaid eyes of rock crystal calcite and magnesite mounted in copper
Size: height 21" (53 cm)
Date: Fifth Dynasty, c. 2450–2325 BCE
Source/Museum: found near the tomb of Kai, Saqqara. Musée du Louvre, Paris

17. Wealthy tombs often included wall decorations featuring everyday activities that the Ka would continue to do after the death of the entombed person.
Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt; painted limestone; 45” high; c
Title: Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt
Exhibits many conventions, like twisted perspective on the figure, the river as if seen from above but the animals in profile—
memory images.
Actual hunters, of lesser rank, are rendered more realistically
Medium: Painted limestone relief
Size: height approx. 45" (114.3 cm)
Date: Fifth Dynasty, c. 2450–2325 BCE
Source/Museum: Tomb of Ti, Saqqara

18. Middle Kingdom; c BCE
The old kingdom was followed by approx. 150 yrs of unrest and turmoil—1st intermediate period
Eventually, the ruler Nebhepetre Menthutop reunited the country and the Middle Kingdom, another high point in Egyptian history began
Art of the period is characterized by an awareness of the struggles that preceded it
Head of Senusret III; Yellow quartzite; c ; 17” high;
More personality demonstrated in this portrait, than in previous ruler portraits that look serene—almost sense of sadness or anxiety; pessimistic view of life
Artist: Middle Kingdom
Title: Head of Senusret III
Medium: Yellow quartzite
Size: height 17¾ X 13½ X 17" (45.1 X 34.3 X 43.2 cm)
Date: Twelfth Dynasty, c. 1938–1755 BCE (ruled c. 1836–1818 BCE)
Source/Museum: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: Nelson Trust (62-11)

19. Rock-cut tombs, Beni Hasan, Middle Kingdom
In Middle Kingdom, tombs were excavated in the faces of cliffs, instead of built. Still contain the necessities for the spirit to continue in the afterlife, including offerings, wall decoration, sculptures and jewelry.
Artist: Middle Kingdom
Title: Rock-cut tombs, Beni Hasan.
Date: Twelfth Dynasty, c. 1938–1755 BCE
Rock-cut tombs, Beni Hasan, Middle Kingdom
Located south of the present-day Minya, Egypt

20. Faience is a glazed non-clay ceramic material or silica.
Lotus blossoms painted on the hippo.
Found in tomb of governor named Senbi.
Hippo in tomb could be symbol of female fertility and childbirth b/c a goddess of childbirth was shown with the head of a hippo, but in a man’s tomb, the hippo could be a sign of evil, since hippo were seen as destructive, b/c they wandered into fields and destroyed crops.
Artist: Middle Kingdom
Title: Hippopotamus
Medium: Faience
Size: length 7⅞" (20 cm)
Date: Twelfth Dynasty, c. 1938–1755 BCE
Source/Museum: Tomb of Senbi (tomb B.3), Meir. / The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1917 (17.9.1)
Hippopotamus; Faience, c ; tomb of Senbi
-Middle Kingdom art of all kinds displays excellent attention to accurate detail.
Hippo is fierce!!!

21. -Middle Kingdom tomb offerings and decorations show us much about everyday life at the time
Title: Stele of Amenemhat I
Medium: Painted limestone
Size: 11 X 15" (30 X 50 cm)
Date: Twelfth Dynasty, c. 1938–1755 (ruled c. 1938–1908 BCE)
Source/Museum: Assasif. / Egyptian Museum, Cairo. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Excavation 1915–16
Shows a feast and the family together—illustrates clothing and home decorations; lion legged table
Model shows the home of Meketre—the owner of the tomb where found. Shows colorful columns, trees surrounding a central pool in the courtyard.
Many written records from the middle kingdom demonstrate that people of the period were literate, and legally savvy; requiring the work of many lawyers and scribes.
Title: Model of a house and garden
Medium: Painted and plastered wood and copper
Size: length 33" (87 cm)
Date: Eleventh Dynasty, c. 2125–2055 BCE
Source/Museum: tomb of Meketre, Deir el-Bahi. / The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Rogers Fund and Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1920 ( )
Stele of Amenemhat I; c BCE, 11” x 15”; painted limestone

22. New Kingdom; c BCE
-followed 2nd Intermediate period—more turbulence interrupted the ruling dynasties
-Egyptian rulers reunify Egypt by 1539 BCE
-Thutmose III (ruled BCE) extended the Egyptian empire as far as present day Syria; first ruler to refer to himself as “pharaoh” (literally means “great house”)
-undertook major building projects along the Nile at the height of the New Kingdom
Pharoah means “great house”—referred to the king and his staff, the way we say White House to mean the president and his staff.

23. The ruins of the Great Temple of Amun, at Karnak, Egypt
As the home of the gods, Egyptian temples originally had the form of a house. New kingdom builders expanded those elements. The design is symmetrical and axial—all rooms arranged around a dominant center line, creating a processional path down the center. As you went, rooms got small and darker and more exclusive; only priests allowed in
At Karnak, temples were built and rebuilt over 1500 yrs.
Artist: New Kingdom
Title: The ruins of the Great Temple of Amun, at Karnak, Egypt

24. -She was depicted in all the ways a male ruler was depicted
-Hatshepsut; ruled —one of only a few women rulers in Egypt; left greatest legacy of monuments.
-Mother of Thutmose III, had herself declared king before he came of age
-She was depicted in all the ways a male ruler was depicted
-Tomb in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens on the west bank of the Nile
Funerary temple represents good balance of nature (lots of open garden spaces) and structure (grandiose architecture)
Artist: New Kingdom
Title: Hatshepsut Enthroned
Date: Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled c. 1473–1458 BCE).
Source/Museum: Deir el-Bahri / The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Title: Funerary temple of Hatshepsut, Deir El-Bahri
Date: Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1473–1458 BCE(At the far left, ramp and base of the funerary temple of Mentuhotep III. Eleventh Dynasty, c. 2009–1997 BCE)

25. king saw himself as Aten’s son
Artist: New Kingdom
Title: Akhenaten, Colossal Figure
Title: Akhenaten and His Family
Medium: Painted limestone relief
Size: 12¼ X 15¼" (31.1 X 38.7 cm)
Date: Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1353–1336 BCE
Source/Museum: Akhetaten (present-day Tell el-Amarna) / Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Ägyptisches Museum
c. 1353, ruler named Amenhotep (later Akhenaten) changed Egypt to a monotheistic society worshipping sun-god Aten
-Art of this time very stylistically different; elongated, fluid forms (Amarna syle)

26. Queen Tiy—very supportive of her son’s changes
Bust of Nefertiti was found in a sculptor’s workshop, and bust portraits were rare, so it probably wasn’t a commissioned bust, but a realistic portrait of her used to base commissioned work on
description of her at the time suggest she really was as beautiful as the image shows
Artist: New Kingdom
Title: Queen Tiy
Medium: Boxwood, ebony, glass, silver, gold, lapis lazuli, cloth, clay, and wax
Size: height 3 ¾" (9.4 cm)
Date: Eighteenth Dynasty, c BCE
Source/Museum: Kom Medinet el-Ghurab (near el-Lahun) / Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Ägyptisches Museum
Title: Nefertiti
Medium: Painted Limestone
Size: height 20" (51 cm)
Date: Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1353–1336 BCE
Source/Museum: Akhetaten (modern Tell el-Amarna) / Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Ägyptisches Museum
Amarna style portraits: Queen Tiy (Akhenaten’s mother-left) and Nefertiti (Akhenaten’s wife-right)

27. Sarcophagus is 240 lbs of gold
Tutankhamun, Akhenaten’s son, quickly returned to the traditional beliefs and artistic styles of Egypt, after his father’s death
Inner burial tomb never plundered and was in its original condition when discovered in 1922
Sarcophagus is 240 lbs of gold
Akhenaten’s son, Tut, returned to the old traditions, though the full lips and thin nose on his mask suggest some hang over of Amarna style
Artist: New Kingdom
Title: Funerary mask of Tutankhamun
Medium: Gold inlaid with glass and semiprecious stones
Size: Height 21¼" (54.5 cm) Weight 24 pounds (11 kg)
Date: Eighteenth Dynasty (Tutankhamun, ruled 1332–1322 BCE), c BCE
Source/Museum: Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Artist: n/a
Title: Inner Coffin of Tutankhamun’s Sarcophagus
Size: height 6'⅞" (1.85 m), weight nearly 243 pounds (110.4 kg)
Date: Eighteenth Dynasty, 1332–1322 BCE
Source/Museum: Tomb of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings, near Deir el-Bahri / Egyptian Museum, Cairo

28. Temple of Rameses II; Abu Simble; c. 1279-1213 BCE
Rameses II—major and long lived Egyptian leader following Tutankhamen;
“king-god of Egypt, conqueror of the Hittites (made diplomatic agreements with them and married 2 Hittite princesses) ruler of a vast empire and virile (with nearly 100 kids)”
Initiated many impressive building projects like his temple at Abu Simbel, seen here. Not funerary monuments.
4- 65’ statues, all of Rameses II; surrounded by smaller family members and chief wife, Nefertari
Inside 33 statues of Osiris w/ Rameses’ face—underscores his divinity
Artist: New Kingdom
Title: Temple of Rameses II, at Abu Simbel
Date: Nineteenth Dynasty, c. 1279–1213 BCE
people

29. Nefertari (Queen) touching Rameses’ leg at Temple
Temple Interior
Details of temple: Nefertari affectionately touches Rameses’ leg;
Temple interior showing Rameses as god Osiris
Artist: New Kingdome
Title: Detail of Nefertari and Ramses’s Leg and Temple of Rameses II, Interior
Source/Museum: Temple of Ramses II; Abu Simbel

30. Anubis; god of embalming and cemeteries. Thoth Deceased’s heart Osiris
Deceased in accepted into the afterlife and kneels before the 9 gods of Heliopolis; the sacred city of sun god, Ra
Maat
Deceased
Nephthys & Isis
Anubis; god of embalming and cemeteries.
Thoth
Deceased’s heart
New Kingdom religious belief: only good people enjoy afterlife—when you die, you were questioned about your behavior and your heart weighed against an ostrich feather (symbol of Maat—goddess of truth, order and justice)
Families had illustrated papyrus scrolls wrapped in their loved-ones dressings to help them pass the afterlife tests;
books of the dead
Proceedings overseen by Osiris (god of underworld)
Ammit, Eater of the Dead; part crocodile, part lion, part hippopotamus; waiting for a sign from ibis-headed god Thoth (recording the results of the weighing)
Osiris’ sons each protect a vital organ of the dead man
Osiris’ sisters stand behind him—top register shows deceased has passed the tests and kneels before the gods in the city of Ra
Title: Judgment of Hunefer before Osiris
Medium: Painted papyrus
Size: height 15⅝" (39.8 cm)
Date: Nineteenth Dynasty, c BCE
Source/Museum: Illustration From a Book of The Dead. The British Museum, London
Osiris
Feather of truth
Osiris’ sons
Ammit; “Eater of the dead”
A Book of the Dead; Judgment of Hunefer Before Osiris; c 1285 BCE; ~15” high

31. -Art of this time reflects the occupying cultures; not very Egyptian
Late Egyptian; c BCE
-Egypt heavily influence by foreign powers who were attracted to Egypt’s wealth and art
-Alexander the Great (from Greece) conquered Egypt in 332 BCE and his generals later divided up the empire
-Art of this time reflects the occupying cultures; not very Egyptian
Best example of the foreign influence on Egyptian art;
Fayum portraits (from Fayum region of Lower Egypt)—seen here.
Used Egyptian tradition of mummification but Roman style portraits of the deceased made in encaustic (hot wax w/ pigment) instead of masks
Artist: Late Eqyptian c BCE
Title: Mummy wrapping of a young boy
Medium: Linen wrappings with gilded stucco buttons and inserted portrait in encaustic on wood
Size: height of mummy 53⅜" (133 cm) portrait 9½ X 6½" (24 X 16.5 cm)
Date: Roman period, c. 100–120 CE
Source/Museum: Hawara / The British Museum, London
Mummy wrapping of a young boy; Linen wrappings with gilded stucco buttons and inserted portrait in encaustic on wood; height of mummy 53⅜", c. 100–120 CE

32. Visual Comparison