Study Questions 2: ART281 History of Western Art

Chapters 3: Art of Ancient Egypt

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Due: Wednesday 1st June 2016

Grade: _______/25 total points

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1. Briefly describe the process whereby the territories along the Nile became unified into
a single political unit during the Early Dynastic period. (6 points)
Ans: The process whereby the territories along the Nile became unified into a single
political unit during the Early Dynastic according to legend around 3000 BCE, Egypt
became a consolidated state, the country had previously evolved into two major
kingdoms the Two Lands Upper Egypt in the south (upstream on the Nile) and Lower
Egypt in the north. But a powerful ruler from Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and
unified the two kingdoms. In the art of the subsequent Early Dynastic period we see the
development of ideas about kingship and the cosmic order.

2. Trace the development of the pyramid, starting with the mastaba and ending with the
Pyramids of Giza. What types of tombs were found in the Middle Kingdom? How are
they different from the Old Kingdom tombs? (7 points)
Ans: In Early Dynastic Egypt, the most common tomb structure was the mastaba, a flattopped, one story building with slanted walls erected above an underground burial
chamber. Mastabas were at first constructed of mud brick, but toward the end of the Third
Dynasty, many incorporated cut stone, at least as an exterior facing. In its simplest form,
the mastaba contained a serdab, a small, sealed room housing the ka statue of the
deceased, and a chapel designed to receive mourning relatives and offerings. After the
mastaba we see the creation of a new tomb the Djoser tomb which started out as a single
story mastaba, only later to be enlarged upon the concept. The final structure is a step
pyramid formed by six mastaba-like elements of decreasing size stacked on top of each

other. Although the step pyramid resembles the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, it differs in
both meaning (signifying a stairway to the sun god Ra) and purpose (protecting a
tomb).A 92-foot shaft descended from the original mastaba enclosed within the pyramid.
A descending corridor at the base of the step pyramid provided an entrance from outside
to a granite-lined burial vault. Last and finally we see the great pyramid tombs at Giza
although not the first pyramids, they are the most famous pyramids. These were built by
Three successive Fourth-Dynasty kings: Khufu (r. c. 2551 2528 BCE),Khafre (r. 2520
2494 BCE), and Menkaure (r. c. 2490 2472 BCE).The oldest and largest pyramid at Giza
is that of Khufu, which covers 13 acres at its base. It was originally finished with a
thickveneer of polished limestone that lifted its apex to almost 481 feet, some 30 feet
above the present summit.The pyramid of Khafre is slightly smaller than Khufu s, and
Menkaure s is considerably smaller. The site was carefully planned to follow the sun s
east west path. Building a pyramid was a formidable undertaking, a large burial ground
that was used for workers discovered at Giza attests to the huge labor force that had to be
assembled, housed, and fed. Most of the cut stone blocks each weighing an average of 2.5
tons used in building the Giza complex were quarried either on the site or nearby. Teams
of workers transported them by sheer muscle power, employing small logs as rollers or
pouring water on mud to create a slippery surface over which they could drag the blocks
on sleds.
Ans: The types of tombs what were found in the Middle Kingdom where the Rock Cut
out Tombs during the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties, members of the nobility and highlevel officials commissioned tombs hollowed out from cliff faces. Funerary Stelae only
the wealthiest and noblest of ancient Egyptians could afford elaborately decorated
mastabas or rock-cut tombs. Prosperous people, however, could still commission funerary
stelae depicting themselves, their family, and offerings of food. These personal
monuments meant to preserve the memory of the deceased and inspire the living to make
offerings to them contain compelling works of ancient Egyptian pictorial art. The Middle
Kingdom Tombs are different from the Old Kingdom tombs because the tombs that were
constructed were the Pictorial Relief Tombs to provide the deceased with the most

pleasant possible living quarters for eternity, wealthy families often had the interior walls
and ceilings of their tombs decorated with paintings and reliefs. This decoration carried
religious meaning, but it could also evoke the deceased s everyday life or depict
ceremonial events that proclaimed the deceased s importance. So we see the difference in
the Middle Kingdom Tombs where far more elaborate because they went from have
Pictorial art being done on walls to making tombs from cliff faces that consisted of
paintings that used colors in there paintings.

3. Explain how depictions of royalty differ from those of ordinary people in ancient
Egyptian art. Then compare and contrast Egyptian royal portraits from two different
periods, making sure to explain the distinctive traits that characterize each. (7 points)
Ans: To provide the ka with the most pleasant possible living quarters for eternity,
wealthy families often had the interior walls andceilings of their tombs decorated with
paintings and reliefs. This decoration carried religious meaning but it could also evoke
the deceased everyday life or depict ceremonial events that proclaimed the deceased
importance. Tombs therefore provide a wealth of information about ancient Egyptian
culture. Also, the houses of priests, court officials, and their families were large and
comfortable with private living quarters and public roomsgrouped around central
courtyards. The largest had as many as 70 rooms spread out over half an acre. Workers
and their families made with small five-room row houses built back to back along narrow
streets.
Royal portraits from the Middle Kingdom appear to express an unexpected awareness of
the hardship and fragility of human existence. Statues of Senusret III, a king of the
Twelfth Dynasty who ruled from c.1836 to 1818 BCE, reflect this new sensibility. Old
Kingdom rulers such as Khafre gaze into eternity confident and serene, toned and
unflinching whereas the portrait of SENUSRET III seems to capture a monarch
preoccupied and emotionally drained. Creases line his sagging cheeks, his eyes are

sunken, and his eyelids droop his forehead is flexed, and his jaw is sternly set a bold
image of a resolute ruler, tested but unbowed.

4. What advantage accrues to a civilization that resists changes to fundamental

assumptions about art for thousands of years? Summarize the religious beliefs of ancient
Egypt with regard to the afterlife, and explain how their beliefs inspired specific
traditions in art and architecture. (5 points)
Ans: The Advantage accrues to a civilization that resists changes to fundamental
assumptions about art for thousands of years is they become unique in their own way
because if they resists the changes to fundamental assumptions it allows them to diversify
themselves creating art that the world has never seen before, and as time progresses their
art will simply grow better and more uniquely.
By the time of the New Kingdom, the Egyptians had come tobelieve that only a person
free from wrongdoing could enjoy an after life. The dead were thought to under go a last
judgment consisting of two tests presided over by Osiris, the god of the underworld, and
supervised by the jackal-headed god of embalming and cemeteries, Anubis. After the
deceased were questioned about their behavior in life, their hearts, which the Egyptians
believed to be the seat of the soul, were weighed on a scale against an ostrich feather, the
symbol of Mat, goddess of truth, order, and justice. Family members commissioned
papyrus scrolls containing magical texts or spells, which the embalmers sometimes
placedamong the wrappings of the mummified bodies. Early collectors of Egyptian
artifacts referred to such scrolls, often beautifullyillustrated, as Books of the Dead.