The Art of Ancient Egypt 1

Early Inhabitants Along

the Nile

Egyptian culture
developed along the
banks of the Nile river
as early as 3000 B.C.E.
From Where?

Egypt is Located
in Northern
Africa
When?

3 Major Periods of Egyptian History

•OLD KINGDOM
•MIDDLE KINGDOM
•NEW KINGDOM
 • Predynastic Period, ca. 4500–3100 B.C.

• Early Dynastic Period, ca. 3100–2649 B.C.

Timeline • Old Kingdom, ca. 2649–2150 B.C.

• Intermediate Period, ca. 2150–2030 B.C.
0f
• Middle Kingdom, ca. 2030–1640 B.C.
ANCIENT • Second Intermediate Period, ca. 1640–1550 B.C.

EGYPT • New Kingdom, ca. 1550–1070 B.C.

• Third Intermediate Period, ca. 1070–712 B.C.

• Late Period, ca. 712–332 B.C.

• Macedonian and Ptolemaic Periods, ca. 332–30 B.C.
• Nubian control, Dynasty 25, ca. 743–664 B.C.
• Roman Rule, ca. 30 B.C.–330 A.D.
Cultural Snippet
Religion influenced every part of
Egyptian life.
Pharaohs or Egyptian rulers were
worshiped as gods and pyramids
were built as tombs.
Egyptians believed in life after death
and preserved bodies using
mumification.
Architecture
Pyramids
• Shape
• Size (of Khufu)
• Measurements
• Inside
• Symbolism
• Evolution of shape
Temples

Location?

Why?
Egypt, 8000–2000 B.C.
• The Nile Valley is first inhabited in the Lower Paleolithic Period (ca.
300,000 BC–90,000 BC). Neolithic people continue to create stone
tools, and exploit domesticated plants and animals (7000–4500 B.C.).
In the ensuing millennia many forms of art flourish, including jewelry
(faience beads), ceramic vessels, geometric figures, and pottery, much
of which is found in tombs. Hierakonpolis in the south, the largest
Predynastic settlement known, is the center of political control.
The pyramids of Giza and Saqqara arise in the Old Kingdom (ca. 2649–
2150 B.C.), one of the most dynamic and innovative periods in
Egyptian culture. Power decentralizes during the First Intermediate
Period (ca. 2150–2030 B.C.), only to be unified again by the Theban
king Mentuhotep II in the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1640 B.C.).
• •ca. 2649–2150 B.C. (Old Kingdom, Dynasties 3–6) The Old Kingdom, best known for the
pyramids of Giza and Saqqara, is one of the most dynamic and innovative periods for Egyptian
culture. Not only do the Egyptians master the art of building in stone, but over a period of 500
years they define the essence of their art, establishing artistic canons that will last for more than
3,000 years.
• •ca. 2150–2030 B.C. (First Intermediate Period, Dynasty 8–mid-Dynasty 11) By the end of the
Old Kingdom, centralized power has weakened. During the First Intermediate Period, Egypt is
ruled by two competing dynasties, one based at Heracleopolis in the north, the other based at
Thebes in the south.
• •ca. 2030–1640 B.C. (Middle Kingdom, mid-Dynasty 11–Dynasty 13) The Theban
kingMentuhotep II reunites Upper and Lower Egypt, establishing the capital at Thebes and
ushering in the Middle Kingdom. A renewed flowering of the arts is evident, especially in
Mentuhotep's innovative funerary temple in western Thebes, and in the exquisite painted reliefs
decorating this structure and the tombs of officials in the surrounding cemeteries. For more
information, seeMiddle Kingdom.
•
 Egypt in the Old Kingdom (ca. 2649–2150 B.C.)
• Egypt's Old Kingdom (Dynasties 3–6, ca. 2649–2150 B.C.) was one of the
most dynamic periods in the development of Egyptian art. During this
period, artists learned to express their culture's worldview, creating for
the first time images and forms that endured for generations. Architects
and masons mastered the techniques necessary to build monumental
structures in stone. Sculptors created the earliest portraits of individuals
and the first lifesize statues in wood, copper, and stone. They perfected
the art of carving intricate relief decoration and, through keen
observation of the natural world, produced detailed images of animals,
plants, and even landscapes, recording the essential elements of their
world for eternity in scenes painted and carved on the walls of temples
and tombs.
•
These images and structures had two principal functions: to ensure an
ordered existence and to defeat death by preserving life into the next
world. To these ends, over a period of time, Egyptian artists adopted a
limited repertoire of standard types and established a formal artistic
canon that would define Egyptian art for more than 3,000 years, while
remaining flexible enough to allow for subtle variation and innovation.
•
Although much of their artistic effort was centered on preserving life
after death, Egyptians also surrounded themselves with beautiful objects
to enhance their lives in this world, producing elegant jewelry, finely
carved and inlaid furniture, and cosmetic vessels and implements in a
wide variety of materials.
Ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom, with the capital at Memphis.
 Egypt in the Middle Kingdom (2030–1640 B.C.)
• The Middle Kingdom (mid-Dynasty 11–Dynasty 13, ca. 2030–1640 B.C.) began
when Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II reunited Upper and Lower Egypt, setting the
stage for a second great flowering of Egyptian culture. Thebes came into
prominence for the first time, serving as capital and artistic center during
Dynasty 11. The outstanding monument of this dynasty was Mentuhotep's
mortuary complex, loosely modeled on the funerary monuments of his Theban
ancestors. Built on a grand scale against the spectacular sheer cliffs of western
Thebes, Mentuhotep's complex centered on a terraced temple with pillared
porticoes. The masterful design, representing a perfect union of architecture
and landscape unique for its time, included painted reliefs of ceremonial
scenes and hieroglyphic texts. Carved in a distinctive Theban style also seen in
the tombs of Mentuhotep's officials, these now-fragmentary reliefs are among
the finest ever produced in Egypt.
•
At the end of Dynasty 11, the throne passed to a new family with the accession
of Amenemhat I, who moved the capital north to Itj-tawy, near modern Lisht.
Strongly influenced by the statuary and reliefs from nearbyOld
Kingdom monuments in the Memphite region, the artists of Dynasty 12 created
a new aesthetic style. The distinctive works of this period are a series of royal
statues that reflect a subtle change in the Egyptian concept of kingship.

Ancient Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, with the capital at Thebes.
• Face of Senwosret III, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret III,
ca. 1878–1840 B.C.
•
Egyptian
•
Quartzite; H. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm)
•
Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926 (26.7.1394)
• SEE COMPLETE RECORD .
• The face of Senwosret III is one of the most individual and recognizable in
all of Egyptian art. The deep-set, heavy-lidded eyes, the thin lips, and the
series of diagonal furrows marking the rather hollow cheeks give
representations of this king a brooding expression not usually found on the
faces of Egyptian kings, who are generally portrayed with a more youthful
countenance. Although it lacks an inscription, this fragment of a quartzite
statue is easily identified as a likeness of Senwosret III. However, unlike the
stern features seen on the face of the king's gneiss sphinx (17.9.2), the
expression here is somewhat softened, suggesting the face of a living,
aging man. This image is one of the few instances in Egyptian art in which
the ruler seems consciously to have chosen to represent his humanity
rather than an idealized image of eternal kingship.
• Senwosret III is noted for his military achievements. He mounted four
campaigns into Lower Nubia, where he confronted the powerful kingdom
of Kush, based at Kerma in the Sudan. He established the southern border
of Egypt at Semna at the Second Cataract and founded or expanded a
string of fortresses along the Nile in Nubia to control all movement and
trade. He built his pyramid complex at Dahshur, which is being excavated
by the Metropolitan Museum, as well as a rock-cut tomb and cenotaph at
Abydos.
 Recumbent lion, Old
Kingdom, Dynasty 4–early
Dynasty 5 (ca. 2575–2450
B.C.) Egyptian
Granite; L. 79 1/8 in. (201
cm), H. 34 1/4 in. (87 cm),
W. 28 3/4 in. (73 cm)

This imposing figure must have guarded the entrance to a sanctuary. The most powerful predator of the steppe bordering
the Nile Valley, the lion had been a symbol of royalty since the time of Egypt's earliest rulers (ca. 3200–3100 B.C.). The
animal also embodied various important deities, such as Sakhmet, the fiery goddess of war and pestilence, and served as
a guardian of temples and palaces.
The sculpture exhibits all the hallmarks of early Old Kingdom art and iconography: the lion's tail is slung high up over the
right haunch, the outlines of the ears continue directly into the mane around the face, and the heavy body of the animal
is hardly separated from the granite mass of the base. Excavated at Herakleopolis Magna, south of the Fayum oasis, this
sculpture is the earliest surviving lion image of monumental size. When found, only the front of the muzzle was missing; it
has now been restored.
The cobra's hood and head were either carved separately or they
were repaired in antiquity, for there is an ancient dowel hole
drilled into the place where the cobra's upright body would be.
While the Egyptians viewed the standing sphinx as a conqueror, the
crouching sphinx was a guardian of sacred places. Thus pairs of
sphinxes flanked avenues or entrances to important buildings. This
sphinx was carved from a single block of beautifully grained
anorthosite gneiss from quarries in Nubia. The sculptor has used
the pattern in the stone to great effect on the body of the lion and
has masked the potentially awkward transition from animal body
to human head with the headdress and the stylized pattern
representing the lion's mane. Note the difference between the
ordered long strands of the mane in front and the short,
overlapping tufts on the back of the shoulders. Below the beard, a
palace facade (serekh) is incised topped by a falcon and the symbol
for the sky. Both the king's Horus name (divine of thrones) and his
throne name (shining are the life forces [kas] of Re) are written in
the serekh.a
Sphinx of Senwosret III, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of
Senwosret III, ca. 1878–1840 B.C.
From Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, Karnak probably
Gneiss
L. 28 3/4 in. (73 cm) W. 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm); H. 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm)
Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1917 (17.9.2)

Because of their strength, ferocity, imposing mane, and awesome

roar, lions were associated with kingship since prehistoric times. As
divine guardians against evil, they also symbolized in cosmic myths
the place on the horizon where the sun was reborn every day. With
the body of a lion and the head of a human, the sphinx symbolically
combined the power of the lion with the image of the reigning king.
In this magnificent example, the face belongs to Senwosret III of
Dynasty 12 whose features are very distinctive (see 26.7.1394). He
wears a pleated linen headcloth, called a nemes headdress, which is
symbolic of kingship. The nemes is surmounted by a cobra, which
represents the goddess Udjo, one of the protectors of the king.