Survey 1 ch03

Copyright © 2018, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Art History
Sixth Edition
Chapter 3
Art of Ancient Egypt

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
3.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom, Middle
Kingdom, New Kingdom, and Late Egyptian art for formal, technical, and
expressive qualities.
3.b Interpret the meaning of works of Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom,
Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, and Late Egyptian art based on their
themes, subjects, and symbols.
3.c Relate Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom,
and Late Egyptian artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political
contexts.

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
3.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts used to discuss ancient Egyptian
art, artists, and art history.
3.e Interpret ancient Egyptian art using appropriate art historical
methods, such as observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
3.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an
argument or an interpretation of ancient Egyptian art.

FUNERARY MASK OF TUTANKHAMUN
From the tomb of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings. Eighteenth Dynasty (Tutankhamun,
ruled c. 1332–1322 BCE), c. 1327 BCE. Gold inlaid with glass and semiprecious stones,
height 21-1/4" (54.5 cm), weight 24 pounds (11 kg).
Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (JE 60672) © Leokos/Shutterstock. [Fig. 03-01]

The Gift of the Nile (1 of 3)
• The Nile is the longest river in the world.
• By 8000 BCE, the valley's inhabitants became sedentary, living off the
fish, game and plants of the Nile.
• Around 5000 BCE, they adopted the agricultural life associated with
Neolithic culture.

• The Predynatic period (5000–2950 BCE) was a time of significant social
and political transition.
– Federations emerged and began conquering weaker communities.
– By 3500 BCE, there were several Chiefdoms in the lower Nile
Valley and a centralized form of leadership had emerged.

• The Predynatic period (5000–2950 BCE) was a time of significant social
and political transition.
– Art of the Predynastic period consists of ceramic figurines,
decorated pottery, and reliefs carved on stone plaques and pieces
of ivory.

Early Dynastic Egypt
• According to legend, the country had evolved into Upper Egypt and
Lower Egypt.
• The art of Early Dynastic period shows the development of
fundamental ideas about kingship and the cosmic order.
• The majority of surviving works have religious connotation, as they
come from sturdy tombs and temples.

ANCIENT EGYPT
Upper Egypt is below Lower Egypt on this map because the designations "upper" and
"lower" refer to the directional flow of the Nile, not to our conventions for south and north
in drawing maps. The two kingdoms were united c. 3000 BCE, just before the Early
Dynastic period. [Map 03-01]

Art and Its Contexts:
Egyptian Symbols (1 of 2)
• Three crowns symbolize kingship in early Egyptian art.
– The tall, clublike white crown of Upper Egypt
– The flat or scooped red cap with projecting spiral of Lower Egypt
– The double crown representing unified Egypt

Art and Its Contexts:
Egyptian Symbols (2 of 2)
• The nemes headdress, a striped gold and blue linen head cloth
having a cobra and a vulture at the center front, was also commonly
used as royal headgear.
• The god Horus is represented as a falcon or falcon-headed man.
• The ankh is symbolic of everlasting life.
• The scarab beetle was associated with creation, resurrection, and the
rising sun.

ART AND ITS CONTEXTS: Egyptian Symbols

The God-Kings (1 of 2)
• Egypt's kings were revered as gods in human form.
• Kings built temples and provided priests to maintain them in order to
please the gods.
• Egyptian gods and goddesses were depicted in various forms.
– Human beings, animals, or humans with animal heads

The God-Kings (2 of 2)
• Throughout Egyptian history, Amun, Ra, and Ptah became the primary
national gods.
– Other gods included Thoth, Ma'at, Anubis, and Bastet.

Artistic Conventions (1 of 3)
– The conventions that govern ancient Egyptian art appear early
and are maintained over almost three millennia of its history.
– The Palette of Narmer
– The Narmer palette is often interpreted as representing the
unification of Egypt.
 It shows Narmer 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.

– The Narmer palette is often interpreted as representing the
unification of Egypt.
 It shows Narmer 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.

– 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.
Green schist, height 25" (64 cm). Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (JE 32169 = CG 14716)
© akg-images/Erich Lessing. [Fig. 03-02]

Technique: Conventions and Technique
of Egyptian Pictorial Relief
• In art, conventions are established ways of representing things that
artists and patrons of the time accepted.
• Relief sculpture usually depends on the play of light and shadow
alone, but in Egypt, relief sculpture was also painted.
• Figures, scenes, and text were composed in bands, or registers.

TECHNIQUE: Conventions and Techniques of Egyptian Pictorial Relief
DETAIL OF THE STELE OF THE SCULPTOR USERWER IN FIG. 3-17.
© The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved.

Funerary Architecture (1 of 4)
• The belief existed that the ka, spirit, lived on after every human being
died, and would require a body to inhabit.
• To fulfill the requirements of the ka, Egyptians built statues as
substitute bodies and tombs with furnishings.

• Mastaba and Necropolis
– The mastaba was a flat-topped, one-story structure with slanted
walls erected above an underground burial chamber.

• Mastaba and Necropolis
– It contained a serdab, a small, sealed room housing the ka statue
of the deceased and a chapel designed to receive relatives and
offerings.
– They tended to be grouped in a necropolis—"city of the dead."

• Djoser's Complex at Saqqara
– Third Dynasty King Djoser commissioned an extensive,
monumental stepped pyramid made from finely cut stone.
– The adjacent funerary temple was used for continuing worship of
the dead king.

RECONSTRUCTION DRAWING OF DJOSER'S FUNERARY COMPLEX, SAQQARA
Third Dynasty, c. 2630–2575 BCE.
© Dorling Kindersley. [Fig. 03-03]

THE STEP PYRAMID AND SHAM BUILDINGS, FUNERARY COMPLEX OF DJOSER
Limestone, height of pyramid 204' (62 m).
© Jim Henderson/Alamy Stock Photo. [Fig. 03-04]

Elements of Architecture: Mastaba to
Pyramid (1 of 2)
• The burial structure began as a low, solid, rectangular mastaba with an
external area that served as the focus of offerings.
• Eventually, mastabas of decreasing size were stacked over an
underground burial chamber to form the step pyramid.

Elements of Architecture: Mastaba to
Pyramid (2 of 2)
• The culmination of this development is the pyramid, in which the actual
burial site may be within the pyramid with false chambers and doors,
and confusing passageways to stop tomb robbers.

ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE: Mastaba to Pyramid.

The Old Kingdom
• The Old Kingdom was a time of social and political stability.
• The growing wealth of ruling families is shown in the large and
elaborate tomb complexes.
• Upper-level government officials could also afford elaborate tombs.

The Great Pyramids at Giza (1 of 5)
• The three Great Pyramids at Giza are the most famous architectural
forms of Egypt.
– These were built by three successive Fourth-Dynasty kings:
Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure.
 The oldest and largest is Khufu's, which covers 13 acres at its
base.

GREAT PYRAMIDS, GIZA
Fourth Dynasty, c. 2575–2450 BCE. Erected by (from the left) Menkaure, Khafre, and
Khufu. Limestone and granite, height of pyramid of Khufu, 450' (137 m).
© Olga Kostenko/Shutterstock. [Fig. 03-05]

RECONSTRUCTION DRAWING OF THE GIZA PLATEAU SEEN FROM ABOVE
From left to right: the temples and pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu.
Russell Barnett © Dorling Kindersley. [Fig. 03-06]

• Constructing the Pyramids
– There was a huge labor force to create the pyramids.
– Each stone weighs about 2.5 tons and was transported by muscle
power.

• Constructing the Pyramids
– There are various theories on how the pyramids were raised.
– The designers of the pyramids were capable of sophisticated math
calculations.

• Khafre's Complex
– This complex is the best preserved and best known for the Great
Sphinx, which is a portrait of the king.

GREAT SPHINX, FUNERARY COMPLEX OF KHAFRE
Giza. Old Kingdom, c. 2520–2494 BCE.
Limestone, height approx. 65' (19.8 m).
© Orlandin/Shutterstock. [Fig. 03-07]

• Khafre's Complex
– A large three-dimensional statue of Khafre from the adjacent
Valley Temple represents the ruler protected by Horus.
 He wears the traditional royal costume—a short kilt, linen
headdress, and false beard symbolic of royalty.

VALLEY TEMPLE OF KHAFRE
Giza. Old Kingdom, c. 2520–2494 BCE.
Limestone and red granite.
Werner Forman Archive. [Fig. 03-08]

KHAFRE
From Giza, valley temple of Khafre. Fourth Dynasty, c. 2520–2494 BCE.
Diorite-gabbro gneiss, height 5'6 1/8" (1.68 m).
Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (JE 10062 = CG 14). Index Ricerca Iconografica/Araldo de
Luca. [Fig. 03-09]

Sculpture (1 of 5)
• Egyptian sculptors were adept at creating lifelike three-dimensional
figures that expressed a feeling of strength and permanence.

Sculpture (2 of 5)
• Menkaure and a Queen
– Formal and expressive features characterize a double portrait of
Khafre's son Menkaure and (probably) his wife.
 The king is depicted as an athletic, youthful figure in a
balanced pose with one foot extended.
 His wife takes a similar step forward but her arms connect with
the King.

MENKAURE AND A QUEEN, PROBABLY KHAMERERNEBTY II
From Giza. Fourth Dynasty, 2490–2472 BCE.
Graywacke with traces of red and black paint, height 54 1/2" (142.3 cm).
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Harvard University—Museum of Fine Arts Expedition.
(11.1738). Photograph © 2017 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. [Fig. 03-10]

Sculpture (3 of 5)
• Seated Scribe
– Statues of less prominent people, such as the Seated Scribe, are
rendered in a more relaxed style.
 The scribe's vocation is indicated by both his holding of a
papyrus scroll and the slightly flabby nature of his body.
 Polished crystal inlay reproduces a reflective quality that
makes it seem as though the scribe's eyes are in motion.

SEATED SCRIBE
Found near the tomb of Kai, Saqqara. Fifth Dynasty, c. 2450–2325 BCE.
Painted limestone with inlaid eyes of rock crystal, calcite, and magnesite mounted in
copper, height 21" (53 cm). Musée du Louvre, Paris. (N 2290 = E 3023). Photo © RMN-
Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/Franck Raux. [Fig. 03-11]

Sculpture (4 of 5)
• Statuettes of Servants
– Smaller figures of servants at work that were made for inclusion in
Old Kingdom tombs so that the deceased could be provided for in
the next world.
– Poses aren't formal, but rooted directly in the labor these figures
were expected to perform throughout eternity.

BUTCHER
Perhaps from the tomb of the official Ni-kau-inpu and his wife Hemet-re, Giza?
Fifth Dynasty, c. 2450–2325 BCE. Painted limestone (knife restored), height 14-5/8"
(37 cm). The Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago. (10626). © akg-
images/Erich Lessing. [Fig. 03-12]

Sculpture (5 of 5)
• Statuettes of Servants
 The contrast upper-class figures and laborers can be seen in
Old Kingdom pictorial relief works as well.

Pictorial Relief in Tombs (1 of 2)
• Tombs of royal and wealthy individuals were often decorated with
elaborate paintings and reliefs.
• The Tomb of Ti
– A scene in the mastaba of government official Ti shows the
supervising of a hippopotamus hunt.

Pictorial Relief in Tombs (2 of 2)
• The Tomb of Ti
– The hunters are captured at the moment of closing in on their prey
while Ti stands in hierarchic scale above them.

TI WATCHING A HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNT
Tomb of Ti, Saqqara. Fifth Dynasty, c. 2450–2325 BCE.
Painted limestone relief, height approx. 45" (114.3 cm). Araldo de Luca. [Fig. 03-13]

The Middle Kingdom
• The Mentuhotep kings reestablished royal power after centuries of
disorganization.
• Arts and writing flourished in the Twelfth Dynasty.

Portraits of Senusret III
• Royal portraits took on a new sensibility, aware of the hardship and
frailty of human existence.
– Twelfth Dynasty King Sensuret III's statue shows sunken cheeks
and drooping eyelids.

HEAD OF SENUSRET III
Twelfth Dynasty, c. 1836–1818 BCE.
Yellow quartzite, height 17 3/4" × 13 1/2" × 17" (45.1 × 34.3 × 43.2 cm).
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: William Rockhill
Nelson Trust (62-11). [Fig. 03-14]

Rock-Cut Tombs (1 of 2)
• During the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties, members of the nobility
and high-level officials commissioned tombs hollowed out of the face
of a cliff.
– These typically included an entrance portico, a main hall, and a
shrine with a burial chamber under the offering chapel.

Rock-Cut Tombs (2 of 2)
• An impressive necropolis was created in the cliffs at Beni Hasan.
– Painted scenes cover the interior walls of many tombs.
– Figures of farm workers feature a more lifelike posture that
deviates from the frontality of the royal composite pose.

ROCK-CUT TOMBS, BENI HASAN
Twelfth Dynasty, 1938–1756 BCE. At the left is the entrance to the tomb of a provincial
governor and the commander-in-chief Amenemhat.
© www.BibleLandPictures.com/Alamy Stock Photo. [Fig. 03-15]

PICKING FIGS
Wall painting from the tomb of Khnumhotep, Beni Hasan. Twelfth Dynasty, c. 1890 BCE.
Tempera facsimile by Nina de Garis.
© 2016. Photo Josse/Scala, Florence. [Fig. 03-16]

Funerary Stelai (1 of 2)
• Prosperous people couldn't afford mastabas and rock-cut tombs, but
could still commission funerary stelai depicting themselves, their
family, and offerings of food.
• An unfinished stele, made for the tomb of the Sculptor Userwer,
presents three levels of decoration.

STELE OF THE SCULPTOR USERWER
Twelfth Dynasty, c. 1850 BCE.
Limestone, red and black ink, 20 1/2" × 19" (52 × 48 cm).
British Museum London. (EA 579). © The Trustees of the British Museum.
All rights reserved. [Fig. 03-17]

Funerary Stelai (2 of 2)
• A more modest stele for a man named Amenemhat was brought to
completion as a vibrantly painted relief.
– It shows a portrait of him with his wife, son, and daughter.
– The painter of this relief follows the convention of differentiating
gender by skin tonality: dark red-brown for men and lighter yellow-
ocher for women.

STELE OF AMENEMHAT
From Assasif. Late Eleventh Dynasty, c. 2000 BCE.
Painted limestone, 11" × 15" (30 × 50 cm).
Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (JE 45626). Photo: Jürgen Liepe. [Fig. 03-18]

Town Planning (1 of 2)
• Egyptians built their own dwellings with simple mud bricks and only the
foundations of these dwellings now remain.
• Parallel streets were laid out on a grid, forming rectangular blocks
divided into lots for homes and other buildings.

Town Planning (2 of 2)
• The houses of priests, court officials, and their families were large and
comfortable, with private living quarters and public rooms.
• Workers and their families lived in small, five-room row-houses built
back to back along narrow streets.

The New Kingdom
• Egypt flourished politically and economically in the New Kingdom age.
– The tradition of rulers being called "pharaoh" began with
Thutmose III.
 The term means "great house."
 He also extended Egypt's influence along the eastern
Mediterranean coast.

The Great Temple Complexes (1 of 6)
• Rulers undertook extensive building programs along the entire length
of the Nile.
• Thebes was Egypt's religious center throughout most of the New
Kingdom.

• The New Kingdom Temple Plan
– An Egyptian temple originally took the form of a house, but
builders of the New Kingdom enlarged and multiplied these
elements.
 The gateway became a massive pylon with tapering walls.

– An Egyptian temple originally took the form of a house, but
builders of the New Kingdom enlarged and multiplied these
elements.
 The temple itself included an outer hypostyle hall (a vast hall
filled with columns) and an inner offering hall and sanctuary.

– Two temple districts arose within the area of Thebes to the
worship of Amun, Mut, and Khons.
 A huge complex at Karnak to the north
 A more compact temple at Luxor to the south

• Karnak
– Karnak was a long-standing sacred site, where temples were built
and rebuilt for over 1,500 years.
 Successive kings renovated and expanded the complex of the
Great Temple of Amun until it covered 60 acres.

RECONSTRUCTION DRAWING OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF AMUN AT KARNAK
SEEN FROM ABOVE
New Kingdom, c. 1579–1075 BCE. [Fig. 03-19]

• The Great Hall at Karnak
– The Great Hall at Karnak is one of the most prominent features of
the complex at Karnak.
 The hall was 340 feet wide, 170 feet long, and had 134
columns.
 Artists covered nearly every inch of the columns, walls, and
cross-beams with painted pictorial reliefs and inscriptions.

RECONSTRUCTION DRAWING OF THE HYPOSTYLE HALL, GREAT TEMPLE OF
AMUN AT KARNAK
Nineteenth Dynasty, c. 1292–1190 BCE. [Fig. 03-20]

COLUMNS WITH PAPYRIFORM AND BUD CAPITALS, HYPOSTYLE HALL, GREAT
TEMPLE OF AMUN AT KARNAK
© pakhnyushchyy/123RF. [Fig. 03-21]

Hatshepsut (1 of 2)
• Hatshepsut, wife of Tutmose II, ruled after her husband's death
alongside her son Tutmose III.
– A statue represents her as a male king, complete with false beard,
showing that Egyptian convention was more important than the
individual.

HATSHEPSUT KNEELING
From Deir el-Bahri. Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1473–1458 BCE.
Red granite, height 8'6" (2.59 m). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
© 2016. Image copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence.
[Fig. 03-22]

Hatshepsut (2 of 2)
• Hatshepsut's funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri is larger than her tomb.
– 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.

FUNERARY TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT, DEIR EL-BAHRI
Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1473–1458 BCE. (At the far left, ramp and base of the funerary
temple of Mentuhotep III. Eleventh Dynasty, r. c. 2009–1997 BCE.)
© Brian Lawrence/Getty Images. [Fig. 03-23]

Tombs of the Elite
• Vizier Ramose abandoned this tomb when Amenhotep IV renamed
himself and relocated the court to Akhenaten.
• Various stages of completion exist for painted walls and relief carvings.
– The carvings are some of the most sophisticated in art history, and
present believable warmth and refinement.

RAMOSE'S BROTHER MAY AND HIS WIFE WERENER
From the tomb of Ramose, Thebes. Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1375–1365 BCE.
Limestone relief.
© 2016. Photo Scala, Florence. [Fig. 03-25]

NEBAMUN HUNTING BIRDS IN THE MARSHES
From the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes. Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1350 BCE. Wall painting on
dry plaster, 31-5/8 × 38-5/8″ (83 × 98 cm).
British Museum, London. © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved.
[Fig. 03-26]

Akhenaten and the Art of the Amarna
Period (1 of 5)
• Amenhotep IV founded a new religion honoring a single supreme god
and changed his own name to Akhenaten.
• He abandoned the capital of Egypt and built a new capital further north
called Akhetaten.
• Historians refer to Akhenaten's reign as the Amarna period.

Period (2 of 5)
• The New Amarna Style
– The new Amarna figure style shown in the colossal figure of
Akhenaten shows physical distortion, with a sagging stomach and
inflated thighs contrasting sharp lines in the upper body.
– It also characterizes not only official royal portraits, but also
pictorial relief sculpture portraying the family life of Akhenaten and
Queen Nefertiti.

COLOSSAL FIGURE OF AKHENATEN
From the temple known as the Gempaaten, built early in the reign of Akhenaten's (ruled
c. 1353–1336 BCE) just southeast of the Temple of Karnak. Sandstone with traces of
polychromy, height of remaining portion about 13' (4 m). Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
(JE 49528). © akg-images/De Agostini Picture Lib./A. Dagli Orti. [Fig. 03-27]

AKHENATEN AND HIS FAMILY
From Akhetaten (present-day Tell el-Amarna). Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1353–1336 BCE.
Painted limestone relief, 12-1/4" × 15-1/4" (31.1 × 38.7 cm).
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Ăgyptisches Museum. (14145).
© 2016. Photo Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin.
[Fig. 03-28]

Period (3 of 5)
• Portraits of Queens
– Akhenaten's goals were actively supported not only by Nefertiti but
also by his mother, Queen Tiy.
 Her personality seems to emerge from a miniature portrait
head that reveals the exquisite bone structure of her dark-
skinned face.

QUEEN TIY
From Kom Medinet el-Ghurab (near el-Lahun). Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1352 BCE.
Wood (perhaps yew and acacia), ebony, glass, silver, gold, lapis lazuli, cloth, clay, and
wax, height 3-3/4" (9.4 cm). Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz,
Ägyptisches Museum. (21834). © 2016. Photo Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur für
Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin. [Fig. 03-29]

Period (4 of 5)
• Portraits of Queens
– The famous portrait of Nefertiti shows refined and idealized
features, such as an elongated neck and lidded eyes.
 Rich hues decorate the headdress.

NEFERTITI
From Akhetaten (modern Tell el-Amarna). Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1353–1336 BCE.
Painted limestone, height 20" (51 cm).
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Ägyptisches Museum. (21300).
© 2016. Photo Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin.
[Fig. 03-30]

Period (5 of 5)
• Glass
– Heating a mixture of sand, lime, and sodium carbonate or sodium
sulfate to a very high temperature produces glass.
– The first objects to be made entirely of glass in Egypt were
produced with the technique known as core-formed glass.
 The fish-shaped bottle is an example.

FISH-SHAPED PERFUME BOTTLE
From Akhetaten (present-day Tell el-Amarna). Eighteenth Dynasty, reign of Akhenaten,
c. 1353–1336 BCE. Core-formed glass, length 5-3⁄4″ (14.5 cm).
British Museum, London. (EA 55193). © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights
reserved. [Fig. 03-31]

The Return to Tradition:
Tutankhamun's Tomb (1 of 3)
• Akhenaten's religion and style of art did not last.
• His son was Tutankhamun, whose royal lineage was doubted until
recent DNA testing confirmed both his lineage and the malaria and
infected leg that may have killed him.
– Tutankhamun also suffered from birth defects, possibly from
inbreeding.

• Tutankhamun's undisturbed tomb was discovered in 1922, and
contained great treasures such as a spectacular gold mask and nested
coffins.
– The innermost mask was constructed with over 240 pounds of
gold decorated with colored glass and semiprecious gemstones.

INNER COFFIN FROM TUTANKHAMUN'S SARCOPHAGUS
From the tomb of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings.
Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1332–1322 BCE.
Gold inlaid with glass and semiprecious stones, height 6' 7/8" (1.85 m), weight nearly 243
pounds (110.4 kg). Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (JE 60671) Araldo de Luca.
[Fig. 03-32]

A Broader Look: The Temples of
Ramses II at Abu Simbel
• The monuments were carved directly into the living rock of the sacred
hills.
• The larger temple is dedicated to Ramses and the Egyptian gods
Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah.
• The smaller temple was carved into a mountain sacred to Hathor and
is dedicated to Hathor and to Nefertari.

TEMPLE OF RAMSES II
Abu Simbel. Nineteenth Dynasty, c. 1279–1213 BCE.
Bradhenge/Fotolia. [Fig. 03-33]

REMOVAL OF THE FACE OF ONE OF THE COLOSSAL SCULPTURES OF RAMSES II
AT ABU SIMBEL IN THE MID 1960S
© Terrence Spencer/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images. [Fig. 03-35]

• Ramses II and Nefertari
– Ramses II was both powerful and long-lived, and Egypt was a
mighty empire under his rule.
– He initiated building projects on a scale rivaling the Old Kingdom
pyramids at Giza.
 At Abu Simbel, he ordered two large temples to be carved, one
for himself and the other for his wife, Nefertari.

QUEEN NEFERTARI MAKING AN OFFERING TO HATHOR
Wall painting in the tomb of Nefertari, Valley of the Queens.
Nineteenth Dynasty, 1290–1224 BCE.
© akg-images. [Fig. 03-36]

The Books of the Dead
• Funerary practices revolved around Osiris.
– The dead were thought to undergo a last judgment supervised by
Anubis wherein their hearts were weighted on a scale against an
ostrich feather.
– "Books of the Dead" contained texts or spells to help the dead
pass the tests.
 This example shows three stages in Hunefer's induction to the
afterlife.

JUDGMENT OF HUNEFER BEFORE OSIRIS
Illustration from a Book of the Dead. Nineteenth Dynasty, c. 1285 BCE.
Painted papyrus, height 15-5/8" (39.8 cm).
British Museum, London. (EA 9901). © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights
reserved. [Fig. 03-37]

Late Egyptian Art
• One of the most extraordinary and largest surviving examples of
ancient Egyptian bronze sculpture dates from this period.
– The sculpture is of Karomama.
– Her slender limbs, ample hips, and more prominent breasts
contrast with the uniformly slender female figures of the late New
Kingdom.

KAROMAMA
Third Intermediate period, Twenty-Second Dynasty, c. 945–715 BCE.
Bronze inlaid with gold, silver, electrum, glass, and copper, height 23-1/2" (59.5 cm).
Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais/Hervé Lewandowski. [Fig. 03-38]

Foreign Domination
• Nubians, Persians, Macedonians, Greeks, and Romans influenced
style in the last era of Egyptian art.
• Macedonian Greeks conquered the Egyptians under Alexander in 332
BCE.
– Ptolemy declared himself king in 305, and the Ptolemaic dynasty
ended with the death of Cleopatra VII.

SPHINX OF TAHARQO
From Temple T, Kawa, Nubia (modern Sudan). Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, c. 680 BCE.
Granite, height 16" (40.6 cm); length 28-3/4" (73 cm).
British Museum, London. © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved.
[Fig. 03-39]

Think About It (1 of 2)
• Explain the pictorial conventions for representing the human figure in
ancient Egypt, using the Palette of Narmer (see "Closer Look" on page
53) as an example.
• Summarize the religious beliefs of ancient Egypt with regard to the
afterlife, and explain how their beliefs inspired traditions in art and
architecture, citing specific examples both early and late.

Think About It (2 of 2)
• How do depictions of royalty differ from those of more ordinary people
in ancient Egyptian art? Focus your answer on one specific
representation of each.
• Characterize the stylistic transformation that took place during the rule
of Akhenaten by comparing Figures 3–25 and 3–28. Why would there
be such a drastic change?

Survey 1 ch03

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Survey 1 ch03

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