Final+Draft+(as+of+Dec+2)

= // Art in Ancient Egypt // =

=== //Recognized today as one of the most complex early civilizations to exist, the Egyptian empire was formed based on faith in a divine, royal precedent along with a strong belief in continuity of life after death and evolved in complexity with the desire to promote their beliefs, knowledge, and lifestyle through detailed images. Egyptians living between approximately 3100BCE ~ 395CE created numerous pieces of art most of which meant to serve a function such as convey a message or define an idea or action, choosing from a variety of mediums and formats each of which were associated with specific functions or levels of significance. . Analyses, comparisons, and interpretations of these art pieces help researchers better understand nearly all aspects of life in this ancient civilization including daily activities performed, social/cultural attitudes, technological advancements, political practices,and religious beliefs and customs. I will examine specific art pieces and artifacts that help define each of these aspects in addition to observing relationships between particular aspects that are evident in ancient Egyptian art.// ===

 __**//Art & Daily Life//**__

There are fresco murals found in nearly all non-royal tombs depicting scenes of ancient Egyptian citizens performing everyday activities, allowing researchers to know more specifics about Egyptian knowledge and technologies. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology published an article written by Emily Teeter discussing murals that depict scenes related to rope-making techniques and the use of rope by the ancient Egyptians. There are several hieroglyphic inscriptions associated with these that seem to translate to terminology associated with the craft which makes it apparent that these fresco murals did not serve the purpose to decorate the empire but functioned to educate others and/or document their knowledge of this particular technology. //Rope-making tools, tomb of Khaemwaset (Teeter, 1987)//

=== According to Teeter, “the actual twisting of the rope fibres” is shown “as are the scenes of picking and sorting.” Even the tools they used to manufacture rope are illustrated like in the picture above which comes straight from Teeter’s article. ===

//Social/Cultural Views//
===Other non-religious imagery found throughout the ancient Egyptian Empire includes those of erotic or sexual nature allowing us to determine what their attitudes toward sex and sexuality may have been like. To my surprise the Egyptians seemed to embrace quite an open sexuality evident in various ancient papyrus that depict individuals performing explicit sexual acts that often focus on large phallic imagery and sometimes illustrate taboos such as bestiality and necrophilism, even sex with a mushroom, as seen in the images below. ===

[[image:hiero.jpg width="307" height="228" align="right"]]
I believe that the Egyptians were most likely not performing every erotic/sexual act represented in their pieces of art and that every act depicted, no matter how odd some seem, held specific significance or symbolic meaning within their ideas of sexual culture. This goes along with my idea that ancient Egyptian society reached the level of complexity that they did partially in their ability/abilities to communicate ideas, beliefs, and messages through a visual medium as well as the universal recognition of specific associations between the art pieces and their perceived meaning. Their writing system hieroglyphic is made up of mostly pictograms that represent general definitions for people, places, objects, or ideas associated within ancient Egyptian society.

 __**//Art & Politics//**__

===Kings and pharaohs of Egypt, like modern leaders today, found it beneficial to promote themselves through public imagery. Using clever, distinct methods of perspective and use of intricate details and symbols, Egyptians leaders were able to send a message without the use of words. An infamous example found at Nekhen in 1898 that dates to the very beginning of the Old Kingdom, about 3000BCE, is the Narmer palette – a stone slab with scenes etched on either side representing the reign of King Narmer. ===

//On the left is the side referred to as “The Reverse” while the side on the right is referred to as “The Obverse” (Dollinger, 2005).//

**//The Reverse//**
===Known as //king of the Lower Egypt// or //king of the South//, Narmer is depicted wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt. The king stands atop two dead or imprisoned individuals while he raises a “pear-shaped mace” using his right arm, ready to punish an individual who may be a criminal or a captive. With his sandal servant close behind King Narmer is shown as barefoot, suggesting a strong bond “between the king and the land” in addition to following common practice in images of gods, pharaohs, and commoners alike found throughout Ancient Egyptian art.===

**//The Obverse//**
===This side of the palette is segmented into three different (but related) scenes, as opposed to two on the first side. Similar to The Reverse, King Narmer is proportionally the largest human figure in any of the scenes however on this side, he bears the red crown of Lower Egypt. The depiction of Narmer, //king of the South//, bearing the crown of Lower Egypt as well as the crown of Upper Egypt on the same artifact or “document” is very significant to the relationship between both parts of Egypt. The combination of the crowns he wears in addition to the depiction of two mythical creatures with necks intertwined are thought to symbolize the possible unity of Upper and Lower Egypt due to the presentation of such symbols on this palette. According to Scarre and Fagan, images of conquest and defeat in the upper and lower registers of The Obverse are “balanced” due to the central design of these animals with intertwining necks.===

__**//Art & Religion//**__

===Ancient Egyptians promoted their faith in gods, goddesses, and religious beliefs through in many aspects of their lifestyle and much of it is, or is documented through, forms of visual artistic expression. To find out more detailed information concerning religion and beliefs in Ancient Egypt, visit this page: EgyptReligionWiki .===



===Funerary practices were often very creative and decorative from the process of mummification to funerary objects and chambers associated with the deceased (more commonly pharaohs). Even the coffins that hold the body of the king or pharaoh who have passed over are much more elaborate than seen in other ancient and even modern civilizations. **The shape and design of Egyptian coffins changed considerably from the Old to Middle and New Kingdoms. It is not until the 4th dynasty that we find the longer, leaner coffins most typically associated with Egyptian society. This style coffin which is most predominant around the world today allows individuals to be placed into tombs or buried underground lying down, flat on there back without legs flexed.** ===

**//Depictions of Gods and Goddesses//**
===Chimaera (Dollinger, 2005) are the depictions of ancient Egyptian gods, goddesses, and deities that often resemble beasts with human-like bodies; each with different body parts of wild animals. “Surely the material culture of Egypt has left countless examples of such figures in painting and in both two- and three-dimensional sculpture” (Silverman, 1991) and are associated with ancient Egyptian religion by many people. ===

** Thoth, or “The Great Measurer”, shown at right, was a moon god depicted in several ancient Egyptian paintings and relief carvings. He was thought to hold divine wisdom and knowledge. Egyptians later associated Thoth less with the moon when he was given credit as the creator of both verbal language and written script, hieroglyphics. (Deurer, 2008) **

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 19.5px; text-align: center;">__**//Art, Religion & Politics//**__

 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">// Pharaohs were the rulers or kings of ancient Egypt and were often associated with divinity or a god/goddess. This divine association created a connection with political power and religious beliefs; the blend is evident in many pieces of ancient Egyptian art. The Great Pyramids are probably the greatest and most famous works that illustrate the relationship between Egyptian political and religious standings. // **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**//Pyramids//**
===Built to house only the bodies of divine individuals to aid in their transition to the afterlife, such as pharaohs and kings and described by Dodson as “perhaps the greatest manifestation[s] of the Egyptians' beliefs in the afterlife” are the pyramids, specifically the Great Pyramid built for King Khufu around 2500BCE at Giza. Straight-sided pyramids such as this were implemented under the rule of Khufu’s father, Senefuru and supposed to be “representing the rays of the sun” (Dodson, 2011). This transformation from the style of the bent pyramid is thought to have been motivated by technology of a more stable structure as well as changes in religious concepts during the time Senefuru was in power. Even while constructing these massive funerary chambers, Egyptians would combine astronomical knowledge and locations of constellations to align the corners on the base of pyramids with the four cardinal directions – North, South, East, and West. In addition, although the pyramid was built to house a body during its afterlife, the actual size of the pyramid correlates with the length, and less often the influence, of a pharaoh’s reign (St. Petersburg Times, 1999).===



//**<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The Great Pyramid, far left, **// //**<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">at Giza, 230 meters (754 feet) square and 146 meters **// //**<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">(479 feet) high. (Dodson, 2011) **//




 * //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Another infamous example of the blend between religious and political promotion/beliefs in ancient Egyptian art would be the Sphinx – with the head of a pharaoh and the body of a wild //**
 * //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">cat – located near the Great Pyramid. //**


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Ancient Egyptians went to extraordinary efforts to illustrate there way of life, sometimes in monumental size and form. Their dedication in religious beliefs and desire to promote Egyptian lifestyle helped them to achieve success in evolving into such a complex society and also to implement the use of technologies, some of which even today we are unsure of how they were able to do so. There is still much to learn about the ancient civilization and only more analysis of what they left behind can help us know exactly how these people lived and how/why they were so much more advanced in technology and artistic practice //. //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Perhaps as modern society, culture, and art changes, our interpretations of ancient Egyptian work will shift to embracing new ideas about their lifestyle. // **

**<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">To view more interesting information regarding art in ancient Egypt, follow some of the links below: **

EgyptArt Understanding Egyptian Art Changes in the Amarna Period

Sources