Ancient Egyptian Art Pre-Dynastic Egypt 4,800-3,000 BCE (think c. 3000 BCE Old Kingdom Egypt c. 2,675-2,475 BCE (think c. 2,500 BCE) Middle Kingdom Egypt c. 2,000-1,900 BCE (think c. 2,000 BCE) Amarna Period 1,353 to 1,335 BCE (think 1,350 BCE) New Kingdom Egypt c. 1,500 to 1,162 BCE (think c. 1,325 BCE)
Prevailing winds Prevailing winds
Goals Recognize the characteristic features of Egyptian art, including: Symbolic representation: Of Upper and Lower Egyptian gods, etc Falcon = Horus (upper Egypt god of sky), etc Hieroglyphic writing—symbolic and phonetic Decoded in the first quarter of the 19th century Composite/conceptual representation of human bodies Hieratic scale: more important figures are depicted larger Rectilinear forms Canon of proportions
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE
Pre-dynastic Palette of Narmer earliest surviving “historic” artwork, c. 3,100 BCE, includes some text ceremonial palette used to prepare and apply eye makeup features hieroglyphs (pictographs) of catfish + chisel pronounced n’r + m’r, therefore King Narmer. depicts ceremony reenacting a battle that unified upper and lower Egypt bas (low) relief, slate, 2’ tall two-sided, shows Narmer on one side as ruler of Upper Egypt and on the other side as ruler of Lower Egypt discovered in 1898 by the archaeologist James E. Quibell in the Upper Egyptian city of Nekhen (today, Hierakonopolis)
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE
Palette of Narmer, Egyptian, c. 3,100 BCE Warka Vase, Sumerian, c. 3,100 BCE
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE The god Horus symbolically represented as the falcon
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE Narmer’s name appears three times
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE Narmer’s name appears three times
Rosetta Stone, 196 BCE (British Museum) Discovered by Napoleon’s armies in 1798. Written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian Demotic script and Archaic Greek Decoded by Jean-François Champollion by 1824
Detail of the Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE
Palette of Narmer, c. 3,100 BCE
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Typical Old Kingdom, mud-brick mastaba tomb c. 2630 BCE
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Typical Old Kingdom sarcophagus,c. 2630 BCE Sarcophagus is a Greek word meaning flesh eater.
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Mummified remains
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE The mummy’s vital organs were removed and saved in storage jars. The brain was not considered to be vital, so it was removed with a hook through the nose and thrown away.
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Book of the Dead, c. 1275 By the 13th century BCE, the mummified body of those with sufficient resources was entombed with a copy of the Book of the Dead to provide instructions on how to pass a series of challenging tests and thereby pass into the afterworld.
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Horizontal section of a mastaba: A=chapel, B=false door with serdab behind, C=burial shaft
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Reconstruction of a mastaba chapel interior with false door to the right
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Reconstruction of a mastaba chapel interior with false door to the right
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Old Kingdom false door
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Archeological site showing the opposite side of the false door with a seated ka statue in its serdab Old Kingdom false door
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Archeological site showing the opposite side of the false door with a seated ka statue in its serdab Seated ka statue of Djoser, c. Saqqara, c. 2630 BCE
Old Kingdom Egypt, c. 2500 BCE Archeological site showing the opposite side of the false door with a seated ka statue in its serdab Seated Ka Statue of King Khafre, diorite, c. 5’6”, c. 2500 BCE
Detail of Seated Ka Statue of King Khafre with god Horus protecting his head and signifying him as king. Seated Ka Statue of King Khafre, diorite, c. 5’6”, c. 2500 BCE
Seated Ka Statue of King Khafre, diorite, c. 5’6”, c. 2500 BCE King Mankaure and his queen, c. 2472 BCE, graywacke, c. 4’ 6” tall, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
The Old Kingdom canon of proportions King Mankaure and his queen, c. 2472 BCE, graywacke, c. 4’ 6” tall, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Prehistoric Aegean Art Cycladic Art, c. 2,500 BCE Minoan Art, c. 2,000-1,400 BCE Mycenaean Art, c. 1300 BCE
The Aegean Sea The Cyclades or Cycladic Islands in the Aegean Sea were home to a pre-historic culture that created marble sculptures known as Cycladic Idols or Cycladic figurines.
The Aegean Sea The Cyclades or Cycladic Islands in the Aegean Sea were home to a pre-historic culture that created marble sculptures known as Cycladic Idols or Cycladic figurines.
Cycladic Art, c. 2,500 BCE Prehistoric figures made of local marble, originally decorated sparsely with paint. the surface of the marble was painted with mineral-based pigments—azurite for blue and iron ores or cinnabar for red First scholarly reference to Cycladic “idols” was in 1818. They were first collected in European museums in the 1840s. First archaeological exploration was by James Theodore Bent in 1883. Most figures seem to have come from graves, where they were lying down. A few have been found in Greek settlements. Major influence on Modern Art of the early 20th century Highly desired by modern art collectors for their geometric simplicity and abstraction. Looting, forgeries, and poorly documented excavations make scholarly study nearly impossible.
Cycladic figurine of a woman from the island of Syros, c Cycladic figurine of a woman from the island of Syros, c. 2,500 BCE, Cycladic culture, 1’ 6” tall, National Archaeology Museum, Athens (NAMA) Cycladic Male lyre player from the island of Keros, c. 2,500 BCE, Cycladic culture, 9” tall, National Archaeology Museum, Athens (NAMA)
The large Island of Crete defines the southern edge of Aegean Sea and was home to a civilization known as “Minoan” that emerged just as the Cycladic civilization began to decline.
Minoan Palace at Knossos, Crete, 1700 to 1400 BCE
Excavated by Minos Kalokairinos in 1878 and Arthur Evans (above) 1900-1930. Minoan Palace at Knossos, Crete, 1700 to 1400 BCE
Plan of the Minoan Palace at Knossos, Crete, 1700 to 1400 BCE Throne Room with gryphon frescos (20)
Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1450-1400 BCE, limestone painted with frescos, 4’ 6” long
Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1450-1400 BCE, limestone painted with frescos, 4’ 6” long
Detail of a Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c Detail of a Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1450-1400 BCE, limestone painted with frescos, 4’ 6” long
Warka Vase (presentations to Inanna), c. 3,200 to 3,000 BCE, ~3’ Detail of a Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1450-1400 BCE, limestone painted with frescos, 4’ 6” long
Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1450-1400 BCE, limestone painted with frescos, 4’ 6” long
Detail from a Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c Detail from a Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1450-1400 BCE, limestone painted with frescos, 4’ 6” long Snake goddess from the Palace of Knossos, Crete, c. 1500 BCE
Aegean island of Thera
Aegean island of Thera
Aegean island of Thera
Reconstruction drawing of Mycenae Aerial view of Mycenae
Reconstruction drawing of Mycenae What purpose did the wall that juts out serve? Lion Gate with “cyclopean” walls at Mycenae, c. 1300 BCE Later Greeks thought the stones (up to 12 tons each) were so large only the giant Cyclops could have put them into place
Megarons at Tiryns… Mycenae… and Athens
Megaron at Tiryns