Ancient Egyptian Flashcards
Order of Egyptian Eras
Predynastic Egypt
Early Dynastic
Old Kingdom
First Intermediate
Middle Kingdom
Second Intermediate
New Kingdom
Palette of King Narmer
Predynastic Egyptian
3000-2920 B.C.E.
Greywacke
-Utilitarian object: used to crush and prepare eye makeup worn to protect the eyes from the sun and irritation
-Document marking the transition from the prehistoric to the historical period in ancient Egypt
-Typical grave goods
-Carved with relief sculptures
-King Narmer wears the Red and White crowns, symbolizing the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt
Seated Statue of Khafre
Old Kingdom Egyptian
2575-2525 B.C.E.
Diorite
-One of a series of similar statues carved for the pharaoh’s valley temple near the Great Sphinx
-Falcon god Horus perches on the back of the throne
-Symbols of lions, lotus, and papyrus
-Khafre wears the royal false beard and nemes headdress with the uraeus cobra
King Menkaure and his Queen
Old Kingdom Egyptian
2490-2472 B.C.E
Greywacke Slate
-Frontal dyad statue of figures standing side by side on a simple squared base supported by a shared back pillar
-Broad shouldered youthful king wearing his kilt and a nemes headdress
-A woman wraps her arm around him affectionately
-A break in tradition: the woman is roughly the same size as Menkaure and stands with one foot forward, suggesting she was powerful
-They both look beyond the present and into timeless eternity
Seated Scribe
Old Kingdom Egyptian
2620-2500 B.C.E
Painted limestone with inlaid eyes of rock crystal, calcite, and magnesite
-Scribe portrayed at work, which is unusual in Egyptian statuary
-Position originally used for members of the royal family (except for the king)
-Embodying the human spirit in stone or wood
-Holds a papyrus scroll partially unrolled and clasping a reed brush
-Lively intelligent expression with the inlaid eyes
-As a person’s importance decreases, formality is relaxed and realism increases
-Sagging chest muscles and a protruding belly
Stepped Pyramid of King Djoser
Imhotep
Early Dynastic Egyptian
2675-2625 B.C.E.
Saqqara, Egypt
-First mortuary structure in stone, the first stepped pyramid instead of a single mastaba, and the first to combine both mortuary and ritual buildings
-Six mastaba-like elements of decreasing size stacked on top of each other
-Resembles the ziggurats of Mesopotamia but differs in both meaning and purpose
-A solar reference and place of regeneration for the deceased ruler
Great Pyramids and Great Sphinx
Old Kingdom Egyptian
2550-2490 B.C.E.
Gizeh, Egypt
Cut Limestone
-Symbols of the sun: the sun rays are used as ladders for the pharaoh to ascend to the heavens
-Where the Egyptian kings were reborn in the afterlife
-Oriented to the cardinal points of the compass: funerary temples were located on the east side, facing the rising sun
-Not standalone structures: connected to valley temples
-Valley temples were active places of worship
-Khufu: three inner chambers, cantilevered blocks forming a pent roof, mortuary complex included seven large boat pits (for the afterlife boat journey)
-Khafre: simpler interior than Khufu’s, one small subsidiary chamber and two passageways, mortuary temple was more complex: filled with over 52 life-sized statues and images, valley temple is beautifully preserved: constructed of megalithic blocks
Sphinx: Maybe for Khafre? or Khufu, composite form suggests that the pharaoh combines human intelligence with strength and authority of the kings of beasts
-Menkaure: Smallest of the three, chambers were more complicated with decorative panels and six large niches, mortuary and valley temples were neither completed
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
Senmut
New Kingdom Egyptian
1473-1458 B.C.E.
Sandstone, partially carved into rock cliff, red granite
-Carved directly out of the side of a massive sandstone cliff
-3 columned terraces connected by 2 ramps
-Decorated with extensive reliefs that celebrated Hatshepsut’s achievements as the pharaoh-queen
-As many as 200 statues decorated the temple
-Not meant to be her tomb
-Axial plan and hypostyle halls; direct axis with the Temple of Amun-Re
-Many statues of her kneeling, making offerings to the gods, and wearing typical male regalia
-Also took the name Maatkare
-Long ass ramp
-Her successor obliterated the name of Hatshepsut from stelae and walls, and defaced many statues
Temple of Ramses II
New Kingdom Egyptian
1290-1224 B.C.E.
Abu Simbel, Egypt
-Carved out of the face of a cliff in the manner of a rock-cut tomb
-Dedicated to the worship of the pharaoh’s divine essence and three chief gods: Amen-Re, Ptah, and Re-Horakhty
-Designed so at the summer or winter solstices, the rising sun illuminates the king’s image inside
-Ramses=Egypt’s last great warrior pharaoh
-Served to intimidate the Egyptians’ southern neighbor Nubia
-Flooded at some point and moved
-The rock-cut facade represents the front of a pylon
-Entrance is crowned by a bas-relief of the king worshipping Ra-Harakhti
Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall
New Kingdom Egyptian
1550-1250 B.C.E.
Karnak, Egypt
-Built for the worship of the gods rather than a pharaoh or queen
-Light admitted through a clerestory illuminating the axial corridor
-Ten massive pylons creating axises
-Massive papyrus captals
-Post-and-lintel
-Columns with sunken-relief
-The statue of Amun-Re would be in the sanctuary, the central-most part of the building
-Symbol of the beginning of life
-Artificial sacred lake
-Texts suggest that the pylons symbolically represented two mountains on the horizon between which the sun rose to start life anew
each day
-Increased restriction of access as one moved toward the inner sanctum
Akhenaton
New Kingdom Egyptian (Amarna Period)
1353-1335 B.C.E.
Sandstone
-Radical change of style: Akhenaten changed the religion (Aten), influencing a change of art
-Androgynous figure: a deliberate reaction against tradition
-Standard frontal pose
-Effeminate body with curving contours, long face with full lips, and heavy-lidded eyes
-Holds a flail and crook
Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters
New Kingdom Egyptian (Amarna Period)
1353-1335 B.C.E.
Limestone, sunken relief carving
-Sunken relief on a stele
-Intimate scene from the private lives of the king and queen (not common)
-Sun Disk god Aten with papyrus stalks/life-giving rays
-Sigmund Freud theorizes this religion pioneers Judaism
-Ankh=life
-Under Nefertiti’s throne are symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt, she is the queen of both
-Equal power between the king and queen
Tutankhamun’s Tomb (Innermost Coffin)
New Kingdom Egyptian
1323 B.C.E.
Gold with inlay of enamel and semiprecious stones
-17 when he died
-Repaired the damage from Akhenaten’s reign
-Ruled after the Amarna age
-Mummy mask portraying the teenaged pharaoh with idealized features and wearing a false beard and uraeus cobra headdress
-Outer two coffins were crafted in wood and covered in gold, inner coffin was solid gold
-Thick black layer of anointing liquid poured during the burial ceremony
-Holds the crook and flail
-Connected to the image of a god
-Back of the mask is covered with a spell from the Book of the Dead: a road map for the afterlife
Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt
Old Kingdom Egyptian
2450-2350 B.C.E.
Painted Limestone relief
-Ti: an royal official
-Found in a mastaba
-Daily life relief meant to send to the afterlife
-Vertical line patterns contrasting the figures in the painting
-Papyrus stalks = birth
-Hierarchy of scale: Ti is in a stiff pose while the little guys are in motion, emphasizing his sophistication
-On boats! on rivers! with fish!
Nebamun hunting fowl (from the Tomb chapel of Nebamun)
New Kingdom Egyptian
1350 B.C.E.
Fresco Secco
-Nebamun was a scribe/grain counter
-Paintings of scenes of daily life
-Cat! Sun god?
-Another family scene
-Contrasting Ti, Nebamun is in motion
-Huge ass fish
