Egyptian Flashcards
Early Dynastic Egyptian, Palette of Narmer
ca. 3100 BCE, Hierakonpolos
Earliest labeled artwork- records event and name, has back and front; 2’ 1” high, shows how Egypt is unified in relief sculpture; Narmer= first pharaoh and king
Top of work, front: Nar=catfish, Mer=chisel (in middle, phonetic hieroglyphics- picture corresponds with phoneme); flanked by goddess Hathor-divine mother of pharaoh, daughter of Amen-Re
utlitarian- stone slab, circular depression in center, to prepare eye makeup- against glare of sun & prevent eye irritation
propagandistic imagery: Unite LE-North- worship wadjet/cobra goddess; LE crown=papyrus, bee
w/ UE- South- Nekhbet/vulture goddess, UE crown= lily, sedge
on back, Narmer wears Nekhbet crown of UE; dominating with mace, falcon god Horus on right, “swimming pose” of conquered at bottom, trampled, arms & legs in profile, chest frontal
Creation Myth: Nun (primeval waters/darkness)- Atun/Amen-Re (sun/creator rises on top of pyramid, creates sun disk)- Shu & Tefnut (male/female forces)- Geb (earth) & Nut (sky- cow milk and female)- Osiris (order) & Isis’s son is Horus= falcon god; Nephthys & Seth= disorder; Seth kills Osiris; Isis (wife and sister) gathers pieces, they make love- then Horus; Horus later overthrows Seth and becomes King, Osiris becomes lord of underworld
single ruler over both UE & LE; pharaoh is incarnation of falcon god Horus when alive, underworld god Osiris when dead
front:Pharaonic rule, unification is divinely mandated, procession; catfish and chisel (Narmer), wearing Wadjet crown of LE, mace in his hand, far right is decapitated bodies, head between legs, people who resist unification; bottom is bull=strength, virility; idea carried on from Mesopotamian priest-kings
hieratic scaling, composite view lasts 3000 years (arms, legs, head in profile, torso & eye shown frontally)
Old Kingdom Egyptian, Imhotep, Stepped Pyramid of Djoser, ca. 2630-2611 BCE
Memphis necropolis- west bank Nile-city of dead
Egyptial funerary art- no distinction between body and soul; happiness in after life-soul (ka) stays with body- mummification is central to funerary practices b/c body must remain whole
Djoser- 1st grandiose royal tomb, one of first stone structures, Imhotep-first named artist
original plan- mastaba (rectangular mud brick bench) w/serdab (chamber)- ka statue inside, real tomb down shaft that was walled over to prevent tomb robbers
King still alive- kept building=pyramid
like Ziggurat- but no temple, part of massive mortuary compound with 30’ wall to protect deified dead king
Old Kingdom Egyptian, Pyramids at Giza, 2551-2472 BCE
oldest of 7th Ancient Wonders- Khufu-Khafre-Menkaure- Khufu is by far largest, smaller over time due to lack of resources
new pyramid shape- Amen-Re- sun god/creator cult, emblem=ben-ben= pyramid shape; god arises in primordial pyramid up from waters
ruler=sun god=divine mandate as pharaoh
pyramid/ziggurat- ramp to heaven- solar symbol-Khufu-limestone polished- reflects sun
Khufu- 480’ tall, 756’ across, 2.3 million blocks- used earthen ramps to drag stones into place;
Inside- air shafts- for people to visit dead, and so Khufu could breathe in afterlife; multiple burial chambers to confuse would-be robbers, final tomb sealed with 50-pound block, no less than 3 false passageways
inside- corbeled arch, dressed stone pressing against each other, stair-stepping inward, held up by gravity, no mortar
Old Kingdom Egyptian, Great Sphinx, ca. 2520-2494 BCE
solid bedrock- largest single carving from antiquity, 65’ high
bears visage of pharaoh- Khafre, in front of his pyramid
wears Nemes headdress- linen headwrap to make pharaoh look like cobra goddess
Association with Amen-Re, creator sun god- body of lion (warrior) w/ram’s head- pharaoh wants to cultivate association with god
Old Kingdom Egyptian, Seated Statue of Khafre, 2520-2494 BCE
5’9” over life size, Effigy statue with serdab for ka in Valley Temple- important because if there was damage to mummified king, effigy ensured ka would be protected in afterlife
diorite gabbro gneiss- hard stone, glows blue, celestial color of Horus- reinforces spiritual nature, seated on lion throne (associated w/ lions, sphinxes and Amen-Re); throne decorated with lotus (UE) +papyrus (LE)= unified rule
pharaoh=permanent like the hard stone, does not change or age; falcon god Horus behind head, pharaoh is incarnation of god
Nemes linen headdress=pharaoh wore ceremonial false strap-on beard to emphasize masculinity & divinity
good example of idealism- god in human form-removal of flaws, extrapolate ideal features, un-aging, unchanging, beautiful, muscular physique- in reality mature when sculpture made
bilateral symmetry- nearly identical on left and right sides= beauty, perfection
model for seated-type statues
New Kingdom Egyptian, Hatshepsut with Offering Jars, ca. 1473-1458 BCE
Hatshepsut is 4th pharaoh of 18th dynasty, queen & half-sister of Thutmose II; 1479 BCE named regent for Thutmose- the first female pharaoh, said was daughter of Amen-Re
approx. 200 statues smashed and placed in massive pit following her rule; shown with globular offering jars like incense of priests honoring Amen-Re
strategy to reinforce own divinity, adopt male symbols of power (like Seated Statue of Khafre)
shirtless, kilt, male muscular torso, Nemes headdress, inscriptions using masculine pronouns- codes for pharaonic iconography, communicates power and divinity
a pharaoh only kneels before a god- not man
New Kingdom Egyptian, Temple of Ramses II, ca. 1290-1224 BCE
Ramses II is pharaoh from book of Exodus- Israelites in slavery, last great warrior pharaoh, ruled 67 years- expands territory/conquers Hittities in north; builds many temple complexes, including Abu Simel in UE
sandstone- moved 700’, taken apart & reassembled in 1968 to avoid submersion in Aswan High Dam
External- 4 colossi of self, 65’ high, 12x size of avg. Egyptian, sacrifices detail for scale; exterior also has sunken relief of Ramses as conqueror, bringing back slaves (inset, behind stone wall/graphic/easily visible)
interior=underworld- inner sanctuary and crypt; tombs now hidden behind mountains themselves (unlike Pyramids of Giza)
Internal- sandstone support statue-columns (male-atlantid- herms in Greek) of Ramses II in guise of Osiris (god of underworld), carrying whip, in pose of first mummy
Nebamun Hunting Birds, ca. 1390-1352 BCE
Tomb of Nebamun, Thebes- scribe & counter of grain; records & distributes grain production, important job
fresco secco- painted on dry lime plaster, must stay out of sunlight, away from moisture so desert tombs are good for this technique, provides greater detail
Two types of decorations in Ancient Egypt- hunting or agriculture, here- recreational hunting illustrated in after life, supported by hieroglyphs which say he is enjoying the afterlife
hunting also references Horus hunting/killing Seth-uncle- acts as allegory; victory/justice over vice
hierarchy of scale- larger than wife and daughter
in active pose typically reserved for pharaoh (e.g. Narmer)- breaks conventions- things are changing in Ancient Egypt- e.g., later New Kingdom moves from polytheism to monotheism
New Kingdom, Egyptian (Amarna), Akhenaton, 1353-1350 BCE
Amenhotep IV- Akhenaton-ruled 18 years, abandoned the worship of all gods but Atun; claims to be the “living spirit” of Aton (like Khaf+Re)- renames self- Akhenaton-new name with “new” god- but not new- worship of disc of sun; 13’ high
Older style of representation of god was anthropomorphic-new god needs new style
Iconographic conventions remain: Nemes headdress, false beard, unified crown, arms crossed in Osiris pose, but- Amarna style is androgynous, like sexless sun disc- effeminate; curving contours, wide hips, full lips, long face and body, almond-shaped eyes, hands cover chest so can’t identify male or female
reaction to older style-new god & new ruler who speaks for god directly or manifestation of physiological illness/hormonal imbalance?
Amarna style also seen in Nefertiti-elongated, curvilinear forms, full lips; distorted style, which was used for whole household
Death Mask of Tutankhamen, ca. 1323 BCE
in innermost coffin in tomb at Thebes; died at 18, likely son of minor wife of Akhenaton; most widely known pharoah but actually minor in Egyptian history- death was sudden and only important now because his tomb was not looted-so we have evidence of wealth- quarter ton of gold in tomb
death mask of lapis lazuli and semi-precious stones pressed against linen wraps of face, in innermost coffin
final addition of vulture to Egyptian pharaonic headgear- Nemes plus uraeus cobra of kingship and now vulture
mask and coffins protect ka- body remains intact
death mask was similar to actual features, but still idealized
New Kingdom Egyptian, Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer, ca. 1290-1280 BCE- tomb in Thebes, painted papyrus scroll
scroll is Book of the Dead that accompanies mummies into afterlife with protective spells, tells what to do at each stage, often placed between knees of deceased
Hu-Nefer (deceased) was royal scribe, first pictured kneeling before pantheon, gives gifts to all the gods
Hu-Nefer then brought before judgment scales, led by Anubis (god of mummification process)- scene of judgment and weighing of souls- basis of Christianity’s Last Judgment
Anubis places heart on scale-heart weighed against a feather- must be lighter- to avoid fearsome creature Ammit, part crocodile, part lion, part hippo, who will destroy the impure- looks to the ibis-headed god Thoth-about to record weighing result
Hu-Nefer passes test-Horus then presents Hu-Nefer to Osiris- god of underworld on right side sitting on throne like king, arms across chest, welcomes him into underworld, with shepherding symbols-
return to conservatism/conventional proportions in figures conventions of pre-Dynastic period, do so b/c trained to draw with grid-like system
