Arh 101two

ARH 101

Egyptian Art 3000 B.C.- 1000 B.C. Farming communities formed along the Nile during the Neolithic period - before 7000 B.C.

The Geography of Egypt During this time, Egypt was divided into two parts: Upper Egypt (the southern part) and Lower Egypt (the northern part). Ancient Egypt didn’t truly become the power it is known today until the two parts joined together to become the Egyptian kingdom.

Palette of King Narmer 3150-3125 bce Slate. 25”

The First Dynasty: King Narmer If you take a look at the art from King Narmer’s reign, you’ll see some interesting similarities between the art of his time and the Sumerians. This slate tablet, The Palette of King Narmer, seems like an evolution of the Code of Hamurabi. Both tell a story, but while the Hamurabi’s stele speaks of code and laws, King Narmer’s palette tells a story of war and victory. By putting Egyptian gods in half human/half animal form around himself on the Palette, it is likely King Narmer believed they brought him good luck and helped him to win the battle. In addition, King Narmer depicted animals around himself to give the effect of him being part god.

Portrait panel of Hesy-ra, Saqqara, wood, 45" h, (Dynasty III, Old Kingdom), c. 2,660 B.C.

All of these tombs mark a significant change in construction from those of the Predynastic Period when tombs were simple oval or rectangular graves. Now the body lies in a wooden coffin with a separate chamber for grave goods, and both rest-beneath a mud-brick superstructure consisting of a flat roof and vertical walls. Attached to the exterior is a simple emplacement or small chapel used for the cult of the dead. This new type of tomb is called a mastaba, a modern Arabic word meaning, "bench."

The step pyramid of King Djoser. The step pyramid of King Djoser (2628-2609 BC) at Saqqara, just south of Cairo, is the oldest pyramid in Egypt.

The area was originally intended to be smaller (green) with a single mastaba tomb (blue). It was extended to 530 by 270 m and enclosed by a thick 6 m high stonewall. Notably is the underground galleries (orange) which probably were at place when the pyramid complex was built.

Most of the structures were unique and had no precedent in Egypt or elsewhere in the world at the time with its vast quantity of architectural innovations. Stone cutting as such was by no means new to the Egyptians who had made huge tunneling jobs and walls earlier (see king Khasekhemwy of dynasty two), but making buildings in stone in such dimensions had never been made before. Chief architects, prime minister, pharaoh's physician and poet were among the many skills and titles of the genius behind this - Imhotep. Later in history he was the only human to be taken up among the gods in Egypt and he was venerated for thousands of years into the Roman era 2,5 millennia after his death. Stone sculpturing and pillars imitating flowers from nature were among his inventions that the world now saw for the first time.

Engaged Papyrus Columns in the courtyard of the Palace of the North

The Pyramid of Menkaure( 2533-2515), Khafre (2570-2544), and Khufu (2601-2528) 2600-2500 bce Giza

The Great Sphinx at Giza, 4th dynasty. 2570-2544 bce Sandstone height 65’

King Khafre Seated. Giza; Fourth Dynasty, reign of Khafre (2520–2494 B.C.E.). 47 1/4 in. Twenty-three lifesize seated statues of Khafre were placed about the large pillared hall in the valley temple. While most were found in fragmentary condition, this statue is largely complete. The king sits on a backless throne with the sema-tawi, an emblem of unification that combines the hieroglyph sema ("union") with the symbols for the two lands of Egypt— papyrus for the north and a flower for the south.

King Menkaure and a Queen. Giza; Fourth Dynasty, reign of Menkaure (ca. 2490–2472 B.C.E.). Graywacke; H. 54 3/4 in. Youthful vigor characterizes the figure of the king as he strides forward, protectively embraced by the queen. His head is turned slightly to the right, while the queen's face is fully frontal, as if she were presenting him to the world and endowing him with confidence and strength. While scholars may have gone too far in suggesting that this dominating female is a goddess, it is possible that we see not the king's consort but his mother. Such an image would have served as a potent guarantee of Menkaure's rebirth after death. Paint was applied, as seen in the traces of red on the king's ears, and sheet gold may once have covered the woman's wig and the king's headdress. For the first time in Egyptian art, both royal heads are not images of idealized royalty but portraits of specific holders of the offices. The king's bulbous eyes, hanging flesh on the cheeks, and drooping lower lip are unmistakably features of an individual, as are the queen's long full neck and small mouth. While the king's body is ideally youthful and athletic.

Prince Rahotep with his wife Princess Nefert, 4th Dynasty 2580 bce Painted limestone 47 ¼”

Seated Scribe. From the tomb of Kai, Saqqara. Dynasty 5, ca. 24942345 BCE. Old Kingdom. Painted Limestone. 21”

This is a sculpture that was placed in the tomb of Kai. This is not an idealized sculpture, due to the not so favorable physique. So this is what Kai’s scribe most probably looked like in real life. Many pharohs had their servants with them (whether respresentations or the actual servants themselves) to have them continue to be their servants in the afterlife.