death mask of tutankhamun from his innermost coffin

tomb at Thebes, Egypt, Dynasty XVIII 1323 BCE

Gold w/ inlay of semiprecious stones

People, boats, and animals, detail of a watercolor copy of a wallpaper painting 

from Tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis, Egypt 3500-3200 BCE

Paint on plaster, 16' 3" long

• predynastic/prehistoric period: funerary scene
• frieze scene:  journey down river of life and death w/ cargo
• influences from Mesopotamia

Palette of King Narmer (left, back; right, front)

Hierakonpolis, Egypt

3000-2920 BCE

Slate, 2' 1" high

• record unification of Upper and Lower Egypt: "Kingdom of the Two Lands"
• transition from prehistorical to historical period 
• blueprint for figure representation in Egyptian art: triumph of Egyptian god-kings over enemies, below fallen enemies
• organization: orderly, horizontal lines separating narrative art, defining ground

section plan and restored view of typical egyptian mastaba tombs

• mastaba: arabic for bench: rectangular brick or stone structure w/ sloping sides over underground burial chamber. Shaft connected to outside for ka to access tomb.  
• chamber surrounded by storage rooms, compartments
• serdah: chapel w/ statue of deceased

Imhotep, Stepped Pyramid and mortuary precinect of Djoser

Saqqara, Egypt, Dynasty III 2630-2611 BCE

• pyramid designed by Imhotep: royal builder for King Djoser, pharaoh's chancellor, high priest of the sun god 
• revered as a god & first known name of an artist in history
• Saqqara: necropolis: City of the dead for Memphis - Egypt's capital
• oldest stone structures and grandious royal tomb: matsabas stacked on one another - resembled ziggurats, but used as tomb to protect and symbolize power of mummified king & possessions.

restored view of the mortuary precinct of djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Dynasty III

2630-2611 BCE

• pyramid at center, surrounded by large protective limestone wall (barriers here vs. Sumerians)
• funeral temple w/ priests doing daily rituals celebrating the pharaoh

columnar entrance corridor to the mortuary precict of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Dynasty III 2630-2611 BCE

 Columns: on either side of roofed passageway leading to large courtyard to Djoser's pyramid

Impacted later Greek columns

facade of the North Palace of the mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Dynasty III, 2630-2611 BCE

capitals: heads that take the form of papyrus blossoms of Lower Egypt

column shafts = papyrus stalks

columns are engaged: attached to the walls

first appearance of columns in architectural history

Great pyramids of Gizeh, Egypt, Dynasty IV

from left: Pyramids of Menkaure, 2490-2472 BCE; Khafre, 2520-2494 BCE; Khufu 2551-2529 BCE

Oldest of the 7 wonders of the ancient world

colossal size, enormous cost = wealth of fourth dynasty pharoahs

built within 75 years = architectural evolution, not out of necessity - shows influence of Heliopolis & Re: iconic pyramidal stone as sun w/ rays ramp for pharaohs to ascend to heavens

mastery of stone masonry (ashlar masonry) - dressed (shaped to exact dimensions w/ smooth faces for perfect fit) by chiseling, pounding, rubbing, grinding. Placed in successive rows (courses) using linear or zigzag ramps + ropes, pulleys, levers to lift & lower stones

section of the pyramid of khufu

Largest and oldest pyramid: 775 length x 450 h 13 acres area

2.3 million blocks of stone

3 pyramids = 1' x 10' wall around France (wtf)

pyramids oriented to cardinal points of the compass, temples sit on east side facing rising sun

Great Sphinx

carved from a rock

largest statue in the ancient Near East - of Khafre (or maybe Khufu eh)

lion w/ human head: association w/ sun god

pharaoh iconic image: combination of human intelligence w/ strength & authority of king of beasts

khafre, from Gizeh, Egypt Dynasty IV 2520-2494 BCE

Diorite 5' 6" high

funerary statues, became homes for ka (god like spirits)

diorite was imported = $$$

throne: lion bodies

throne's legs: lotus & papyrus plants - Egypt's symbols

falcon-god Horus wings = protect pharaoh's head

royal false beard

ideal flawless body/perfect face (often used in art portraits) regardless of actual age/appearance = godlike nature of king

seated tight but serene = to last eternally

bilaterally symmetrical = same on eitherside of axis 

abrasion: rubbing or grinding surface

Menkaure and Khamerernebty (?)

Gizeh, Egypt, Dynasty IV 2490-2472 4' 6 1/2"

double portrait statue (husband/wife portrait)

Dude: rigidly frontal, arms down, close to body, hands clinched like "yo woman get off me, i want to drink beer w/ my bros"

Chick: "oh hellz no stay here and take this photo"

Seated scribe (kay?) from his mastaba at Saqqara, Egypt,

Dynasty V 2450-2350 BCE

painted limestone, approx 1' 9"

personality: sharply intellegent, alert, sympathetic

scribe on ground- position of honor in largely illiterage society - was a lower figure in Egyptian hierarchy than pharaoh

not true portrait - composite of convential types: sunken cheeks + flabby body

Ka-Aper, from his mastaba at Saqqara, Egypt

Dynasty V, 2450-2350 

Wood approx 3' 7

increased realism

eyes of rock crystal intact - heighten effect

stands freely

nonroyal Old Kingdom portraits - comfortable life of person

Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt, relief in the mastaba of Ti, Saqqara, Egypt

Dynasty V 2450-2350 BCE

painted limestone, hunting scene

mastaba (egyptian tomb): deceased not represented exclusively in freestanding statuary.

Individuals depicted in relief sculpture/mural painting sometimes alone/narrative context

Ti, men & boats move slowly through marshes of papyrus, hunting hippos & birds.

top: frightened birds, stalking foxes

below: water w/ wavy lines, hippos, fish

men: busy w/ spears

Ti: big man

conceptual approach: known to be true of subject - most characteristic parts at right angles. expressses feeling for constant & changeless aspect of things

artists use strict canon: system of proportions

relief sculptures: grid on wall, various human body parts at specfic points, height of a figure was a fixed number of squares w/ body predetermined size.

Ancient Egypt
House Altar depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three of their Daughters,
limestone, New Kingdom, Tell el-Amarna, 18th dynasty, c. 1350 B.C.E.

• sunken relief carving - alter
• Changes state religion, Akhenaten: mono-deitist - one true god (different than prior religion)
• Akhenaten + Nefertiti, kissing daughter, daughters pointing
• Shifts in style, stylistic break, distinguish new break in religion, softness in contrast to egyptian art, anatomies off, swollen bellies
• similarities: elements: profile view of face, square shoulders, aten is present, sun is present, cobra (supreme deity)
• Ankh: egyptian signs of life - rays of life to them = their rulership together

Thutmose (Tuthmosis), Model Bust of Queen Nefertiti, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, c. 1340 B.C.E., limestone, plaster, crystal, wax, 19-5/8 inches / 50 cm tall

• life-size full color
• name means "the Beautiful One is Here"
• 3d sketch/model for other sculptures: one eye w/ inlay
• plaster allowed fine detail: sensitively carved - movement, elegance, high cheek bones, symmetry
• perfect triangle w/ headdress w/ lines in chin
• New ideal of beauty during reign
• Amarna period: Nefertiti's shared power w/ Akhentaten's mother,  Tiya

Ramesses II, Herakleopolis (Temple of Harsaphes), New Kingdom, Egypt, c. 1250 B.C.E.

• larger than life sculpture
• temple dedicated to Ramesses, common people not allowed, but priests would make offerings
• dual function of sculpture
• pharaoh: linen head cloth, false beard, snake head, heroic body type, hands placed firmly on thigh
• tiny head: repurposed, and re-sculpted (was another pharaoh, and another head haaaah aww)

Rosetta Stone, 196 B.C.E., granite, 114.4 cm x 72.3 x 27.9 cm or 45 x 28.5 x 11 in.

• inscribed in 3 languages: ancient Greek (Alexander the Great), Demotic (common Egyptian), hieroglyphs = not pictorial, but phonetic
• Napoleon found it in Egypt