Art History Egypt: from the Sphinx to the Pyramids

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Art History Egypt: From the Sphinx to the Pyramids

Egypt Civilization invention of:

 Glass  Linen  Paper and ink  the calendar  the clock  Geometry and the alphabet  The refinement of dress and ornament  Furniture and dwellings  Society and life

Egypt is one of the most fertile areas of Africa, and one of the most fertile of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Because it is so fertile, people came to live in Egypt earlier than in most places, probably around 40,000 years ago. At first there were not very many people, but gradually Egypt became more crowded, so there was more need for a unified government. Around 3000 BC (5000 years ago), Egypt was first unified under one ruler, who was called the Pharaoh.

From that time until around 525 BC, when Egypt was conquered by the Persians, Egypt's history is divided into six different time periods. These are called the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period, the Middle Kingdom, the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom, and the Third Intermediate Period.

All ancient civilizations have contributed in some way to the development of modern society. All therefore are equally deserving of study. Why then do so many people choose to concentrate on Egypt? What does the culture of ancient Egypt offer the modern world that other cultures - those of Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, or China - do not?

Some reasons include- the beauty of the art, the skill of the craftsmen, the intricacies of the language, the certainties of the priests - or even a vague, indefinable feeling that the Egyptians came as close as is humanly possible to living a near-perfect life. Individually these would all be good reasons to study any ancient civilization. Combined they make an irresistible package.

1. What continent is Egypt located?

2. What Egyptian inventions could be connected to art and why?

3. Why are people today still so interested in Ancient Egypt, you can also give

reasons outside the reading

Pyramids

The pyramid was borrowed from the sun god Ra whose fetish was a pyramidal stone called the ben-ben. The pharaohs believed they were the sons of Ra and were his incarnation on earth. It was believed that the spirit of Ra lived in a pyramid so the

Egyptians assumed that the divine spirits and bodies of the pharaohs would be preserved within pyramid shaped tombs.

The pyramids consist of an

underground burial chamber

topped by a monument, usually built from large blocks of limestone. The stone blocks were cut by copper chisels and mallets or hand-held stone picks. A series of holes were cut in a line on the stone. Then workers drove wooden wedges into the holes to split the stone. Stones were moved by barge up the Nile. Once on land, the stone blocks were placed on sledges. Slaves hauled the sledges over wooden rollers by pulling on towropes made of papyrus which was made from riverside reeds. Water was poured in front of the rollers as a lubricant. The stones were towed on the sledges up the sides of the pyramid on ramps of sand. Then the blocks were levered into place. When the pyramid was finished, workers dug away the san

The Sphinx

Generally the role of sphinxes was as temple guardians; they were placed in

association with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples.

Imagined by the Egyptians they were borrowed by the Greeks and Asian cultures.

Was created out of one block of stone (except the paws) in order to silently and

eternally protect the tomb of Khafre. Although the head of the Sphinx is badly

battered in some places, traces of the original paint can still be seen near one ear.

Originally it is believed that the Sphinx was painted and was quite colorful. Since

then, the nose and beard have been broken away. The nose was the unfortunate victim

of target practice by the Turks in the Turkish period. It is often erroneously assumed

that the nose was shot off by Napoleon's men, but 18th century drawings reveal that

the nose was missing long before Napoleon's arrival. Wall Paintings

All Egyptian ancient art was colored.

The ordinary people of ancient

Egypt painted poor quality wood, pottery or stone; the "great" people commissioned funeral effigies with polychrome effects and iridescent reliefs for their tombs; kings had their burial chambers decorated with remarkable paintings in which they figured alongside the gods and spirits; The walls of the Temples were embellished throughout with gold leaf and painted reliefs; the hieroglyphs on the obelisks were studded with lapis lazuli. Furniture too was inlaid or painted. To earthly life and to eternal life color was as vital as any other element able to confer existence and mortality. There were important and strict injunctions to such sacred painting. For instance, women's skin is always painted light or pinkish yellow whereas men skin is red ochre. The only exception was the goddess Hathor who according to the law, had a skin as dark as one of a man.

Define the Following

Sphinx:

Pyramid: Pharoah: Papyrus: