Egyptian Life from Small to Tall the Egyptian Galleries

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART A GALLERY GUIDE FOR FAMILIES Egyptian Life from Small to Tall The Egyptian Galleries

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art A Gallery Guide for Families Egyptian Life from Small to Tall

This publication was made possible by a generous grant from The Gap Foundation Mediterranean Sea

EGYPT When you see or hear the word Egypt, what do you think of? Write down some ideas here:

Maybe you thought of sphinxes and mummies. Or temples and tombs. Whatever you imagined, there's a good chance you'll see it on your trip here.

This guide will take you through the Egyptian galleries in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. You'll see some things that are really DI £ and others that are so small you might walk right by without noticing them.

The Egyptians made many of the same forms in sizes ranging from tiny to huge. See if you can spot the same forms in different sizes as you walk around.

Here are some things to keep in mind: Use this booklet as a guide. Check out the map of the galleries on the inside front cover for extra help. As you walk around you'll notice many wonderful things not included here. But don't try to see everything in one day — you'll just get tired and grumpy. Be kind to your feet and save some things to see on your next trip here. You may want to pick up a pencil at the Information Desk — please return it when you are done. If you don't have time to make all the stops listed in the book, pick just a few.

If you have questions that are not answered by the labels, check out the light tables and wall panels in a number of the galleries for additional information about some of the objects. You can also take a look at the resource list at the end of this guide for books about Egypt. Some of the books are in the bookshop or the Uris Library here in the Museum.

But don't just take our advice. Here are suggestions from kids who have visited these galleries:

Get a map of

the Mluseui m and take minutes to look at it. Then pick the objects or area you want to see.

Amanda, age 9 Bring some stuff to do for when you sit down.

Gregory, age 7 Questions about Egypt kids often ask: 9 Where is Egypt • Egyptians built their civilization near the banks of the Nile River, which provided water for crops to grow. Egypt is in the northeast corner of the continent of Africa, right where it touches Asia. 9 Why are the pyramids so big 5 Pyramids were tombs built for rulers. Their enormous size shows how important the rulers were and how much the Egyptians thought about life after death.

Rulers were buried with many things they would need in the afterlife. Pyramids and later kinds of royal tombs also had temples nearby, where the spirit of a king was the focus of rites and ceremonies.

Egypt was a fairly prosperous country, so workers and resources could be devoted to such huge projects. The Nile River flows from south to north. That's why Upper Egypt is actually in the southern part of the land, and Lower Egypt is in the north ern region: Upper Egypt is "upriver" from Lower Egypt.

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\ ir 9 What kind of government did Egypt have • Until about 3 100 B.C. Egypt was divided into two king doms, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the two kingdoms were united and ruled by one king. A later title for this king was pharaoh (pronounced Fay- ro), which means "the great house." He had plenty of help from government officials, who did such jobs as adminis tering justice or collecting taxes. 9 What did kids do all day • Some boys went to school to learn reading and writing. They might become scribes, or writers, who were important in helping to run the govern ment and oversee the temples. A few girls could also read and write. Most children learned their parents' jobs, such as working in the fields, tending herds, or practicing a craft like weaving or woodworking.

Can you guess what occupations these people have?

OK. Now you're a pro. Let's get going.

Start in the Great Hall on the main floor. Enter the Egyptian galleries by facing the big staircase, then turning and walking to your right You'll come to a doorway and see Perneb's tomb in front of you. Take the corridor to your right. Stop at the quartz lion near the beginning of the long corridor. Lion Around

This sculpture dates from the time before Egyptian writing and art had taken on their traditional forms, so there are different opinions about what type of lion it represents.

What does this figure look like to you?

Most people think it looks like a cub. However, not many statues of young animals exist from later periods, so some think this statue may instead represent a lioness.

Many details have been left out. What are some of them? Why do you think the artist left them out?

Keep going straight ahead. Do you see any other animal figures as you walk through the galleries? (As you're walking, keep an eye out for William, the famous blue hippo in Gallery 8.)

What famous type of Egyptian statue has the body of a lion and the head of a man?

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Notice the columns in the middle of the room. The one you come to first was originally carved from a single block of granite! Ship Shape

Keep walking until you come to Gallery 4, on your right Stop in the room with all the model ships.

Take a quick look around. A model is a small representa tion of an object or building. Why do you think these ancient models were made?

Egyptians wanted to be sure that they had food and pro tection in the afterlife. These funerary offerings were put in the tomb to magically perform in the afterlife. They come from the tomb of a government official named Mekutra or Meketre (pronounced Meket-RAY).

Half the models from the tomb are here, and the other half are in The Egyptian Museum, Cairo. They are some of the best examples of ancient Egyptian models you can see.

What do you think makes them so special?

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Look carefully at the six wooden boats on the right. Each was used for a different purpose. Can you tell what they were used for (without looking at the labels)?

If these boats were real, each one would be about 30 to 40 feet long. Look in the boats and see if you can find .. .

The figurines representing Meketre. What is he doing?

I Someone making bread.

I A diamond pattern.

I A duck being held by its wings.

I A lotus blossom (water lily).

I A blue-green color.

Pieces of rope.

• An oven. 10

Before you leave, look at the models of the granary, the slaughterhouse, the cattle stable, and the brewery/bakery. Using the model below, you can draw figures in any occu pation you like. If you want, make up a story to go along with your picture and write it down. 11

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After you leave this gallery, go to Gallery 5. Then turn right into Gallery 6, the room with a big stone offering table. Turn right again, into Gallery 7. Stop in front of the wall panels of Senwosret I (pronounced Sen-WOS-ret). Write On

Hieroglyphs (pronounced Hl-ro-glifs) are Egyptian writing. What do you notice about all these hieroglyphs? Right — they're enormous.

^ Why do you think they're so big?

spiuiEjXd 3ip papunojjns 11 asneaaq 'snouuoua SEM UO SJSM Xatp ||EM 31^ :JSMSUV £S In front of you are four of the 200 panels from the pyramid enclosure wall of Senwosret I. They were put together from fragments found at the site. Originally the stone was white, but weathering, years of being outside, turned it this beige color.

What people, animals, and objects can you recognize? Write them down.

Look at the top of the panels and find the falcons (a kind of bird). The falcon represents the god Horus and is identified with the king. As you walk through the galleries, keep look ing for more hieroglyphs. Where else are they?

Hieroglyph is a Greek word that means "sacred writing.1 13

Secret Identity

Walk past Gallery 8, into Gallery 12.

These statues have a secret. Can you figure out what it is? What do you notice?

All the statues in this room are of the same person — Hatshepsut. Do they all look the same? Why or why not?

Hatshepsut (pronounced Hat-SHEP-sut) was one of the few female rulers of ancient Egypt. (Don't let the beard fool you!) She ruled as pharaoh during part of the New Kingdom period (I500-1100).

Many of these statues are very large, and her temple is very large, too.

Which statues show her as a female? Why do you think she wore a beard and a Shend'eet — a skirt/kilt — usually worn by male rulers?

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After leaving this room, go into Gallery 13, and turn left into Gallery 13A. This room is called a study gallery. It has objects that can't all be given spe cial attention in the main galleries but show a wonderful range of Egyptian arts and crafts. Stop in front of the glass case on the right. Some Scarab!

This is where the "small" in the title of the guide comes in. Look carefully at the tiny brightly colored objects in the glass cases against the wall. They're called scarabs

What do you think they represent?

Beetles

Cows

Fingernails

Flowers

The Egyptians thought that scarab beetles represented creative powers and the sun god. Scarabs were used as amulets — good-luck charms — as jewelry and as seals.

How many different colors can you find? In the space to the left, design your own scarab. When you get home, you can color it in. 15

If you look at some of the hieroglyphs in the galleries, you'll see many scarab beetles.

Walk back to the central room and keep going until you're in Gallery 15. You'll pass a statue ofTuthmosis III (pronounced Tuth-MO-sis) on a green carpet

Study the clues given in the poem and find the object described.

Am I Blue? A king am I Though small in size. My bright blue color Will dazzle your eyes. What am I?

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This piece looks as if it could have been made yesterday, but it's actually more than 3,000 years old. It shows a king in the form of a sphinx, offering wine to a god. The sculpture is made of faience — a paste made from ground quartz, natural salts, and water. When heated, the surface becomes glassy, and copper in the mixture turns the surface bright blue, a favorite color of Egyptians. This material was often used for small pieces and jewelry but is more rare in objects of this size.

As you walk through the galleries, can you find other objects that are this color?

Make a left and walk straight ahead. You'll pass a light table on your left Immediately after that, turn left into Gallery 20. Enter the room and walk to the end of the glass cases on your right, to die last mummy case. 16

Marvelous Mummies

Stop in front of the mummy of Kharushere (pronounced Kah-roo-SHERY).

Here's what a lot of people want to see when they come to the Egyptian galleries — a mummy. And, yes, this wrapped figure actually has a body in it. It was placed in a series of cases, each one larger than the one before it.

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Have you ever seen those little Russian dolls that fit inside one another? These cases are similar to those dolls.

What repeated designs and pictures do you see on the cases?

The coffins were for a man named Kharushere, who was a doorkeeper (a minor official) in the Temple of Amun. 18

Egyptians wanted to preserve their bodies for the afterlife. They didn't believe the actual body would walk around again — they were making a resting place for the spirit. After someone died, certain internal organs (such as the lungs and the liver) were removed from the body and placed in canopicjars as pictured below. The heart was left inside. The body was then covered with a natural salt called natron to help dry out and preserve it. After the body had dried out, it was washed and wrapped in linen bandages to help protect it. Over time, Egyptians made the outer wrapping more and more complicated.

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Before you leave this gallery, look at the skeleton of the gazelle, a kind of small antelope. It wasn't mummified but dried naturally.

The word "mummy" probably comes from mumia, an Arabic and Persian word for bitumen (pronounced BIT-u-men), a kind of tar that was believed in the Middle Ages to have medicinal qualities. The blackened, preserved bodies of the mummies looked like bitumen. 19

Stones with Stories

When you're ready, go out of the room and into the main corridor. When you're facing the big black sarcophagus (pronounced sar-COF-a-gus), turn left Walk straight ahead, into Gallery 23. Turn right and go through the glass doors into Gallery 24. Stand in front of the glass cases protecting the blocks of the Abydos Chapel.

These walls come from a chapel built by a ruler named Sety I, for Ramesses I (pronounced RAM-seez), his father. This chapel was very small —what you see here is practically all there was.

The right half of the West Wall shows Ramesses as a ruler kneeling before the god's symbol. See if you can find ...

Three birds.

A long-eared rabbit.

A snake.

Some bare feet.

The North Wall shows Ramesses receiving offerings as a god himself, after his death. See if you can find . . .

People kneeling.

A bird with long skinny legs.

A banquet. What kind of food do you see?

The size of a person shows his or her importance. Which figures do you think are the most important? 20

Towering Temple

To finish the tour, face the doors you came through. Walk left into the gallery that houses the Temple of Dendur (pronounced DEN-dur) in the Sackler Wing. Stop in front of the temple.

Wow! That's what many people say when they see this room for the first time.

This building was brought over from Egypt by ship. It had been taken apart there to protect it from being destroyed by water rising behind a dam that was being built.

How do you think the engineers knew how to put it back together again?

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The temple was built in honor of the goddess Isis and in memory of two young princes who drowned in the Nile.

When you stand in the room, where do you feel you are?

Walk inside the temple. How does that make you feel?

Look at the carvings on the temple walls. What animals do you see

A An?] m AY/1 iw) m This is an image of the goddess Isis. Can you find it on the temple's facade?

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If you have time, leave the gallery by the doors that you came in. Walk to your right through Galleries 23, 27 and 28 until you come to a wall of paintings in Gallery 29. These paintings are called facsimiles (pronounced fac-SIM-i-lees) — exact copies of the originals. They are very useful for studying and understanding life in ancient Egypt.

You've completed the tour! Be sure to plan another trip here so you can see some of the other galleries. Remember to take your guide home — the rest of it is filled with activities you can do with your family or on your own.

Do you have any suggestions for this or other guides for families who visit the museum? Do you have any questions? If you would like to share your artwork or stories, send them to:

I Used the Egypt Family Guide Education Department The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue NewYork, NY 10028 23

More about Egypt

Books

The following books are available at the Uris Library and Resource Center or the Museum's second-floor bookshop and the Uris Children's Shop.

Fiction:

Caselli, Giovanni. The Everyday Life of an Egyptian Craftsman. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1991.

Climo, Shirley. The Egyptian Cinderella. New York: HarperCollins, 1989.

Lattimore, Deborah Nourse. The Winged Cat: A Tale of Ancient Egypt. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

Manniche, Use. The Prince Who Knew His Fate. New York: Philomel Books, 1981.

Nonfiction

Aliki. Mummies Made in Egypt. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1979. 24

Crosher, Judith. Ancient Egypt. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

Defrates, Joanna. What Do We Know about the Egyptians? New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1992.

Harris, Geraldine. Cultural Arts for Young People: Ancient Egypt. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

Harris, Geraldine. Gods and Pharaohs from Egyptian Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1992.

Morley, Jacqueline. Inside Story: An Egyptian Pyramid. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1991.

Perl, Lila. Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure. Boston: Clarion, 1987. (Recommended for older children)

Reeves, Nicholas. Into the Mummy's Tomb. New York: Scholastic, 1992.

Terzi, Marinella. The Land of the Pharaohs. Chicago: Children's Press, 1993. 25

Videos

National Geographic's Egypt: Quest for Eternity. Vestron Video; $ 19.98.

King Tut: Tomb of Treasure. Public Media Video; $19.95.

Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Looking Glass Video; $14.95.

Pyramid, by David Macaulay. Dorset Video; $ 19.95.

Activity Books/Kits

Manniche, Use. The Ancient Egyptians Activity Book. London, British Museum.

Roehrig, Catharine. Fun with Hieroglyphs. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Viking Press. Food for Thought

If you lived in ancient Egypt, what would you eat? Your dinner menu might look something like this (we've used foods you can find easily, so not all the ingredients are ancient):

Appetizer: Melon or figs Entree: Meat, such as beef, duck, or goose; or fish Vegetables: Salad with lettuce, cucumbers, and onions; cooked beans or lentils Bread: Pita bread Dessert: Fruit, such as grapes, pomegranates, or melon

Ask for permission to try one of these dessert recipes. Note: Be sure to ask an adult to help when you use any kitchen equipment, especially the stove. Never light the stove yourself.

Stuffed Dates

Ingredients • I box of pitted dates • Approximately 1/2 cup of almonds, walnuts, or other nuts • Confectioner's sugar 27

To make: • Put on some music to get you in a cooking mood. • Place a nut inside each date. • Pour the sugar on a large plate. Roll each date in the sugar and shake off the excess over the plate. • Serve and eat!

Palace Bread

Ingredients 10 slices of firm white bread I pound (or 2 cups) of honey Butter or margarine I cup of heavy cream

To make: Ask an adult to preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the crusts from the bread with your fingers. Soak the slices in the honey for at least half an hour. Lightly grease a small baking dish with butter or margarine. Using a spatula or big spoon, pile the slices of bread one on top of another until they fill the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Ask an adult to remove the baking dish. Let the dish stand on top of the stove for at least 20 minutes, then chill it in the refrigerator. When you're ready to eat, whip the cream in a large bowl. Spoon out the bread and top each portion with the whipped cream (a modern touch!). Serves 6 to 8 people. 28

Activities

Try these two crafts activities.

It's a Draw

fists

Before the Egyptians painted figures of people, they made grids so they could be sure that they drew the figures correctly.

A human figure would measure 18 squares from the bottom of the feet to the hairline. (For example, starting from the bottom line, the knee would be at line six; the elbow, at line 12.) 29

Try using this method to draw an Egyptian figure. Use the grid below. Draw your figure, making sure it takes up all 18 squares. Make it facing the side, using the example on the left as a model. When you've finished the drawing, color it in, using bright colors, such as red, blue, and green. Hooray for Hieroglyphs!

More than 5,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians began to write their language in hieroglyphs. In most cases, each hieroglyph stands for a sound. For example, the hand represents the sound "d," not the word "hand." Using the list below, try to write your name in hieroglyphs. The name Betty would be written like this: JV = M= Bety Ancient Egyptian is from a different family of languages than English. There were sounds in ancient Egyptian that do not exist in English. This is why some of the hieroglyphs are used to represent more than one letter in our alphabet.

LETTER AND HIEROGLYPH LETTER AND HIEROGLYPH SOUND SOUND HIEROGLYPH REPRESENTS HIEROGLYPH REPRESENTS

A use for E two reed read, forearm any a leaves reed sound M ,ooe J boy, ball vulture elf, bet C F candy, horned far, fort, ^01^ basket cold viper pharaoh

G folded cent, pot girl, go cloth price a stand

CH George, _ hobble church, cobra o * rope choose gentle

D H nit delta l"n u b. > who, — hand « She ter ^^^*^ dime IJ ' behind S n all s sounds reed alii folded house, leaf sounds n cloth peace, '1 r cats SH ship, J lake Schmidt, cobra jam, jinx machine T bread tell, K kite, cat, loaf let basket black, Chris cut, gull, quail utter, full, L chick open late, pull mouth loaf one reed leaf + mule,fuel M quail mud, owl chick crumb V horned video, N Nile, viper coyer water bone w wind, quail cow, chick what, quail all o where chick sounds *

basket K pet, box, stool pond • + extra

folded s f cloth

basket « one reed you.yes, queen, + + leaf crayon quick quail w two reed Mary, chick leaves Yvonne > M

zebra, rain, open door Xerox, crown mouth bolt please, pieces. 32

Try These at Home

Here are some suggestions from kids for other activities:

Make a model ship.

2 Make up your own hieroglyphs.

3 Make up knock-knock jokes about the objects you saw.

4 Use beads and pipe cleaners to make some of the jewelry you saw.

5 Write a story and use hieroglyphs instead of words for objects.

6 See if you can get into the same positions as some of the statues you saw. Try kneeling, sitting, and standing the way the statues do.

7 Using the grid below, try drawing a self-portrait Egyptian style.

• 1

——4 f'- 4 33

My Visit

To help you remember your trip to the Museum, make notes on the subjects below so you can have a record of your visit.

This is what I remember best about my visit:

Here's what I learned about Egypt: 34

This is what I'd like to see on my next trip to the Museum:

These are some differences between my life and the life of a child in ancient Egypt:

Here's what I would have liked about living in ancient Egypt: 35

Here are some of the "small" objects I saw:

Here are some of the "tall" objects I saw:

Here's what I would tell other people about the Egyptian galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 36

Egypt-o-Gram

Read the clues and unscramble the following words:

The famous river that runs through Egypt: I N E L

A ruler of ancient Egypt: H O A P R A H

A place to see collections of art and artifacts: S E M U M U

A salt that was used in the mummification process: T O R N A N

A food eaten by the Egyptians: S L I T E L N 37

Word Dig

Can you find the following words about Egypt in the puzzle? They are hidden forwards, backwards, up, down, and diagonally.

Dendur Sphinx Boat Bitumen Temple Mummy Chancellor Sun Scarab

DBNDURCAARD

0 D 1 A 0 B H M G D E G E E T Q F A B 1 B N G N L A U P N S U N D O D P E A M C R D S U M U M M Y A E A R P R V U E Q R C L N M H 0 B E T A S W L T B 1 L B 0 B D G H 0 A Q N X M E A R E F R B V X Y V A N T 0 Q A R A C S

Answers to Egypt-o-gram and Word Dig are on page 41 38

Write an Egyptian Story

Finish the story that has been started for you. Give it a title, and try to use the words included here.

River Hieroglyph Isis Pyramid

Long ago, on a hot day, a young Egyptian girl and her brother sat in their house. They were learning to read and write.

"Let's finish this lesson," the boy said. "Then we'll go see what's for dinner. I hope it's that good stew again."

"Hurry up," she said. "Before — "

But she never got a chance to finish her sentence. At that moment, their father rushed into the house, exclaiming, "I have an important announcement! It's..." 39 B.C. 3100 3000 EQvpt is united, Quartz lion figure made 2900 Time 2800 on a 2700 .. 2600 line 2500 The Great Pyramid is built 2400 2300 Pakistan introduces underground 2200 water supply and waste disposal 2100 2000 1900 1 800 Approximate time that William the Hippo 1 yQQ appears on the scene 1600 ,u Queen Hatshepsut rules Egypt Tutankhamun reigns 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 'u According to legend, the city of Rome is founded 700 600 500 400 300 200 ' "0 Romans conquer Queen Cleopatra; Egypt becomes a Roman territory; Romans build Temple of Dendur 200 300 400 500 600 700 Paper introduced in the Arab world 800 Mayan civilization flourishing 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa 1600 1700 . (fill in your name below) 1 800 1900 A D 2000 Visits the Egyptian Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art 41

Word Dig answers

N D U R l\A O B

G E s 'E] X \Q G N L AX \U" N S U N 0 D P E A M (M U M M Y V U E NN M Q/ V y CBN XE T /A/ s

Egypt-o-Gram answers

NILE, PHARAOH, MUSEUM, NATRON, LENTILS, SCARAB Use this page...

...to write your own story, poem, or song about Egypt.

Written by Evan Levine, Education Department

Illustrations by Barry Girsh, Department of Egyptian Art, except p. 12 by William Schenck

Special thanks to Marsha Hill and Catharine Roehrig of the Department of Egyptian Art for their help and guidance.

Many thanks to all the members of our advisory board and their parents for their invaluable suggestions - especially: Jeffrey Fogel, 12, and Anna Fogel, 9, of Bronx, NY Amanda Fuller, 9, and Wade Fuller, 6, of Jamaica, NY Amber Hayes, 7, of Brooklyn, NY Gregory Hill-Ries, 7, of New York, NY Nadira Hussein, 7, of Elmont, NY Olivia Love, 6, of Santa Fe, NM Jennifer Mufiiz, 12, of Lynbrook, NY

Kind permission was granted by Aris & Phillips Ltd. of Warminster, Wiltshire, England for the use of the grid figure on page 32. This illustration appears in Conon and Proportions in Egyptian Art by Erik Iversen.