Ima Smartypants
Language Arts, 6-1
January 13, 2016
Art and the Middle Kingdom
Egypt’s long history includes many years of chaos and disunity. However, there are
three long periods of time in which Egypt experienced stability under the rule of their pharaohs.
One of these periods, the Middle Kingdom, lasted from about 2000-1800 BCE and was known
as Egypt’s “Classical Age.” This is because some of the most important achievements that
occurred during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom happened in the advancement of the arts.
One of the advancements in art that happened during the Middle Kingdom was in the
block statue. The block statue was sculpted from a single piece of dark rock. It showed a man
squatting with his arms folded on top of his knees. Block sculptures were placed in temples
and people who put them there prayed with the hope of being blessed by them. The article
“Block Statues” published by https://en.wikipedia.org/ shows an example of a block sculpture
from the Middle Kingdom. It is the Statue of Sheshonq, who is a priest of the god Amen-Ra.
Like most block sculptures, it is carved out of black rock and has an inscription on the front of it
with a prayer. This type of sculpture began during the Middle Kingdom and stayed popular in
Egyptian art for the next 2,000 years.
Another art advancement during the Middle Kingdom took place in the area of writing.
According to the article “”Ancient Egypt for Kids: Middle Kingdom” published at
www.ducksters.com, this was the first time in ancient Egyptian history that writing was used for
entertainment including stories and religious philosophy. "The Story of Sinuhe" is about a man
named Sinuhe who overhears a plot to kill the pharaoh. Sinuhe leaves Egypt because he fears
for his life but becomes very homesick. When a new pharaoh calls him back home, Sinuhe
happily returns. Prior to this time, writing was mostly used for keeping track of grains and such.
However, the growth of written stories such as “The Story of Sinuhe” is one of the reasons the
Middle Kingdom became known as Egypt’s “Classical Age.”
Advancements also took place in the area of jewelry. According to the textbook History
Alive, during the Middle Kingdom the pharaohs controlled mines loaded with gold, copper, and
gems. Bracelets and necklaces made during this time were often highly detailed. An example
of this is the broad collar of Senebtisi. The thick necklace is filled with several rows of copper,
gold, and small, turquoise tube-like beads. Both ends are decorated with large, golden flacon
heads. Another example is the Hepy Bracelet which is about two inches wide and has several
rows of turquoise beads. Intersecting these rows are rows of gold spacers. These highly
detailed artifacts are only two of the hundreds of examples of the advancements in the art of
jewelry-making during the Middle Kingdom.
As one can see, advancements in art were the Middle Kingdom’s greatest achievement.
Since art is part of the culture of a group of people, one could say that the Middle Kingdom
made advancements in the culture of Egypt. Also, because the pharaohs lead this time of unity
and stability, politics played an important part in the Middle Kingdom. This artistic and peaceful
period was followed by another 200 years of fighting and disunity before The New Kingdom
would arise.