Map of Ancient
Egypt
•Divided between
•Lower (North)
•Middle
•upper Egypt (South)
EGYPTIAN ART
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Predynastic: c. 4000-2700 BCE
Old Kingdom: c. 2700-2200 BCE
Middle Kingdom: c. 2040-1674 BCE
New Kingdom: c. 1500-1070 BCE
Predynastic: c. 4000-2700 BCE
• Corresponds to late Neolithic period.
• people survived on Nile
• Agriculture allowed Egyptians to utilize
Nile to fullest potential
• Divided into multiple kingdoms
– Kings increased power with claims of divinity
People, Boats, and Animals 3,200 BCE
Hierakonpolis
Predynastic Period
Hymn to the Nile
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Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests
thyself over this land, and comes to give
life to Egypt! Mysterious is thy issuing
forth from the darkness, on this day
whereon it is celebrated!
Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no
bird alights on the crops. You create the
grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring
perpetuity to the temples. If you cease
your toil and your work, then all that
exists is in anguish. If the gods suffer in
heaven, then the faces of men waste away.
Then He torments the flocks of Egypt, and
great and small are in agony. But all is
changed for mankind when He comes; He
is endowed with the qualities of Nun. If
He shines, the earth is joyous, every
stomach is full of rejoicing, every spine is
happy, every jaw-bone crushes (its food).
Where misery existed, joy manifests itself;
all beasts rejoice. The children of Sobek,
the sons of Neith, the cycle of the gods
which dwells in him, are prosperous. No
more reservoirs for watering the fields! He
makes mankind valiant, enriching some,
bestowing his love on others. None
commands at the same time as himself. He
creates the offerings without the aid of
Neith, making mankind for himself with
multiform care.
Read the text. Explain the
significance of the Nile in both real
and spiritual terms using examples
from both the text and art piece below.
People, Boats, and Animals
• Early stage in development of funerary
customs and of Egyptian art.
• The human and animal figures tend to
become standardized, abbreviated
“signs” almost as if they were almost
hieroglyphs.
Early Dynastic period 3100 BCE
• Upper Lower Egypt unified by Menes
(possibly Narmer)
Palette of Narmer c. 3150-2920 BCE
Hierakonpolis, early dynastic, Dynasty 1, mudstone
Palette of King Narmer
• Ceremonial slate celebrating Upper Egypt’s
victory over Lower Egypt.
• Visual symbols convey specific meaning
• Establishes style for portraying important
figures
-Composite View: Profile views of head, legs,
and arms, with front views of his eye and torso
-Hierarchical Scale: Important figures larger
• Registers: Divided into horizontal bands
Palette of Narmer
(Left)
• Narmer wears white
crown of Upper Egypt
• Falcon is Horus, local
god of Upper Egypt
• Papyrus symbolizes
Lower Egypt
• Narmer not wearing
sandals = sacred
ground
Palette of Narmer
(Right)
• Narmer wearing red
cobra crown of
Lower Egypt
• Great bull symbolizes
strength of Narmer
• Elongated necks form
circular depression to
hold eye makeup
Identify/interpret the iconography
CH 3
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Upper Egypt
Dynasty
Old, Middle, & New Kingdoms
Delta
Papyrus
Hieroglyphs
Rosetta Stone
Hieroglyphic writing
Canon of proportions
Ka
Sarcophagus
Necropolis
Mastaba
Pylon
Hypostyle
Colonnade
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Clerestory
Obelisk
Pharaoh
Scribe
Ra
Horus
Aten
Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)
Monotheism
Polytheism
Representation of the Human Figure
in Egyptian Art
• Developed a Canon of Proportions – based
on a grid with each square based on the size
of the fist.
• Used a groundline instead of a realistic
portrayal of ground.
Basics of Egyptian Art
• Pharaoh is supreme ruler and a god
• Much of art is centered around the
afterlife
– Utilitarian rather than purely aesthetic
– Artisans work toward common goal  to
ensure immortality for their rulers and families
– Art like hieroglyphics functions as language for
communicating with one another and the gods
– Artists were craftsmen who were meant to do
the same thing every time!
Here is the system they seem to have followed:
A standing figure should occupy 18 squares from soles to hairline.
The knee line should be at 1/3 height, in the 6th square up.
The lower buttock line should be at 1/2 height, in the 9th square up.
The elbow line should be at 2/3 height, in the 12th square.
Neck-and-shoulders should be in the 16th square.
The calf line, between the knee and sole, should be in the 3rd square.
The nose and lip should be separated by line 17.
Line 14 should go through the nipple.
Line 11 should go through the small of the back, for a male figure. For a female figure, line 12.
The length of a hanging forearm was usually 5 squares from elbow to outstretched finger tips.
One vertical line ran through the ear, dividing the figure in two.
Male figures measured 5 squares across at the shoulder at line 15, 4 across (usually) at the armpits, and 2 1/2 or less across at line 11 (the
small of the back). Female figures also measured 5 squares across at the shoulders at line 15, but 3 across (usually) at the armpits, and 2
across at the small of the back at line 12.
YOU HAVE 15 minutes to work on your Egyptian
figures. Get out CH3 study guides and vocabulary
Old Kingdom c. 2700-2200 BCE
• Unified Egyptian civilization
• Climate change – Egypt became warmer!
• Kings and officials became wealthy and
commissioned portraits, sculptures, and
decorated tombs
• Colossal sculptures and funerary buildings
were constructed by those made homeless
from the flooding of the Nile.
Old Kingdom funerary
Architecture
• Mastaba: Square moundshaped tomb
• Veneer: faced with brick or
stone
• Burial chamber deep
underground  linked by
shaft
• Serdab: sealed room to
house the Ka or life force
• Sarcophagus: stone coffin
housed the body
• Often grouped together in a
Necropolis: city of the dead
IMHOTEP
• First artist whose name has been recorded
in history
• Royal builder for King Djoser
• Served as pharaoh’s chancellor and high
priest of the sun god Re
• Born a commoner, but deified during New
Kingdom
• NOT a mummy who comes back to life
and tries to kill a bunch of people
STEP PYRAMID OF KING DJOSER Saqqara,
Dynasty III, c. 2681-2662 BCE
Imhotep
Transverse section of Step Pyramid
FUNERARY DISTRICT OF KING DJOSER
Saqqara, c. 2681-2662 BCE
Plan of Mortuary Precinct of
Djoser.
ENGAGED COLUMNS
WITH PAPYRUS
CAPITALS
Mortuary Complex of
Djoser
•Columns - Cylindrical, upright
architectural support
•Engaged Columns – Columns set into
the wall - NOT free-standing
•Fluting – shallow grooves running the
length of a column
•Capitals – the top of a column
Detail, ENGAGED COLUMN W/ PAPYRUS BLOSSOM
CAPITAL
COLONNADED
PROCESSIONAL
HALL
Mortuary Complex of
King Djoser
Hypostyle: Heavily
colonnaded hall
fluting
Fluted
Palm Leaf
Lotus Bud
Papyrus
Blossom
Papyrus Bud
Mastaba to Pyramid
Was it simple architectural evolution?
Or is there something more???
• Horus-Pharaoh connection – Horus, the sky god is believed to be the
Pharaoh by Egyptians.
• Horus-Ra connection – Horus the god of the sky became connected
with Ra the sun god
• It was believed that the Benben rose out of the primordial waters when
the first rays of sunlight struck it.
• The Benben became associated with Ra and eventually Horus and
therefore a symbol of the Pharaoh.
• The Benben is ….
NORTHERN PYRAMID OF SNEFERU
Dahshur DYNASTY IV, 2680-2565 BCE
PYRAMIDS AT GIZA
Dynasty IV, c. 2570-2544 BCE
The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is one of the largest single buildings ever constructed.
The Greeks saw it as one of the 7 wonders of the world. Originally 479 ft in height, it still stands
at an awe-inspiring 449 ft. Most of its height loss is due to the stripping of its original smooth
limestone casing.
Giza
Necropolis
• Pyramid of Khufu (aka the Great
pyramid) is the oldest
and largest
• Pyramid Of Khafre –
connected to the
Sphinx, 2nd largest
• Pyramid of Menkaure
– 3rd of the Giza
Necropolis
Khufu
Khafre
Menkaure
Cross Section of Khufu’s Pyramid
Great Sphinx with Khafre’s Pyramid
THE GREAT SPHINX
Giza, c. 2570-2544 BCE
Old Kingdom Statuary
• Housed Ka if body was destroyed
• Used hard permanent stone
Khafre (Chefren), Giza, c. 2500 BCE
• Diorite
•Rigid frontality
Menkaure
(Mycerinus) and His
Wife, Queen
Khamerernebty
Giza, c. 2515 BCE
Slate
Warm-Up
Compare and contrast the two statues
Prince Rahotep and His Wife Nofret
c. 2580 BCE
Painted
Limestone
Seated Scribe, from his mastaba
at Saqqara. c. 2450-2350 BCE
Ka-Aper, from his
mastaba at
Saqqara.
c. 2450-2350 BCE
Wood
Paintings and Relief
• Used on papyrus but also decorating tombs
and temples
• Carved or drawn and always painted (much
painting is lost)
Ti Watching a
Hippopotamus Hunt
Tomb of Ti,
Saqqara.
c. 2510-2460 BCE
Middle Kingdom Art
• 2040-1674 BCE 11th & 12th
Dynasties
• Power of deified pharaoh declines
• Age marked by more pessimistic
attitude toward life and death
• Art reflects unrest of the time  more
expressive & more realistic
• Loosening of established rules
Portrait of
Sesostris III
c. 1850 BCE
Middle
Kingdom
Feeding the Oryxes. c. 1928-1895 BCE
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom Art
• c. 1500-1070 BCE  18th – 20th
Dynasties
• Country united again
• Divine kingship asserted in new way:
by association w/ god Amun  fused
w/ sun god Ra  now supreme deity
• New threat to royal power  priestly
caste of Amun
Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Architect: Senenmut
c. 1478-1458 BCE
Warm-Up 9/10/08
• Identify, compare and
contrast the Old
Kingdom tomb
versus the New
Kingdom tomb.
Statues of Hatshepsut
Senmut with Princess Nefrua.
c.1470-1460 BCE
Block statues extremely popular during New Kingdom
Temple of Luxor (aka Karnak). Pylon with
statues of Ramses II and Obelisk. c.12791212 BCE
Plan of the Temple of Amun
Aerial View of Luxor/Karnak
Hypostyle: Heavily colonnaded hall
AKHENATEN (Amenhotep IV)
• AMARNA: Period or style of art
under Akhenaten
• Akhenaten tries to unify Egypt under
monotheistic religion  Single god,
the sun disk Aten
• Innovative art  new sense of form
• Mobile, curves, relaxed
Akhenaten
(Amenhotep IV)
c. 1348-1336/5 BCE
New KingdomAmarna Style
Akhenaton
c. 1353-1335 BCE
Amarna Style
Sandstone
Queen Nefertiti
c. 1348-1336/5 BCE
New KingdomAmarna Style
Tiye
c. 1353-1335 BCE
Amarna
Wood, gold,
silver, lapis lazuli
The Daughters of Akhenaten
c. 1360 BCE New Kingdom- Amarna
AKA: Scary Alien Baby Heads
Tutankhamen
Innermost Coffin and Funerary Mask of
Tutankhamen.
c. 1327 BCE
New Kingdom