Ancient Egypt, Ch. 3, Stokstad, Art History, Fall 2013

ANCIENT

EGYPT

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ANCIENT EGYPT – TIME SEQUENCE

Predynastic – 5000-2950 BCEEarly Dynastic - 2950-2575

BCEOld Kingdom - 2575-2150

BCEMiddle Kingdom - 1957-1640

BCENew Kingdom - 1630-1520

BCELate Egyptian - 715-332

BCE

Predynastic – 5000-2950 BCE• Ceramic figurines• Decorated pottery• Ivory carved in relief• Stone plaques carved in relief• Wall paintings (found in mud

brick houses at Hierakonpolis)

DYNASTIES AND MANETHO’S LIST

• Chronological list of rulers compiled by Manetho, Egyptian priest/historian in 3rd century BCE

• 30 dynasties confirmed by temple records, from 3000 to 332 BCE (when Alexander the Great conquered.)

RELIGION IN EGYPT - POLYTHEISTIC

Ra (Ra-Atum) = sun god

Tefnut & Shu = gods of wetness and dryness

Geb (earth) and Nut (sky)

Osiris (king) married sister, Isis; killed by brother, Seth. Nepthys & Isis pieced Osiris back together with Anubis’ (jackal) help. Isis birthed Horus (king of the earth; falcon-headed; defeated Seth) and Osiris became king of the dead.

• Kings=divine• Ensure gods’ favor • Ordered cosmos/ Afterlife

Early Dynastic - 2950-2575 BCENarmer Palette, 2950-2775 BCE.

Green schist, height 25”.

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCECanon of Proportions – male body

18 units

1 unit =width of fist

Grid

Twisted perspective

Groundlines

Early Dynastic

From “mastaba” to “pyramid”

Early Dynastic

Stepped Pyramid of Djoser (2630-2575 BCE) , 204’ high

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEGreat Pyramids at Giza (2575-2450

BCE)http://www.airpano.com/360Degree-VirtualTour.php?3D=Egypt-Cairo-P

Yramids

Giza Plateau follows the sun’s east-west course.

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCE

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEKhufu: oldest/largest pyramid (13 acre base!), 481’ high

2.3 million

Blocks of

Stone…2.5 tons

each block!

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEKhafre - Great Sphinx, 65’

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCESCULPTURE

• Block-like/solid/compact

• Diorite

Khafre, in the Valley Temple of Khafre at Giza. (Ruled 2520-2494 BCE).

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEMenkaure and a Queen, Giza (ruled 2490-

2472 BCE)

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCE

Seated Scribe, 2450-2325 BCE

Writing:• Hieroglyphic• Hieratic -simplified• Demotic – 8th century BCE

• Religious: hieratic• Monuments:

hieroglyph• All else: demotic• Coptic (Greeks 332

BCE)• Rosetta Stone 196

BCE, discovered in 1818

Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCE

Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt, Tomb of Ti, Saqqara. 2450-2325 BCE. 45”

Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE

Head of Senusret III, Twelfth Dynasty (2938-1755 BCE).

• 150 years of unrest until 11th dynasty (3 successive kings named Mentuhotep); reunited.

• Powerful, unified government

• Arts flourished• Military expansion• Rock-cut tombs

(solid/painted)• Faience (glass paste;

glossy finish)

Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE

Beni Hasan, 1938-1755 BCE, Twelfth Dynasty.

Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE• Well-observed accurate detail

• Faience: glass paste fired to produce shiny, smooth, opaque finish

• Glass: sand +lime + sodium carbonate (or sodium sulfate), fired

Hippopotamus, Tomb of Senbi (Tomb B.3), Meir. Twelfth Dynasty, 1938-1755 BCE. Faience, 20 cm long. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE

Stele of Amenemhat I, Assasif. Twelfth Dynasty, 1938-1755 BCE. Painted Limestone.

New Kingdom - 1539-1075 BCE• Hyksos invasion; 18th Dynasty regains

control

• Thutmose III - 1479-1425 BCE, 18th dynasty, (first to use the term “pharoah”, which means “great house.” )•15 military campaigns/diplomacy

• Great Temple Complexes along Nile River•Pylon – tapered wall gateway•Hypostyle hall – vast hall with columns•Peristyle court – courtyard surrounded by columns

GREAT TEMPLE OF AMUN AT KARNAK

HYPOSTYLE HALL – GREAT TEMPLE OF AMUN AT KARNAK – 1290-1190 BCE

FUNERARY TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT – 1473-1458 BCE

HATSHEPSUT ENTHRONED, 18TH DYNASTY-Queen Ahmose and god Amun

-Regent for Thutmose III; kept him from rule for 20 years

-Funerary Temple at Deir el-Bahri – buried in Valley of kings, though,

Northwest half a mile…

AKENHATEN, COLOSSAL FIGURE• 1353 BCE – ascended the throne (18th

Dynasty)

• 17 year reign

• NEW RELIGION – honoring the sun-god, Aten

• “maat” divine truth

“One who is effective on behalf of Aten” - 1348 BCE

• New capital : not Thebes, but Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna)

• AMARNA PERIOD ART: glassmaking, sculpture, etc.

NEFERTITI – 1353-1336 BCE

AKHENATEN AND HIS FAMILY – 1353-1336 BCE

QUEEN TIY (AKHENATEN’S MOTHER) – 1342 BCE

TUTANKHAMUN’S SARCOPHAGUS – 1332-1322 BCE

TEMPLE OF RAMESES II AT ABU SIMBEL – 1279-1213 BCE

Late Egyptian - 715-332 BCEMummy Wrapping of a Young Boy, 100-120 CE : linen wrappings

with giled stucco buttons and inserted portrait in encaustic on wood. 53 3/8”

MUMMIFICATION

http://youtu.be/-MQ5dL9cQX0