Download Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient
Egyptian Art
What can you tell me about this Mask?
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Ancient Egyptian Art
Quick examples of
Modern Egyptian Art
Osiris, in Egyptian mythology, ruler of the
realm of the dead. As king of Egypt, Osiris
taught his people law, agriculture, religion,
and other blessings of civilization. He was
murdered by his brother Seth. His his sister
and wife, Isis, buried his scattered remains.
Each burial place was thereafter regarded as
holy. Osiris lived on in the underworld as the
ruler of the dead, but he was also regarded as
the source of renewed life.
The Encarta® Desk Encyclopedia Copyright © & ℗ 1998 Microsoft Corporation.
Seth (or Set) was the Seth was the God of the
desert, storm and violence, which are all
enemies of the fertile, properous, narrow
valley of the Nile. He was the brother of
Osiris. Seth had killed Osiris by tricking him
into a coffin, which he threw into the Nile.
When Osiris' wife Isis heard about this, she
started searching desperately for her
husband's body, to bury it properly. She asked
everyone she met and finally some children
told her where it was. Isis mourned for her
dead husband. Then she hid the body, while
she went back to look after her son Horus, still
a baby. Seth was terrified that Isis might be
able to bring Osiris back from the dead, since
she was a great magician. So Seth found
where she had hidden the body and cut it into
pieces, which he scattered up and down the
Nile. Now Isis had to find all the scattered
pieces of Osiris. Whenever she found a piece,
she buried it there and built a shrine. This
means that there are lots of places in Egypt
where Osiris was buried! Osiris himself
became the King of the Dead, and all
Egyptians hoped they would join him after
death.
Isis
Seth (or Set)
Horus, the son of Osiris, was the god of balance and harmony,
assigned to maintain the ma’at of Egypt. His function was to ensure
the continuing existence and activity of the gods on earth by means of
religious acts and to maintain the natural order such as the flow of the
Nile an the fertility of the soil. He did not rule by the consent of the
governed but by the decision of the gods. (Nagle, 25)
The first pyramid built was the
graded one of Zoser, which
exists even today, in Sakkarah,
the necropolis of Menphis. Built
in the year 2650 BC by the
architect Imhotep, initially it
was supposed to be a mastaba
but later floors were added until
they reached six. It is the oldest
monumental work in stone
known to man that exists. Its
exterior walls, of white
limestone, measures 545
metres from North to South and
227 metres from East to West.
The wall has 14 doors, 13 of
them false. Its height is 66
metres. In its interior, lies the
sepulchral chamber of the
Pharaoh Sneferu with cladding
of pink granite and sealed with
a block of stone of three tons
weight.
Historian have divided Egyptian history into three major
periods: the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New
Kingdom. These were long periods of stability characterized by
strong monarchical authority, competent bureaucracy, freedom
from invasion, much construction of pyramids and temples, and
considerable intellectual and cultural development and activity.
These major periods were punctuated by ages of political chaos
known as the Intermediate Periods, which were characterized
by weak political structures and rivalry for leadership,
invasions, a decline in building activity, and a restructuring of
society.
Early Dynastic Period
c.a. 3100-2700 B.C.
The Old Kingdom
c.a. 2700-2200 B.C.
First Intermediate Period
c.a. 2200-2050 B.C.
The Middle Kingdom
c.a. 2050-1652 B.C.
Second Intermediate Period
c.a. 1652-1567 B.C.
The New Kingdom
c.a. 1567-1085 B.C.
Post-empire
c.a. 1985-30 B.C.
For administrative purposes, Egypt was
divided up into provinces, or nomes. A
governor, or nomarch, was at the head of
each nome and was responsible to the
pharaoh. These governors tended to
amass large holding of land and power
within their nomes, creating a potential
rivalry with the pharaohs. Of special
importance to the administration of the
state was a vast bureaucracy of scribes
who kept records of everything. Armed
with the knowledge of writing and reading,
they were highly regarded and considered
themselves a superior class of men. Their
high standard of living reflected their
exalted status.
Seated Scribe, from
Saqqara. c.a. 2400 BC.
Mummification
Process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ5dL9cQX0
A mural of Narmer or Menes conquering
Lower Egypt (c.a. 3100 B.C.)
The
Rosetta Stone
In 1799, Napoleon took a small
troop of scholars, linguists and
artists on a military expedition of
Egypt and found the Rosetta Stone
(named for the Rosetta coast of the
Mediterranean where it was
discovered)
Composed of three languages:
1) Formal Egyptian Hieroglyphic
2) Demotic (Late Egyptian)
3) Classical Greek
(which they knew how to read)
This stone became the key to
unlocking the meanings behind
Egyptian hieroglyphics!