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Ancient Egyptian Art EC1 Art History (Part 3) Hatshepsut, the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt, ruled from c. 1479–1458 B.C.E. Fragmentary statue of Hatshepsut, quartz diorite, c. 1498–1483 BC Museum of Fine Arts, Boston A stone statue of Hatshepsut She was the daughter of Thutmose I and was queen of her half-brother Thutmose II, and she became pharaoh circa 1479 BCE. On her death Thutmose III, son of Thutmose II and Iset, became pharaoh. Relief of Thutmose II in Karnak Temple complex. Early 18th dynasty statue head, perhaps Thutmose I (British Museum) Thutmose III statue in Luxor Museum During her 22-year reign, Hatshepsut encouraged peace instead of war, established trade networks, commissioned great building projects. A myrrh tree in front of Hatshepsut's temple, claimed to have been brought from Punt by Hatshepsut's Expedition which is depicted on the Temple walls. Trade with other countries was re-established; here myrrh trees transported by ship from Punt are shown being moved ashore for planting in Egypt—relief from Hatshepsut mortuary temple. She built an outstanding mortuary temple for herself at Deir el-Bahri. The buildings of Hatshepsut's Deir el-Bahri complex are considered to be significant advances in architecture. Djeser-Djeseru is the main building of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri. Designed by Senemut, her vizier, the building is an example of perfect symmetry that predates the Parthenon, and it was the first complex built on the site she chose, which would become the Valley of the Kings The temples at Deir el Bahri photographed from behind at the top of the cliff. The tomb complex consists of tiered colonnades (rows of columns) and two long sloping causeways (one formerly lined with sphinxes). The series of terraces were once glorified with lush gardens. Egyptian soldiers from Hatshepsut's expedition to the Land of Punt, depicted on her temple at Deir elBahri. Sanctuary doorways of Hatshepsut’s Temple Hieroglyphic decorations inside the Temple of Hatshepsut Hatshepsut assumed all of the symbols of the pharaonic office in official representations like the Sphinx in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Large granite sphinx of the pharaoh Hatshepsut, depicted with the traditional false beard, a symbol of her pharaonic power—Metropolitan Museum of Art Amenhotep IV (c. 1353–1336 BCE), a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, created a new monotheistic religion in Egypt, centred on the sun god Aten. Small statue of Akhenaten wearing the Egyptian Blue Crown of War Pharaoh Akhenaten (center) and his family adoring the Aten. Amenhotep IV closed down temples, especially those dedicated to Amun (King of the gods and god of the wind), whose priests were powerful and tried to stop the new religion from being established in Egypt. Head of Akhenaten Depiction of Amun in a relief at Karnak (15th century BC) Amun, Ra/Re - God of the Sun Re-Horakhty the fusion of Ra and Horus This Third Intermediate Period amulet from the Walters Art Museum depicts Amun fused with the solar deity, Re, thereby making the supreme solar deity Amun-Re. Zeus Ammon. Roman copy of a Greek original from the late 5th century BC. The Greeks of the lower Nile Delta and Cyrenaica combined features of supreme god Zeus with features of the Egyptian god Ammon-Ra. Staatliche Antikensammlungen Munich. Amenhotep, which means “Amun is Satisfied”, changed his name to Akhenaten meaning "Effective for Aten". Bronze plate with the title of Amenhotep IV before he changed his name to Akhenaten, British Museum. Relief representing Amenhotep IV before he changed his name to Akhenaten, Neues Museum, Berlin Akhenaten then moved the capital from Thebes to a new location that he titled Akhetaten (“Horizon of Aten”), modern day Amarna. Small Temple of the Aten at Akhetaten Children with pens and papyrus scrolls. Relief from Amarna Akhenaten employed artists and architects to honour his new religion by creating a new art style which is called the Amarna style by art historians. Two of Akhenaten's daughters, Nofernoferuaton and Nofernoferure, c. 1375-1358 BC Akhenaten in the typical Amarna period style. Princess of the Akhenaten family, Louvre, Paris. Amarna monkey. Blue faience from Brooklyn Museum Akhenaten had open-air temples built to venerate the light and love of the sun god in a natural and open setting. Akhenaten depicted as a sphinx at Amarna. North Palace, Amarna Digital reconstruction of Amarna Honesty was of great importance in this new religion and as a result artists depicted people more truthfully. Akhenaten, Pharaoh of Egypt. One of the most impressive examples of the Amarna style is the family portrait relief of Akhenaten, his queen Nefertiti, and their three young daughters. The youngest daughter plays with her mother’s earring. Akhenaten affectionately holds another princess in his arms while she points towards her mother and the ankh (the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "life"). The other princess holds Nefertiti’s hand and points towards her father, helping to interconnect the family. Intimacy between parents and children was a new departure in Egyptian art. The sun disk, which represents Aten in the relief, spreads its rays equally on Akhenaten and Nefertiti postulating that they are co-rulers of a balanced kingdom under one god. This is a sunken relief as the artist incised the image into the stone rather than that of a raised relief where the background is cut out. The painted bust of Akhenaten’s queen Nefertiti (ca. 1370 BC – ca. 1330 BC) is the most famous female portrait in Egyptian art. Her exceptional jewelry repeats the colour pattern of the band in her headdress. The queen is both realistic and idealized. This portrait highlights her perfection and humanity. Her name means “the Beautiful one has come”. When Akhenaten died so did his religion. When Tutankhaten, which means "Living Image of Aten", became pharaoh in 1333 B.C.E at the age of 9, he ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to power. Tutankamun Amarna portrait. Altes Museum, Berlin The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten/ Amarna was abandoned. Tutankhaten then changed his name to Tutankhamun, which means "Living image of Amun". Bust of Tut found in his tomb, 1922. Wooden bust of the boy king, found in his tomb. Tutankhamun’s funerary mask illustrates that the formality and rigidity of Egyptian art reappeared after the death of Akhenaten. Mask of Tutankhamun's mummy featuring a uraeus, from the eighteenth dynasty. The cobra image of Wadjet with the vulture image of Nekhbet representing of the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt. Tutankhamun is popularly known as King Tut ever since Howard Carter discovered his intact tomb in 1922. Howard Carter and associates opening the shrine doors in the burial chamber (1924 reconstruction of the 1923 event) Howard Carter The tomb revealed the abundance of Egyptian wealth and grandeur. Tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. The outer golden shrine, now on display in the Cairo Museum The gilded bier from the base of Tutankhamun's Sarcophagus. A pectoral belonging to Tutankhamun Tomb of Tutankhamun section of antechamber. Date: ca. 1350 BCE Tutankhamun receives flowers from Ankhesenamun. Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. King Tutankhamun's throne with a painting of Ankhesenamun and Tutankhamun. Tombs were also decorated with paintings of daily life and images of the gods protecting the deceased. The largest and most elaborate tomb in the Valley of the Queens is that of Nefertari, wife of Rameses II. Tomb wall depicting Queen Nefertari, the great royal wife of pharaoh Rameses II Goddess Hathor (goddess of love, joy and motherhood) giving an Ankh to Nefertari In vibrant colours, the gods escort Nefertari on her journey to the afterlife. Tomb of Nefertari, Valley of the Queens In the Old Kingdom, texts were inscribed on pyramid walls Part of the Pyramid Texts, a precursor of the Book of the Dead, inscribed on the tomb of Teti During the New Kingdom, similar texts were published in papyrus scrolls called Books of the Dead. The mystical Spell 17, from the Papyrus of Ani. The text comprises a number of magic spells intended to support a dead person's journey through the underworld, and into the afterlife. Two 'gate spells'. In the Judgement scene of Hunefer from the Book of the Dead Anubis, the jackalheaded god of the underworld, leads Hu-Nefer’s ka (soul) to the judgment scales. Anubis holds an ankh, the symbol of life, in his left hand. At the scales Anubis weighs the heart, which is contained in a jar on the left scale. The feather of truth (symbol of Maat, the goddess of truth) rests on the right-hand scale. If the sin weighs more than the feather, he will be condemned. Judgment before Osiris, c. 1290 – 1280 B.C.E, Papyrus, British Museum London. A monster named Ammit who sits between the scales will eat the heart of an evil soul. The hawk-headed Horus leads Hu-Nefer’s ka to the temple of Osiris. Inside Osiris’s temple, Hu-Nefer encounters the four miniature sons of Horus standing on a lotus blossom, a symbol of resurrection. Maat, the goddess of truth, soars overhead ensuring that Hu-Nefer’s heart is light. Osiris’s wife Isis and his sister-in-law Nephthys (Goddess of death) are located behind him. Ramesses II, a pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BCE for 66 years and 2 months and supposedly sired 100 children. Ramesses II: one of four external seated statues at Abu Simbel The Younger Memnon part of a colossal statue of Ramesses from the Ramasseum, now in the British Museum Ramesses built enormous monuments to himself throughout Egypt, especially at Abu Simbel, Karnak, and Luxor. Entrance of Luxor Temple Sitting Ramesses II Colossus inside Luxor Temple A panoramic view of the great hypostyle hall in the Precinct of Amun Re, Karnak. Karnak Four colossal 20 metre statues of the pharaoh guard the entrance to his massive temple in Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel Temple of Ramesses II The hypostyle hall of the Great Temple, with eight Osiris (God of the afterlife) pillars. Smaller statues of family members and his queen Nefertari are located beside the gigantic statues. The Great Temple of Ramesses II is on the left and the Small Temple of Nefertari is on the right. Nefertari's Temple at Abu Simbel Nefertari beside a colossus of Ramesses II Ramesses II also used art as propaganda, for example, reliefs that flaunted a great victory for him at the Battle of Kadesh. The Egyptians fought against the Hittites in which the outcome was indecisive as both sides claimed victory and negotiated a peace treaty. The Kadesh peace agreement— on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum—is believed to be the earliest example of any written international agreement of any kind Ramesses atop chariot, at the battle of Kadesh. (Relief inside his Abu Simbel temple.) In 1799, Captain PierreFrancois Bouchard, one of Napoleon’s officers, discovered the Rosetta Stone (196 B.C.E) in the city of Rosetta (present-day Rashid). The Rosetta Stone A decree, issued on behalf of Ptolemy V, was inscribed on the stone in three scripts – Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic and Ancient Greek. One possible reconstruction of the original stele Thomas Young, an Englishman, who studied Ancient Egypt as a hobby matched a number of the names in hieroglyphs on the top of the Rosetta Stone with the Greek equivalents in the bottom register. In 1822 Jean-Francois Champollion, a French scholar and philologist, developed Young’s work and finally published the first correct translation of the hieroglyphs and the key to the Egyptian grammatical system. Jean-François Champollion, by Léon Cogniet