Egyptian Art
Symmetry
Perspective
Conceptional vs Perceptual Art
Composite Image
An Egyptian Dancer painted on limestone ostracon from Deir el-Medina,
New Kingdom (about 1200 BC, Nineteenth Dynasty), Turin’s Egyptian
Museum
Art as Function
Cult and Tomb
Ka-Statues
Ka-statue of Hor-Awibre (Hor I),
13th Dynasty, c. 1340 BCE, Dahshur
Wooden statue of Ka-Aper, 5th Dynasty
(2490 BCE), Saqqara
Frontality
Idealism
Dominant
rightward
orientation
Registers /
Ground
Line
Hierarchy of size
Isocephalic (heads at the same level)
Canon of proportions
Art combined with hieroglyphs
Egyptian
Cosmology
Red land
=
Desheret
=
Desert
(Chaos - Isfet)
Black land
=
Kemet
=
Nile Valley + Delta
(Order – Ma’at)
West
=
Setting sun
=
Land of the
Dead
East
=
Rising sun
=
Land of the
Living
Nile Flow
Winds
Nile Flow
Duality
Ancient
Egyptian
Worldview:
Duality
Sema-Tawy =
Unification
of the Two
Lands
(Upper and
Lower Egypt)
Duality in unity : Sema=Tawy:
Unification of the two lands
Papyrus Lotus
Horus Seth
sedge=niswt
Upper Egypt
bee=bity
Lower Egypt
Royal Titles
Nswt-bity = King of Upper and
Lower Egypt
Nebty = Two Ladies (Vulture=Valley,
Cobra=Delta)
Neb-Tawy = Lord of the Two Lands
Red Crown=Lower EgyptWhite Crown=Upper Egypt Double Crown = Unity
Nomes & Nomarchs
Maat
“truth, balance, order, harmony,
law, morality, justice…”
• Kings (Pharaohs) uphold Maat through:
• Centralized rule
• Harmony among the gods
• Order within Egypt (laws, feeding the hungry,
honoring gods…)
• Domination of Enemies
• Intermediate Periods = disorder
Maat
“truth, balance, order, harmony,
law, morality, justice…”
• Kings (Pharaohs) uphold Maat through:
• Centralized rule
• Harmony among the gods
• Order within Egypt (laws, feeding the hungry,
honoring gods…)
• Domination of Enemies
• Intermediate Periods = disorder
Maat
“truth, balance, order, harmony,
law, morality, justice…”
• Kings (Pharaohs) uphold Maat through:
• Centralized rule
• Harmony among the gods
• Order within Egypt (laws, feeding the hungry,
honoring gods…)
• Domination of Enemies
• Intermediate Periods = disorder
Kingship in Egypt
• Kings (Pharaoh in New Kingdom)
• nsw – hallowed, divine ruler
• ḥm “incarnation,” physical self
• 5 regnal names → meld ideological tenets
• Earthly avatar of the god Horus
• Divine Parentage (officially)
• Roles of King:
• Maintaining Maat (cosmic order)
• Intermediary between gods and humanity
• Chief Priest
• Maintaining (divine) order; judge
• Visiting and building temples
• Feeding people
• Defeating enemies
King as Horus
White Crown
(Upper Egypt)
Red Crown
(Lower Egypt)
Kingship in Egypt
• Kings (Pharaoh in New Kingdom)
• nsw – hallowed, divine ruler
• ḥm “incarnation,” physical self
• 5 regnal names → meld ideological tenets
• Earthly avatar of the god Horus
• Divine Parentage (officially)
• Roles of King:
• Maintaining Maat (cosmic order)
• Intermediary between gods and humanity
• Chief Priest
• Maintaining (divine) order; judge
• Visiting and building temples
• Feeding people
• Defeating enemies
Royal Succession
• Divine Succession / Earthly Succession
• Osiris → Horus / father → son
• Seth as challenger / uncles, generals…
• Seth
• Disorder, deshret, foreigners
Living King = Horus
Dead King = Osiris (King
of the Underworld)
Nubians (south) Libyans (northwest)
Western Asians (northeast)Egyptians
Foreigners
Nut (Sky)
Egyptian Cosmos
Shu (Air)
Geb (Earth)
Ra on the solar barque
Ra in the Duat
Amarna Period
1353-1336 BCE
Naqada Period
~4000 – 3000 BCE
Early Dynastic
3150– 2686 BCE
Old Kingdom
2686– 2181 BCE
First Intermediate Period
2181– 2055 BCE
Middle Kingdom
2055– 1650 BCE
Second Intermediate
Period
1650– 1550 BCE
New Kingdom
1550– 1069 BCE
Third Intermediate Period
1069– 664 BCE