Art of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian art was created between the 6th millennium BC and the 4th century AD, from Prehistoric Egypt until the Christianization of Roman Egypt. This art included paintings, sculptures, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories, and architecture. The style of this art changed very little over time, staying very consistent.

Most of the art that has survived today comes from tombs and monuments. These artworks give us clues about the ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs. The ancient Egyptians did not have a word for "art" as we know it. Instead, their artworks had important purposes tied to religion and ideology. The goal of art was to make things last forever and to show an idealized world, not how things really looked. Art was used to help keep order in the universe, a concept called Ma'at. Because of this, there was little focus on individual artists, as the art served a bigger purpose.

Art of Pre-Dynastic Egypt (6000–3000 BC)

Pre-Dynastic Egypt, which lasted from around 6000 BC to about 3100 BC, was a time when early people in Egypt began to settle near the Nile River. This area was once very dry, but as people moved there, they started farming and living together in villages.

During this time, people created many kinds of art. They made simple pots, small statues, and tools from stone and clay. One of the first life-size heads made from clay came from this period. As time went on, the art became more detailed, and people began to make beautiful decorations and special stones to show important events and leaders.

Art of Dynastic Egypt

The Early Dynastic Period, starting around 3100 BC, followed the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. During this time, cosmetic palettes and early writing systems, known as hieroglyphs, became more advanced. These palettes often combined symbols with pictures to tell stories.

The Old Kingdom, from about 2686 to 2181 BC, is famous for its pyramids. Kings like Sneferu and the builders of the pyramids of Giza, such as Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, ruled during this time. This period saw Egypt reach a high point of civilization, with impressive buildings and artworks like statues and reliefs.

The Middle Kingdom, lasting from around 2055 to 1650 BC, began after a period of division known as the First Intermediate Period. The kingdom was reunited under leaders like Mentuhotep II. Art from this time showed a return to older styles but also included new ideas and high-quality craftsmanship.

The New Kingdom, from about 1550 to 1069 BC, was a time of great power and wealth for Egypt. This period included the building of many temples and the creation of elaborate artworks. Leaders like Hatshepsut and Ramesses II were famous for their contributions to art and architecture.

The Late Period, from around 664 to 332 BC, saw Egypt under the rule of different foreign powers, including the Persians. Despite these changes, Egyptian art continued to flourish, with temples and statues being created in traditional styles. The Ptolemaic Period, from 305 to 30 BC, brought a mix of Egyptian and Greek influences, especially in the city of Alexandria.

The Roman Period, from 30 BC to 619 AD, is known for the Fayum mummy portraits. These were painted portraits attached to mummies, showing a blend of Egyptian and Roman artistic traditions. These portraits give us a glimpse into the lives of people living in Roman Egypt.

Characteristics

Egyptian art is special because of the way it shows people. In drawings and carvings, the body faces forward, but the head is shown from the side, and the legs are apart if the person is standing. These figures follow a fixed size, measuring exactly 18 "fists" from the ground to the top of the head. This style started very early, even on the Narmer Palette, and stayed mostly the same for a long time, except in a few special periods.

The size of figures in art also showed their importance. Gods and kings were drawn larger than normal people. Smaller figures were often servants or less important people. This helped everyone know who was important in the picture.

Anonymity

Most Egyptian artists did not write down their names, so we do not know who made many artworks. Often, many artists worked together on one piece, so it was a group effort.

Symbolism

Egyptian art used symbols to share important ideas. Colors had special meanings, too. For example, blue stood for life and the Nile River, while black showed the rich soil of Egypt and was used for kings and gods. Gold was linked to the gods because of its bright, rare look.

Materials

Faience

Main article: Egyptian faience

Egyptian faience is a special kind of ceramic. It was made from quartz sand, a little lime, and plant ash or natron. These ingredients were mixed, coated with a glassy surface, and fired until hard and shiny. People used faience for many years to make small objects and decorations, like special statues called ushabtis. It looked like valuable stones such as turquoise and lapis lazuli, but it cost less.

Glass

Glass was made later than faience in Egypt. The way to make glass was learned from places far away, like the Levant. At first, glass was rare and precious, but later, Egypt made lots of it to share with others. Glass was made from silica, alkali, and lime, which were easy to find in Egypt.

Egyptian blue

Egyptian blue is a colorful material related to faience. It was made from quartz, alkali, lime, and coloring agents like copper compounds. This material could be shaped by hand or in molds to make small statues and other items. It could also be ground into powder to color paintings. Blue became a popular color in Egyptian art later on.

Metals

Egypt learned to work with metals like copper, gold, and silver. Copper was used first to make tools and decorations. Gold was very important and was used for royal treasures and jewelry. Silver was rarer at first but became more common later. Iron was used even later, mostly for tools and weapons.

Wood

Wood was used to make furniture, models, and statues, but many wooden items did not survive over time. Trees like date palm, tamarisk, acacia, and sycamore were used, but better wood was imported from far away.

Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli is a dark blue stone that the Egyptians valued highly. It came from far away in Afghanistan and was used for jewelry and small statues. When it was hard to get, they used colored glass or faience instead.

Other materials

Other materials used in ancient Egypt included jasper, serpentine, steatite, and turquoise. Each had special uses, like making amulets or decorations. These materials were chosen for their colors and meanings in Egyptian culture.

Sculpture

The big stone statues in ancient Egypt's temples and tombs are famous, but there were also many smaller, detailed works. Egyptians used a special way to carve called sunk relief, which looks best in sunlight because shadows show the shapes. Statues often showed people standing with one foot in front of the other, a style used for a very long time.

Pharaohs were treated like gods, and large statues often showed them or the gods. The Great Sphinx of Giza is one famous early example. Smaller statues were placed in tombs for the spirit of the person to use in the afterlife. These smaller statues could be of people, animals, or gods, made from wood or stone.

Rules for making statues were very strict, so they looked almost the same for thousands of years. Men could be shown as they aged, but women were usually shown as young and beautiful.

A stele was a tall, upright stone or wood tablet with pictures and writing. They were made for many reasons, such as remembering a person who died, praying to gods, or celebrating important events.

Pyramidia

Main article: Pyramidion

A pyramidion was the top part of a pyramid, often made to shine like the sun. They sometimes had writing and symbols on them.

Painting

Main article: Painting in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian paintings were often found in tombs and temples, thanks to Egypt's dry climate that helped them last a long time. These paintings were made to help people in their journey to the afterlife and often showed scenes of the deceased with gods or doing things they liked in life.

The paintings used special colors like red, blue, green, gold, black, and yellow. They were made on stone or wood using minerals as paint. The artists showed people and animals from the side and the front at the same time, giving them a special look. While some paintings showed close-up scenes of nature, they usually did not show depth or distance like modern paintings do. Instead, the size of the figures showed their importance.

Architecture

Main article: Ancient Egyptian architecture

Further information: Egyptian pyramids and Egyptian temple

Ancient Egyptian architects built with bricks, sandstone, limestone, and granite. They planned carefully, fitting stones together without using mud or mortar. When building pyramids, they started decorating from the top and worked their way down. The outside walls of buildings like pyramids had only a few small openings. Brightly colored carvings and paintings, including symbols like the scarab beetle and the sun disk, decorated these structures. These designs told stories about the pharaoh becoming a god.

Columns in Egyptian buildings often looked like bundled plants such as papyrus or lotus flowers. These columns were carved from stone and covered with colorful carvings and paintings. One famous type of column comes from the time of the 5th Dynasty and looks like a bundle of lotus stems. At the Luxor Temple, columns remind us of papyrus plants, perhaps linking to the ancient belief about the world’s creation in a marsh.

Jewelry

See also: Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), Usekh collar, Ancient Egyptian flint jewelry, and Egyptian finger and toe stall

Ancient Egyptians loved to wear beautiful decorations and ornaments from very early times. They made jewelry from many materials like beads, shells, and bone. Over time, they used gold, silver, copper, and special colored stones like lapis lazuli and turquoise.

Jewelry was important for showing wealth and status. It also had religious meanings. Some pieces were very fancy, especially for kings and queens. We can learn about how they made jewelry from pictures found in old tombs.

Amulets

Main article: List of ancient Egyptian statuary with amulet necklaces

Amulets were small charms worn for protection or to give special qualities. They were used by both the living and the dead. Some amulets were placed inside the wrappings of mummies. One special amulet, called the heart scarab, was made to protect the heart after death. Amulets were created from many materials like faience, glass, and precious stones. They could look like sacred objects, animals, or even symbols called hieroglyphs. Starting from a certain time, gods and goddesses became popular subjects for amulets.

Scarab-shaped amulets

Main article: Scarab (artifact)

The heart scarab was a special amulet shaped like a scarab beetle. This beetle was a symbol of new life and rebirth because it was thought to roll the sun across the sky and hatch from eggs in mud. The heart scarab was placed over the heart of a person in the mummy wrappings. It was made from green and dark materials, representing ideas about life and the afterlife.

Pottery

Main article: Ancient Egyptian pottery

See also: Funerary cone

People in ancient Egypt placed different kinds of pottery in tombs with the people who had passed away. Some of this pottery looked like parts of the body, such as the lungs, liver, and smaller intestines, which were taken out before preparing the body. Small enamel pottery items were also placed with the dead. It was common to put special pottery cones on tomb walls. These cones were about 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in) tall and had writings about the person buried there, like their names, jobs, and words for funerals.

Calligraphy

Main article: Egyptian hieroglyphs

Ancient Egyptian writing was a special and unchanging system used by only a few people who could read and write. Over time, the spoken language changed a lot, but the writing stayed mostly the same. The beautiful carvings of hieroglyphs on stone monuments are a big part of this writing.

Hieroglyphic writing started from simple symbols a very long time ago, around the 32nd century BC, during a time called the Early Bronze Age. The first full sentence in Egyptian was written even earlier, in the 28th century BC. This writing system grew and was used for big stone carvings during the Middle Kingdom. It kept being used through many years, including the New Kingdom, Late Period, Persian, Ptolemaic, and even into the Roman times, lasting until the 4th century AD.

Furniture

In ancient Egypt, homes had very little furniture by today's standards, but skilled woodworkers created beautiful pieces. Rich people had chairs, while most sat on simple low stools. Beds were made from wooden frames with mats or leather for comfort, and fancy beds even had canopies to keep out insects. The legs of chairs, stools, and beds were often shaped like animal parts such as bull hooves or lion feet.

Royal furniture was even more elaborate, with decorations made from precious materials. Treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun included special tables, boxes, and a golden throne. Egyptian designs influenced later styles in other cultures. Common patterns in their furniture included palm leaves, flowers, animal shapes, and simple geometric designs, all created with a grand and serious style.

plaster tomb of Tutankhamun Hetepheres Greco-Roman Empire motifs Metropolitan Museum of Art Brooklyn Museum Hatnefer Chair of Reniseneb semi-precious Egyptian Museum

Clothing

Main article: Clothing in ancient Egypt

We learn about ancient Egyptian clothes mostly from art and the few clothes that survived. Sometimes these sources don't match perfectly, because art often focused on showing certain features of a person rather than looking exactly like them. For example, women in art often wear tight dresses that show their shape.

Like everywhere, fashion in Egypt changed over time. People wore different clothes depending on the season and their role in society. Important people, like priests and the king, had special clothes just for them.

Most people wore simple clothes made from linen, usually white or off-white. Men often wore a simple loincloth or a short skirt called a shendyt, and added a heavier tunic in winter. Richer people could show their status with fancier clothes and follow new fashion trends.

Later, longer and more elaborate clothes became popular. Men and women wore flowing, pleated robes, especially during the late 18th Dynasty and the Ramesside period. Colorful beads were sometimes added over dresses. In the Roman Period, Egypt became famous for making high-quality clothes. Most people wore sandals made from grass, reed, or leather. These clothes and shoes were even found in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Cosmetics

Main article: Beauty and cosmetics in ancient Egypt

People in ancient Egypt liked to use makeup, especially around their eyes. They used a black paint called kohl to protect their eyes and look nice. This paint was made from a shiny stone called galena. Later, they also used green paint made from another stone. Women painted their lips and cheeks with a red color made from earth. They used a special dye called henna for their hair and nails. They also made creams from plants to keep their skin soft.

Music

Main article: Music of Egypt

Music was very important in ancient Egypt for both happy and special events. People played many kinds of instruments, like rattles, drums, flutes, and harps. Women often played special instruments called sistra in temples, especially for the goddesses Hathor and Isis. Pictures from old tombs show that workers also sang together to stay happy and work well.

Sistrum

Main article: Sistrum

A sistrum was a special rattle used in temple ceremonies, mostly by women. It made a swishing sound with small metal disks. The instrument was often decorated with the face of Hathor, the goddess of music. There were two main types of sistra, but the hoop-shaped one became more popular over time.

Funerary art

See also: Funerary art § Ancient Egypt and Nubia

Coffins

In ancient Egypt, coffins were very important for burials. They were like special homes for a person’s spirit and helped protect the body. Early coffins were simple wooden boxes. Over time, they became longer so the body could lie flat instead of curled up. The coffins were often decorated with pictures and writing to help the person in the afterlife. Rich people sometimes had several coffins inside each other, made from valuable materials like cedarwood, glass, or even gold.

Canopic jars

Main article: Canopic jar

Canopic jars were special containers used to hold a person’s organs during burial. These jars were protected by four important spirits. At first, organs were kept in one chest, but later each organ had its own jar. The jars changed shape over time, sometimes having tops that looked like animal or human heads. Rich people might still use these jars even when organs were placed back in the body.

Masks

People in ancient Egypt used masks in burials to help the person become like a god. Masks were made from materials like gold and were very beautiful. Famous masks include ones made for important kings and queens.

Ushabti

Main article: Ushabti

Ushabtis were small statues meant to help the person in the afterlife by doing work for them. They started as simple figures and later became more detailed. These statues often had special writing on them to explain their job.

Art of Meroë

See also: Meroë

Ancient Egypt had a long history with the Nile Valley to the south, in a place called Nubia (modern Sudan). Starting with the Kerma culture and later the Kingdom of Kush based at Napata and Meroë, the people of Nubia took in many ideas from Egypt for political and religious reasons. This created a rich and interesting style of art.

The art of Meroë shows many different influences. It was first its own African culture with traditions that go back thousands of years. Later, because Meroë traded with Egypt when it was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty (332–330 BC) and the Romans (30 BC – 395 AD), it also brought in ideas and objects from Hellenistic and Roman cultures, along with more Egyptian styles.

Egyptian Revival art

Main articles: Egyptian Revival decorative arts and Egyptian Revival architecture

See also: Ancient Egypt in the Western imagination

Egyptian Revival art is a style that became popular in the early 1800s. Artists and designers used symbols from ancient Egypt, like obelisks, hieroglyphs, the sphinx, and pyramids, in many different objects. These symbols appeared in furniture, buildings, pottery, and silver items, offering a unique look compared to other styles of the time.

Interest in this style grew after Napoleon's trip to Egypt and the publication of the findings from that journey. It inspired many creative designs, from special furniture to decorated tea sets, showing how ancient Egyptian culture continued to influence art.