Egyptian Art and Architecture

I

Introduction

Egyptian Art and Architecture, the buildings, sculpture, painting, and decorative arts of ancient Egypt from about 5000 bc to the conquest of Egypt by Rome in 30 bc.

Today, we look at Egyptian art primarily in museums or in books. For the Egyptians, however, the objects now regarded as art were made to serve a particular purpose, usually a religious one. For example, temples were decorated with paintings and filled with statues of gods and kings in the belief that doing this served the gods, showed devotion to the king, and maintained the order of the universe. The Egyptians wore jewelry and amulets (charms) not only as decoration, but because they believed these items protected them against harm. They buried their dead with jewelry and amulets for the same reason: to protect against the perils of the afterlife.

Most Egyptians never saw the art that is now displayed in museums, because only kings and members of the ruling elite were allowed to enter temples, tombs, and palaces. But the Egyptians had in mind another audience for their art: the gods and, for the art in tombs, the spirits of people who had died.

Artists in ancient Egypt joined workshops and worked in teams to produce what their patrons—the king and the elite—needed. For this reason, few works can be attributed to individuals. Religious beliefs largely dictated what artists created, especially the paintings and statues that filled Egyptian temples and tombs. Artists endlessly repeated the same themes and subjects, changing them only when beliefs changed. (A rare change came around 1350 bc, for example, when the sun god Aton gained more prominence than ever before.) The style of depicting these themes and subjects, by contrast, changed from one generation of artists and patrons to the next. For example, during the 18th dynasty (1550-1307 bc) there was a shift from painting the human figure in a rather stiff and rigid posture to using curved lines and varied poses. But most of the changes were more subtle.

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II

Predynastic Egypt (5000-3000 bc)

Scholars divide Egyptian history into dynasties. The Dynastic period began around 3000 bc when lands along the Nile River were united under one ruler. From about 5000 bc until 3000 bc, a time known as the Predynastic period, Egypt was not a unified nation. Different groups ruled over different parts of the land. As time passed, however, these groups were incorporated into larger political units, until a single state was formed around 3000 bc. At the same time, the culture of the south expanded northward, gradually replacing northern cultures to produce cultural unity.

The Egyptians began creating art early in the Predynastic period, using materials such as bones, clay, stone, and the ivory teeth of hippopotamuses. They made figurines of animals, birds, and human beings, and decorated the tops of hair combs and pins with carved birds and animals. Stone palettes used for grinding minerals for eye paint took the shape of birds, turtles, and fish.

Pottery also was decorated in the early Predynastic period, typically with geometric or animal designs painted in white on a red background. Later in the period, designs appeared in red on a yellowish background. The designs included flamingos, horned animals, human figures, plants, wavy lines, and boats with oars. Most of this pottery has been found in cemeteries, and it may have been made specifically for use in funerals.

Cups, bowls, and other containers were made from a variety of stones and took advantage of natural patterns in the stone. Working stone was difficult and took some time, so stone containers became prized items. Lapis lazuli, carnelian, garnet, and other stones were made into beads for necklaces and bracelets, as were gold, copper, and silver.

III

Dynastic Egypt (3000-30 bc)

The Dynastic period of Egyptian history began about 3000 bc with the formation of an Egyptian state that extended roughly 800 km (500 mi) from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to what is called the First Cataract—the first major section of rapids on the Nile River at Aswān in the south. This state was ruled by a king whose main duties were to act as an intermediary between the gods and humanity and to uphold the correct order of the universe by overcoming the forces of chaos. The king governed the country through a small group of educated male officials. Together with their families, they formed an elite group making up about 5 percent of the population. Almost everyone else provided services for the elite or worked the land. All surviving ancient Egyptian art and architecture relates to the king and the elite, and scholars know virtually nothing about art produced for the rest of society.

Egyptologists (people who study ancient Egypt) have grouped Egypt's dynasties into an Early Dynastic period (1st to 3rd dynasties), an Old Kingdom (4th to 8th dynasties), a Middle Kingdom (11th to 14th dynasties), a New Kingdom (18th to 20th dynasties), and a Late Period (25th to 30th dynasties). Dynasties between these groupings represent periods when central government broke down and the state split into smaller units. Egyptologists based their divisions on the work of an Egyptian priest named Manetho, who wrote in Greek in the 3rd century bc.

In 332 bc Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conquered Egypt. In 305 bc Alexander's general Ptolemy became king of Egypt, and for almost 300 years his descendants, the Ptolemies, ruled Egypt. Although Ptolemy was Macedonian by birth and his descendents remained tied to Greek culture, the Ptolemies also oversaw one of the greatest periods of building and decorating temples in Egypt. The Ptolemies did so to win acceptance for their rule from their Egyptian subjects. The Ptolemaic dynasty ended when Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, committed suicide after the Romans defeated her forces at the Battle of Actium in 31 bc. The Roman victory marked the end of ancient Egypt as an independent power. This article discusses Egyptian art and architecture only until this point.

A

Architecture

The most important buildings in ancient Egypt were temples, tombs, and palaces. Temples housed rituals for the worship of the gods. Tombs served as the burial locations for the king and the elite. The king lived in the palaces, where he performed governmental and religious duties. Because many cities, towns, and villages in Egypt today occupy the sites of ancient palaces and surrounding settlements, these buildings disappeared over the years as new buildings went up. By contrast, many ancient Egyptian temples and tombs have survived because they were located in the desert, or at the edge of the desert, where few people lived and little construction occurred.

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