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Chapter 3Pharaohs and the Afterlife:

The Art of Ancient Egypt

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 12e

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NOTES QUIZ 10-8

In paragraph form, discuss the 3 cultures of the last 3 chapters: Mesopotamian/Egyptian and Aegean in terms of the way their art functions in their societies. You may sight 3 specific examples that you think are good representations of the art of each culture and BE SPECIFIC about how each piece uniquely functions to serve the concerns of that unique society (hint: reference social/political or religious practices and themes).

CycladicHelladic

Labyrinth

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Vocabulary for Minoans:

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Ancient Egypt

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Ancient Agean

6Figure 3-2 Palette of King Narmer (left, back; right, front), from Hierakonpolis, Egypt, Predynastic, ca. 3000–2920 BCE. Slate, approx. 2’ 1” high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

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“Harpist” Sometime in the late 3rdmilleniumBCE(the 2000s) Made of marble and only 8.5” high

About 1000 years later…..

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Nude Female buried with the dead…Flat wedge-shaped bodyColumn-like neck/Oval face/Long noseA shift away from the fertility goddess?Large figures cult offerings to female divinitySmaller ones displayed in household shrines/votive offerings?Present for diety beyond the grave/provision in the afterlife?

Portrait statue found in temples and tombsHorus enfolds the head with wingsSystematic approach to sculptingBody idealized/face suggest individualRigid, peaceful, eternalForm linked to power/authority/eternity

Figure 4-1 Figurine of a woman, from Syros (Cyclades), Greece, ca. 2500–2300 BCE. Marble, approx. 1’ 6” high. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Compare to…

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Palace at Knossos 1700 BCE

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Palace at Knossos

Home of King Minos (believed to be)Rambling, organized plan of 1500 rooms linked by narrow hallways: origin of the word: labyrinthRumors of ritual sacrifice here…Extremely well-engineered for stability…

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Chief Minoan Diety femaleLarge eyes-Meopotamian influence?Snakes associated with male fertility-breasts with female fertility figure (not quite a full tall-used in religious ritual?)

A portrait bust to glorify an individualBeauty displayed in perfect symmetryThutmose was the artist-he had his ownStyle and is credited as being the first Artist known to have one recognized by history

Figure 4-14 Snake Goddess, from the palace at Knossos (Crete), Greece, ca. 1600 BCE. Faience, approx. 1’ 1 1/2” high. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion.

Compare to….

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Inheritance from earlier periods-but wet fresco instead of dry!

Figure 4-6 Minoan woman or goddess (La Parisienne), from the palace at Knossos (Crete), Greece, ca. 1450–1400 BCE. Fragment of a fresco, approx. 10” high. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion.

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And…..

Figure 3-22 Hatshepsut with offering jars, from the upper court of her mortuary temple, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, ca. 1473–1458 BCE. Red granite, approx. 8’ 6” high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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These figures are full ofVitality and movement…Highly decorative surface-But meant to reference a Ritual by means of writtenWord and narrative content.Also served as provisionsFor earthly pleasures in The afterlife…

Exquisite decorative flat formsShow Egyptian influence-Stylized but lively –not frozen-Here nature is depicted for itsOwn sake…

Figure 4-9 Landscape with swallows (Spring Fresco), from Room Delta 2, Akrotiri, Thera (Cyclades), Greece, ca. 1650 BCE. Fresco, approx. 7’ 6” high. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

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No thanks to static composition-the Harvester Vase is nothing but form in motion….This was a vessel used for pouring liquid during a sacred ceremony….may have covered in hammered gold!Here the rhythm trumps descriptive clarity-the work seems to be about joy and movement as much as it is about the narrative quality of the event:How is the human body depicted here? What seems to the primary purpose and function of the form here?

Male and female bodies descriptive here: Descriptive of status as well and adheres toEgyptian canon-not sculpted from life-insteadNO emotion or movement-images show permanent youth/-Canon at work: body 4 shoulders long/-Women are one fist Narrower than men….she does not touch him in an Emotional gesture-rather to show their connection and her staus By comparison….

Figure 4-13 Harvester Vase, from Hagia Triada (Crete), Greece, ca. 1500 BCE. Steatite, greatest diameter approx. 5”. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Overall view, with harvester looking over his shoulder

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Figure 4-11 Marine Style octopus jar, from Palaikastro (Crete), Greece, ca. 1500 BCE. Approx. 11” high. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion.

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Fowling Scene 1350BCE (New Kingdom)

Bull-leaping, from the palace at Knossos (Crete), Greece, ca. 1450–1400 BCE. Fresco, approx. 2’ 8” high, including border. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion.

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