egypt! - mr. d's art site€¦ · the book of the dead is an ancient egyptian funerary text,...

EGYPT!

Mr. “D”

Studio in Art

Week 3

Dazzlying & Fantastic

Out of the desert, one of mankind’s greatest cultures emerged nearly 5,000 years ago.

Its artistic richness and sophistication was like nothing that had come before it.

Gods & Goddesses

For all ancient people, the world was filled with mystery. Much of what they experienced in the world around them was unknowable and frightening. The Egyptian gods and goddesses represented aspects of the Egyptians’ natural and “supernatural” surroundings and helped them understand its many aspects.

Osiris

Osiris was originally a vegetation god linked with the growth of crops. He was the mythological first king of Egypt and it was thought that he brought civilization to mankind. He was murdered by his brother Seth, brought back to life by his wife Isis, and went on to become the ruler of the underworld and judge of the dead.

He is usually depicted as a mummy holding the crook and flail of kingship. On his head he wears the white crown of Upper Egypt flanked by two plumes of feathers. Sometimes he is shown with the horns of a ram. His skin is depicted as blue, the color of the dead; black, the color of the fertile earth; or green, representing resurrection.

Osiris (with Anubis & Horus)

Isis

A very important figure in the ancient world, Isis was the wife of Osiris. She was associated with funeral rites and said to have made the first mummy from the dismembered parts of Osiris. As the enchantress who resurrected Osiris and gave birth to Horus, she was also the giver of life, a healer and protector of kings.

Isis is represented with a throne on her head and sometimes shown breastfeeding the infant Horus. In this manifestation she was known as “Mother of God.” To the Egyptians she represented the ideal wife and mother; loving, devoted, and caring.

Isis

Seth

Seth was the evil brother of Osiris. He was the god of darkness, chaos, and confusion, and is represented as a man with an unknown animal head. He is sometimes depicted as a hippopotamus, a pig, or a donkey. Seth murdered his brother and usurped his throne. Most other gods despised him.

Seth was defeated by Horus, but their battle was an eternal struggle between good and evil. Although Seth failed to keep the throne of Egypt he continued to be a companion of Ra. He sometimes accompanied Ra across the sky in his solar boat, causing storms and bad weather

Seth

Ra- The Sun God

All forms of life were believed to have been created by Ra, who called each of them into existence by speaking their secret names. Alternatively man was created from Ra's tears and sweat, hence the Egyptians call themselves the "Cattle of Ra." In the myth of the Celestial Cow it is recounted how mankind plotted against Ra and how he sent his eye as the goddess of Sekhmet to punish them. When she became bloodthirsty, she was pacified by drinking beer mixed with red dye.

Ra

Pyramids!

Stand over 11 stories high and was the tallest structure in the world until modern skyscrapers 4,500 years later

Tools used to build the pyramids and builder in action

Man Power

Hieroglyphics (the first writing)

Ankh shaped mirror case

The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE.[1] The original Egyptian name for the text, is translated as Book of Coming Forth by Day.[3] Another translation would be Book of Emerging Forth into the Light. "Book" is the closest term to describe the loose collection of texts[4] consisting of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person's journey through the underworld, and into the afterlife.

Hieroglyphics: Book of the Dead

In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name

Wall-Relief (Frieze) at Karnak

Color

Egyptian Blue is one of the first artificial pigments known to have been used by man. First created around 5,000 years ago by heating a mixture of a calcium compound, a copper-containing compound, silica sand and soda or potash to around 850-950 C. In Egyptian belief, blue was considered the color of the heavens, and hence the universe. It was also associated with water and the Nile.

Valley of the Kings Tomb

Temple Complex

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut 1,480 BC

Colossal Statues (Ramses II)

Columns Creating a Colonnade at Karnak

Karnak

Luxor

Luxor (with Obelisk)

Temple of Dendur (NY Met)

King Tutankhamun

• The boy king/pharaoh who died at 18

• His nearly intact tomb was discovered by Howard Carter and George Herbert in 1922 who were on an expedition funded by the British Museum– Launched world-wide media frenzy

• Mystery still surrounds his early death

Howard Carter and associates opening the shrine doors in theburial chamber (1924 recon-struction of the the 1923 event).

Tut’s Treasure

Stone (outermost) Sarcophagus

Three nested coffins inside the stone

Sarcophagus

The Mummy

King Tut’s Death Mask

His throne

His Pectoral

Board Game