ART 187History of Western Art: Prehistoric to Gothic

Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt:Introduction

Menkaure c. 2490-2472 BCE Ptolemy I c. 305-283 BCE

Why begin our considerations of the ancient west with Egypt?4,500 years of cultural and artistic continuity

An unbroken continuous language of images and symbolic themes

Pre-Dynastic Egypt Middle Kingdom

c. 8000-3000 BCE c. 1975-1640 BCENeolithic and Early Kingdoms Dynasties XI-XIII

Early Dynastic Egypt Reunification of the state c. 3100-2575 BCE 2nd Intermediate Period

Dynasties I-III c. 1640-1550 BCEFormation of the state Hyksos and satellite kings

Old Kingdom New Kingdomc. 2575-2150 BCE c. 1539-1070 BCEDynasties IV-VII Dynasties XVIII-XXAge of the Pyramids Empire

1st Intermediate Period 3rd Intermediate and Late Periodsc. 2150-2040 c. 1075-332 BCEEphemeral Dynasties Dynasties XXI-XXXBreakdown of the unified state Ephemeral Dynasties, dissolution

and invasions

The World of the Nile River“Egypt is the Gift of the Nile” -HerodotusSupplemental Reading: “Hymn of the Nile”

Direction of flow of the Nile River

Akhet, the inundation season from mid-July to mid-November when the Nile waters flooded the valley farmlands and deposited

nutrients from upstream into the worked soil.

Red Land, the desert

Black Land, the fertile valley

North

Hunters and Herdsmen in the great grasslands of the Sahara, rock painting at Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria c. 6000 BCE

Nabata Playa, Egypt, c. 7000 BCEStone Circle, c. 4000 BCE(oriented to the cardinal points of the compass and the summer solstice)Site is associated with cattle burials

grinding stone for cereals, c. 5000 BCETassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria Nabata Playa, Egypt

Africa

With the drying of the Sahara grasslands, the people who will become the ancient Egyptians move to the eastern oases and the Nile river valley, bearing with them, their gods and symbols of pastoralism

Nile River

Symbols of the life and values of the pastoralist:Cows – fertility, nourishment, motherhood and female valuesBulls – strength, leadership, fatherhood and male valuesSun and Sky – ruling symbols of the cosmos and orderHunting/warfare – protection of the community and herdsHawk – all-seeing protector

New symbols with the entrance into the Nile valley:River – the symbol of passage and travel; the shape of the worldBoat – the vehicle of passage, even between worldsFlood – gift of fertility from the RiverCrook and Flail - tools of the herdsman and farmer

Wall painting from Tomb 100, Hierakonpolis (Nekhen), Upper Egypt, c. 3500-3200 BCE

The historical dynamic of Egypt is best understood as thetension between the different regions along the Nile river and the Egyptian’s existential need for a unified state.

The 2 power centers of Ancient Egypt

Hapy(i) God of the Nile (not the river, but the flood) and Fertility

Union is symbolized by the tying together of the “two lands” of Egypt.The unity of the State was seen as essential to the well-being of the people

of Egypt. One of the responsibilities of the gods and the ruler was to maintainthis unity and as a consequence, maintain the order of the world.

Papyrus, symbol of Lower Egypt (delta)

Lily, symbol of

Upper Egypt (Nile valley)

3-8 Ka Statue of Khafre Enthroned,c. 2520-2494 BCE,

Dynasty IV

The maintenance of unity is the fundamental responsibility of the king.

The reconciliation of the two great royal antagonists in mythology, Horus and Set is situated in the necessity of a

unified state….The king sits upon a throne supported by the symbol of unity and is protected by Horus.

Horus: The god-king, then protector

of the king and symbol of rulership

Horus Set

Even a decorative motif borrowed from Mesopotamia to the east, becomes a symbol of unification in this early visual statement about

the creation of one state!p.52 Palette of Narmer, from Hierakonpolis (Nekhen)Early Dynastic Period, c. 2950 BCE

Cylinder Seal from Uruk, Mesopotamia,c. 3000 BCE