ART 127
,s.. i;.;;,;,,,i;.,i.,":f*i #f.: :o.*g,,.;#*::ji# z{ /:'.:':t:!:,tt}i fri:"lpi 'i.
with the epithet "Daughter of Re." It has been proposed
that Rettawy is an epithet of Tjenenyet, but those two god-
desses have been porlrayed together in the same context,
whereas Rettawy and Iunyt have not.
In the reign of Nektanebo II (360-343 ecE), the Buchis
bulls, sacred to the cult of Montu at Armant, were buried
for the next 650 years in the Bucheum, built at the desert's
edge 6 kilometers (4 miles) west of the city. The mummi-
fied "Mother of Buchis" cows were interred 400 meters
(about 1300 feet) north of the Bucheum.
lSee also Montu.l
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Eggebrecht, Arne, "Armant." ln Lexikon iler Agyptologie, l:435441.
Wiesbaden, 1975. Scholarly essay in German, with extensive refer-
ences.
Mond, Robert, and Oliver H. Myers. Tbmples of Armant. London,
1940. Report by the principal excavators of the site under the aus-
pices of the Egypt Exploration Society.
Portet Bertha, and Rosalind L. B. Moss. Topographical Bibtiography
of Ancient Egtptian Hieroglyphic Terts, Reliefs and Paintings, ,rol. 5,
Upper Egypt: Slres. Oxford, 1937. The site of Armant is covered on
i
it
pp.151-160.
'r,*
EDWARD K. WERNER
ART. The ancient Egyptians "depicted in their temples
t:hat was beautiful and how it was beautiful .. . it had
long been recognized that the arts must be of the highest
quality," wrote Hekataois of Miletos some twenty-five hun-
dred years ago. In fact, "beautiful, appealing, or of more
than ordinary significance," one dictionary's definition of
art, aptly describes much of the sculpture, relief, painting,
and small objects of daily life that were produced for
more than three millennia of Eglptian culture. For its aes-
thetic appeal, monumentality, spirituality, and political
message, it was not only revered and copied in its own
time by its own people, but it also provided a philosophi-
cal and practical foundation for later Western art.
Sources and Function. Like many other ancient cul-
tures, the Eglptians created what the modern world ad-
mires as art for practical purposes-for worship, for daily
use, or to serve for eternity, The vast majority of Egyptian
aftists'works were never meant to be seen; royal and pri-
vate tombs, sealed and inaccessible after burial, have pro-
vided scholars the greatest source of their art. Because a
tomb functioned both as an abstract reproduction of a
house on earth and a stage for the mortuary rites that
guaranteed eternal life, scenes ofritual and dailylife were
carued or painted on tomb walls. In addition, statuary of
the deceased and his family were produced in his (or her)
likeness as substitute bodies and homes for the soul, and
the tombs were equipped with this life's pleasures and ne-
cessities for the afterlife. All were brought to life, magi-
cally, tirough the Openingof the Mouthceremony. The cre-
{-;sf?;;,.,"; "1_l#a?f .
ation of funerary items, which were of the highest quality
the owner could afford, became a veritable industry.
The gods of Egypt also required their own houses for
eternity-the temples-and these form the secondJargest
source of art. Reliefs on temple walls portrayed the magi-
cal rites that took place within and depicted the temple's
riches. The most sacred object in a temple was its cult
statue, namely the image of the deity to whom the temple
was dedicated; often in precious metal, it was housed in-
side the temple's inner sanctuary and served as the focus
of worship. Statues of kings and, to a lesser extent, private
individuals were also placed inside temples to guarantee
an owner's eternal presence before the gods and to insure
that they received a share of the gods' wealth. All this art
was largely inaccessible to Eglpt's multitudes, because
the general public was not permitted beyond a temple's
outer courtyard.
Domestic structures, both royal and private, are an ad-
ditional source of art; because they were built mainly of
mud bricks, relatively little is left. Palace remains, best
preserved at Tell el-Amarna, featured walls and floors lav-
ishly painted with scenes from nature and daily life. Pri-
vate dwellings occasionally displayed brightly painted
border decorations or images of deities associated with
fertility and household protection. Few objects not strictly
utilitarian have been found in houses, probably because
prized possessions became part of the ownert tomb
equipment or were passed along to descendants.
Artists. The needs of temples, tombs, and houses kept
ancient Egyptian artists in demand. Although their monu-
ments and written records show they enjoyed a comfort-
able lifestyle and were well treated, relatively few are
known by name. Even more rarely can a specific artist be
associated with his work (and art was men's work; women
do not seem to have been employed in that area). In fact,
more than one artist was likely to have worked on any
given statue or relief, with each responsible for a different
aspect, such as rough cutting, fine detailing, or polishing.
Groups of artists worked together in workshops, which
were generally affiliated with temples, palaces, or estates
of wealthy landowners. Eglptian art was functional, and
although it was intended to be pleasing to the eye, as an-
cient Greek writers asserted, the concept of "art for artt
sake" really did not exist; nor was there a word for "art"
in ancient Eg1pt. With relatively few exceptions, the indi-
viduality of both the artist and his product were coin-
cidental. Artists, including sculptors, outline draftsmen,
and painters were regarded as technicians, who were in-
structed to follow very specific rules, known as the canon
of proportion. According to the canon, throughout most
of Egyptian history the human body was divided into
eighteen equal units, and each body part was on or near
a specific unit. [See Grid Systems.] In this way, the human
128 ART
body was reproduced in the same manner regardless of
its size or maker; a specific figure rendered in small scale
on papyrus or on a fragment of limestone could thereby
be enlarged to fill a temple or tomb wall' The canon also
imparted a specific look to things Eglptian, one that
changed little through the dynasties.
To date, the richest source of inforrnation about sculp-
tors' studios comes from Akhenaten's city of Akhetaten
(TeIl el-Amarna), which yielded several. Both masters and
apprentices lived and worked in the same structures,
which were composed of small rooms grouped around
courfyards. Separate areas seem to have been reserved
for those working in the various mediums' Some spaces
within workshops served for storage and the viewing of
finished products.
Seldom was a statue an accurateportrai! ratheq, it pro-
vided an ideal image of the way its owner wished to be
remembered for eternity, regardless of actual age or ap-
pearance. Individuality and identity were provided by
the name incised or painted on the base or back pillar-
thereby a new owne4 whether king or commoneq, might
claim a statue, tomb, or temple simply by changing the
name on it. "Usurpation," as this practice was called, be-
gan as early as the Old Kingdom.
Materials. The permanence of stone made it a favored
material for sculpture; limestone, sandstone, and granite'
all easily accessible in quarries close to the Nile Rivel
were the stones most commonly used' Others, including
quartzite, diorite, basalt, and anhydrite were less plentiful
and iess accessible but desirable because of their colot'
hardness, or the high gloss achieved when polished'
their
Color and rarity also made some semiprecious stones ap-
(violet)'
pealing, such as turquoise (green-blue), amethyst
(deep blue). These were imported from
and lapis lazuli
respectively' and were
the Sinai, Nubia, and Afghanistan,
jewelry and weaponry'
used primarily as inlays for royal
Some of Egypt's most sensitively modeled sculptures
were of wood. How common wood sculpture was remains
unclear; much of it has not survived, because of suscep-
tibility to insects and dry rot. Local woods were soft and
insubstantial; the best woods for sculpture-ceda{' yew
and ebony-were imported from sub-Saharan Africa and
the Levant.
Although metal sculpture was relatively uncommon
prior to the Late period, the few surviving pieces indi'cate
ihat the Eglptians were superb metalsmiths' As early
as
were made
the Old fi"gao*, life-size and lifelike statues
of copper that was hammered over a core' Hollow-casting
during the Middle Kingdom produced
of
"opp"r-bronze
masterworks with portraitlike qualities' Large-
,..rlplu.ul
."u1", hoilo*-cast bronzes became a high point of Third
Intermediate Period sculpture; by the Late period' small-
pro-
scale bronzes, particularly of deities, were mass
duced. A few statues of gods made out of precious metal
(gold and silver) are known; most likely, they were cult
statues. Gold and silver were also used in jewelry.
Pred5mastic Art. Many of the principles that define
Egyptian art evolved during its formative years and, as
previously noted, remained largely unchanged for more
than three millennia. One of these qualities was the ability
and the desire on the part of the artists, from the very
beginnings of Egyptian culture in the fourth millennium
BcE, to transform something utilitarian into an object of
beauty, such as the pottery or cosmetic articles placed in
the graves of the early Predynastic period, where simple
shapes or surfaces had often been embellished for no ap-
parent reason other than to make them more attractive'
From the Naqada I (4000-3500 ncr) period, for example,
gracefully shaped bowls and beakers, handmade by the
coil method, were coated with a red slip, burnished, and
then further enhanced with white paint. The painted dec-
oration, usually consisting of parallel lines, might feature
simple geometric shapes, depictions of vegetation, entire
landscapes, or narrative scenes. In all such representa-
tions, the meaning was conveyed in the most succinct
manner possible, a quality that would continue into dy-
nastic times.
Particularly in the early representation of animals and
humans, those elements and aspects considered critical
were always rendered, although function often took pre-
cedence over accuracy, as may be clearly seen in a Naqada
I period bowl. There, three hippopotamuses, with bodies
,ho*r, in profile, swim between a central pool and a
mountain range depicted in aerial perspective' Although
its profile identified the animal, its ability to function was
predicated on its having two eyes and two ears' all of
which were shown, but neither in proper profile nor in
appropriate positions. Rather, they were shown in a line
atop rh" head. A sense of whimsy was often apparent in
or
Naqada I cosmetic items, such as combs made of ivory
animal legs' the comb
bone; because the teeth mimicked
practi-
backs were carved in zoomorphic shapes' Hardly
the combs more sus-
cal, at times this practice rendered
ceptible to breakage.
(from the
Some of Egypt's earliest human sculpture
likewise shows the depic-
Neolithic and Badarian periods)
to their most basic
tion of essential aspects reduced
shapes. Simple cones and cylinders of clay joined together
form graceful, naturalistic torsos; facial features con-
sisting of no more than holes poked or pinched into clay
,,r".""d in conveying believable emotion' In somewhat
later human images (from the Naqada II period) natural-
ism gave way to abstraction as salient aspects-such
as
and
heads, hips, or sexual attributes-were emphasized'
re-
nonessential areas, including limbs and torsos' were
abstract quality
duced to mere suggestions. That very

Obverse.
ART. Drawing of the Narmer Palette, a slate palette from the first dynasty. The obverse depicts
King Narmer smiting an enemy, while on the reverse the king inspects decapitated enemies.
*haracterized Eglpt's first known colossal images of the
fertility god Min, the largest of which was originally well
sver 2 meters (6.5 feet) high. The torso and legs were re-
aiuced to stone rylinders, and hands carved in low relief
earbraie a large phallus made of another stone and in-
serted in place. Simple but powerful even in their dam-
aged state, the message of the Min sculptures was clear.
The end of the Predynastic period (Naqada II-[I
rirnes) was marked by an explosion of creativity, owing, in
part, to higher population, abundant food, greater social
organization, and increased specialization. Eg;rpt's trade
r,.-ith Nubia and the Near East brought in new ideas and
{!ew raw materials. In addition, familiar types of objects
ecguired new functions; for example, the slate palettes
*sed for grinding eye paint, which had been carved in
;imple geometric or zoomorphic shapes, were made
lsrger and more ornate, since the softness of slate made
:l: easy to work. On them, tentative beginnings of relief
eawing soon resulted in their surfaces covered completely
l'l,.ith animated humans, animals, and hybrids. Although
no longer useful for their original purpose, the symbolic
ART 129
Rcvecco.
nature of some of the representations and their discovery
in the temple precinct at Hierakonpolis suggest new rit-
ual significance.
Early Dynastic Art. The Narmer Palette, the most fa-
mous of the slate palettes, is not only an art historical
milestone but also an important monument for the study
of Egyptian history religion, and language. Many of the
canons and principles that were to define Egyptian art for
the next three thousand years were expressed on it: for
example, readable scenes were organized on registers; the
most important person, King Narme4, was also the largest;
the main side featured a smiting scene, the same subject
that would dominate temple walls into the Roman period
(here, Narmer's upraised right arm grasped a mace and
his Ieft held a kneeling captive by the hair-although
the next action was cleal what is represented captured
for eternity the moment before the mace crashed down).
Rarely was Egyptian art violent, although the prelude and
aftermath of violence were frequent subjects, particularly
on temple walls. Postaction violence was shown on the
reverse side of the Narmer Palette, where Narmer's decap-
I3O ART
itated and bound enemies were shown with their heads
between their legs.
King Narmer's representation exemplified the standard
for the depiction of human figures in relief. Profile and
frontal views were combined so that the most characteris-
tic aspect of each feature was represented. Narmer faced
right, the dominant orientation, and his left foot was for-
ward, thereby conveying a sense! of stability and forward
motion. Only those details that were considered essential,
such as the bulging muscles of the legs and forearms that
advertised the king's strength, were included. Although
composed before the aid of the later eighteen-square
canon (grid system), Narmer's body proportions were ren-
dered close to those that employed it. Narmer wore the
standard attributes of kingship, including the tall, conical
crown of Upper Egypt (Nile Valley) on the main side and
the flat-topped crown of Lower Egypt (Delta) on the re-
verse. In addition, he wore an artificial beard and a bull's
tail hanging from his belt. The tail represents an example
of the incorporation of animal attributes into the office
of kingship; here, the unbridled power of the bull, sym-
bolized by its tail, is equated with royalty. On the reverse
of the palette, a bull representing the king breaks into a
walled enclosure and subdues an enemy just as the hu-
man king on the obverse overcomes a captive. The falcon,
also identified with kingship because of its domination of
the sky, syrnbolically conquers the North, by hooking the
nose of a human face that is emerging from a plant that
grows in the Nile Delta.
Early Dynastic sculpture shows that the artists
struggled to liberate human and animal forms from a
stone matrix. The body was often little more than a cubic
mass with limbs closely adhering. Emphasis was placed
on the head or facial features by making them dispropor-
tionately large. Because it was vulnerable to breakage, the
neck was reduced in size and strengthened by means of a
heavy wig, crown, or headdress. The results of those naive
attempts are often powerful but haunting.
Old tr(ngdom. The explosion of monumental stone ar-
chitecture during the Pyramid Age and the evolution of
religious thought was accompanied by an increased de-
mand for sculpture. Life-size and larger images of fourth
dynasty kings and queens furnished mortuary temples.
Brought to life by means of the Opening of the Mouth
ceremony, they served as eternal recipients of the royal
cults; they also housed the ka {life force) and other aspects
of the soul of the deceased. In these royal statues, best
preserved from the pyramid precincts of Khafre and Men-
kaure, the Egyptian ideal for sculpture in the round was
first perfected.
A sculpture of Menkaure, beside a queen from the
king's valley temple, embodies this ideal. Immobile and
impassive, the king stands with his left foot forward and
hands at his sides. Beside him, the queen places her arm
around his waist, a gesture of association, but one that
conveys no emotional attachment; faces gaze directly
ahead betraying no feelings. Both figures show the Egyp-
tian ideal body form, similar to that seen in relief on the
Narmer Palette. Menkaure's broad shoulders taper to a
trim waist and muscular legs; his pectoral muscles give
definition to an otherwise taut expanse of chest. The fe-
male has smaller shoulders, modest breasts, a narrow
waist, and small hips. The absence of fat on her body is
so pronounced that, despite a sheath dress, her ribs, na-
vel, and pubic triangle are visible. Regardless of their ac-
tual ages or true appearance at the time the statue was
made, that was the way they, as well as subsequent kings
and commoners, generally chose to be represented for
eternity. Other statues from the same complex show the
king in the company of anthropomorphic deities, both
male and female. King and gods share not only the same
body form but also the same facial features, thereby em-
phasizing the divine nature of kingship.
The Great Sphinx at Giza, the largest of a statue type
that was originated in the fourth dynasty and was contin-
ued into the Roman period, exemplifies another aspect of
the divinity of the royal office. By combining the head of
the reigning monarch with the massive and powerfi.rl
body of a lion, Iater associated with the sun god, the king
sent a message of his invincibility. The sphinx form also
illustrates the Egyptian fondness for combining anthro-
pomorphic and zoomorphic attributes in the same sculp-
ture, another tradition that would endure for millennia.
For their tombs, often constructed near the royal tomb
by permission of the king, Old Kingdom high court offi-
cials also required statuary. The most common form of
private statue also showed its male owner standing with
left foot forward or he might be seated. Statuary of
women from the Old Kingdom was more rare. A group
statue, howeve4 might include the tomb owner's wife or
wife and children, often on a scale much smaller than re-
ality. Occasionally, the same person was shown more than
once in the same group statue (pseudo-group), but wear-
ing a different garment or holding different titles. Private
sculpture was similar to royal sculpture in that it repre-
sented an idealized likeness of its ownel rather than a
true-tolife picture, and facial features copied those of the
king. With few exceptions, the name written on a statue,
rather than its portraitlike details, gave it an identity and
individuality.
Although most Old Kingdom private sculpture con-
formed to the standard youthful ideal, another type
showed the owner with a heavily jowled, mature face and
a torso marked with rolls of fat. Most likely, such an im-
age was one of prosperity and abundance, although it
might also have portrayed the actual appearance of the
owner-and in some cases they definitely did. Occasion-
ally, disabilities such as dwarfism or kyphosis (humpback)

were depicted in statuary. For example, the statue of a
dwarf was discovered in a tomb at Giza, and the owner's
anatomical remains confirrned his dwarfism.
Relief decoration offered tremendous opportunities for
afiistic expression during the Old Kingdom. Reliefs in
tombs expanded from simple fourth dynasty depictions of
the deceased at his funerary meal to more than thirty
rooms covered with idealized scenes from the owner's life
and the activities of his estate by the sixth dynasty. Some
subjects, such as the owner fishing and fowling, not only
reflected important daily activities, but also symbolically
showed his mastery over malevolent forces. Although a
standard theme near the entryway of every large tomb, it
still afforded the artist room for individual creativity. For
example, the cycle of life and death was nowhere better
reflected than in the fishing scene in the tomb of Vizier
Mereruka, where beneath the Nile waters a hippopotamus
gave birth into tle waiting jaws of a crocodile. Fish were
so accurbtely depicted that not only their genus but also
their species may be identified.
In the inner rooms of the mastaba tomb, where narrow
registers feature workmen engaged in food production or
crafts, active poses provided a stark contrast to the stiff
formality of the tomb owner who was shown on a much
iarger scale. Although multiple figures engaged in the
same activity were often shown in the same pose and even
rhythmically overlapping, depth and perspective were
lacking. When the standard combination of profile and
frontal view proved inadequate, artists creatively folded
the body inward at the shoulder into the appropriate posi-
tion; that allowed them to abide by the rules but often
produced awkward results. Frontality was avoided at all
costs, and true profiles were used only when statues were
depicted.
Although most sculpture and relief was brightlypainted,
time and changing climatic conditions have caused much
ART 131
ART. It?o red-breasted geese, fourth dynasty.
Part of a painted plaster panel from the tomb
of Nefermat and Atet, from Meidum, now in
the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (Giraudon /Arr
Resource, NY)
of the color to fade or disappear. Tantalizing traces show a
rich palette of natural earth tones and a fondness for intri-
cate interior detail in contrasting colors. Toward the end of
the Old Kingdom, a number of tombs were only painted
and not carved in relief. Many displayed the spindly limbs
and overall awkwardness that marked the era's end.
First Intermediate Period. With the decline in central
authority at the end of the Old Kingdom, royal sponsor-
ship of art in the capital declined. Power reverted to the
nomes (provinces), and nomarchs commissioned local
artists to paint, or carve reliefs, and sculpt for their tombs.
Attempts to copy earlier models often resulted in ill-
proportioned, often humorous imitations. In time, local
styles developed, particularly in Dendera, Naga ed-Dei4,
Gebelein, and Saqqara. At some of those sites, the entire
decorative program of the tomb was reduced to what
could fit on a single stela.
Middle Kingdom. With the reunification of the coun-
try in the eleventh dynasty, royal sponsorship of schools
of sculpture and relief resumed as the necessary adjunct
to the large-scale building projects in the new capital,
Thebes. Artists once again gained access to earlier models
and, within a few decades, succeeded in mimicking them
so well, particularly in relief, that at times it is difficult
for Egyptologists to differentiate between certain Old and
Middle Kingdom works. Sculpture in the round of the
eleventh dynasty exhibited a heavy', brutal quality; that
soon gave way to the earliet idealizing, youthful forms
during the early twelfth dynasty, when the capital was
moved back North. The deliberate copying of Old King-
dom models was, in part, the result of a direct attempt
by the rulers to promote themselves as legitimate heirs of
earlier kings and to recapture their absolute power.
Middle Kingdom proliferation of temples throughout
Egypt, and particularly the increasing impodance of
Osiris, god of the netherworld, created a need for new
132 ART
ART. ftrory dancingdwa\es, Middle Kingdom. They are now on display in the Egyptian Museum,
Cairo. (Courtesy David P. Silverman)
types of statuary and relief. Royal sculptures appeared in
temple contexts for the first time on a large scale, and
there they provided reminders of the king's omnipresence,
powe6 and proximity to the gods. In the private realm,
the so-called block or cuboid statue-a representation of
the owne{, always male, seated with his knees to his chest
and his arms crossed-first appeared at the beginning of
the twelfth dynasty in tomb contexts. It soon became
temple sculpture par excellence, the smooth planes of the
compact body serving as ideal surfaces for inscribed
prayers of supplication. The increased number and size of
statues and stelae of women-by themselves, both royal
and nonroyal-may correspond with an increased visibil-
ity and importance of women in Egyptian society.
A major artistic upheaval accompanied governmental
reforms of the mid-twelfth dynasty, under King Senwos-
ret III. Beginning in the reign of his predecesso4 Senwos-
ret II, a subtle change became evident both in the royal
and nonroyal physiognomy, in both sculpture and relief'
Perhaps the timeless, eternally youthfuI face that was per-
fectly suited for the eternity of a tomb conveyed an in-
adequate message when brought outside into temple con-
texts; so a sternet more mature visage replaced it' The late
twelfth dynasty face was marked by deep furrows, heavily
lidded eyes sunken deep in their sockets, and a mouth
curved downward into a frown or projected outward in a
pout. The decline of royal power was paralleled by a de-
cline in the quality of royal sculpture and, by the thir-
teenth dynasty, much of the finest art was for the private
sphere.
Some of the most beautifully crafted, sophisticated,
and aesthetically pleasing of Egypt's minor arts date from
the Middle Kingdom. The exploitation of new mines and
the expansion of trade with Nubia, sub-saharan Africa,
and the Sinai brought Egypt exotic materials, such as
ivory ebony, amethyst, and turquoise, which skilled arti-
sans turned into cloisonn6 jewelry iniayed and veneered
furniture, or objects whose sole purpose may have been
for amusement. Three ivory dwarfs with upraised hands,
who danced when strings were pulled through their com-
munal base, still delight the observer. Not only was the
object clever but the details, ranging from chubby bowed
legs to ecstatic facial expressions, were superbly captured'
Second Intermediate Period. A weakened central
government at the end of the thirteenth dynasty collapsed
when the Near Eastern group, known as the Hyksos, en-
tered Egypt through the eastern Delta and took control'
The Hyksos are recognizable through their distinctive
burial customs, pottery types, and scarabs. Although they
added their names to many of their predecessors' monu-

ments, they are not known to have produced any of their
own. lSee Hyksos.l
New Kingdom. Native control of Egypt was reestab-
lished at the end of the seventeenth dynasty by a family
from Thebes, and again the arts began to flourish. Arti
sans at first produced statuary that copied great works of
earlier dlmasties, particularly those immediately available
to them. As a result, in Thebes the sculptures of Amen-
hotpe I, the first king of the eighteenth dynasty, were mod-
eled on the statuary of Senwosret I, a king of the twelfth
dlmasty, who had also built extensively in Thebes, Origi-
nal and copy were so similar that the two have been con-
fused.
For the first time, kings conquered and occupied terri-
tory beyond Egyptt borders. As the empire grew, wealth
ART 133
ART. Colossal statue of Akhenaten from Kamak,
eighteenth dynasty. It is now on exhibit in the Eglptian
Museum, Cairo. (Courtesy David P. Silverman)
increased through tribute and trade, and the demand for
monuments burgeoned. Soon, a distinctively New King-
dom style evolved. In the reign of Hatshepsut (IS0Z-1482
BcE), the queen and regent who ruled as an eighteenth
dynasty king, several hundred statues of the monarch in
various guises were commissioned for her funerary
temple at Deir el-Bahri alone. The majority portray her
with male attributes, including a muscular chest, kilt,
royal beard, and left-foot-forward pose; in a few she has
a feminine body and wears a sheath dress. Her sweet un-
lined face, arched eyes and brows, aquiline nose, and lips
drawn up in a slight smile then set the standard for later
New Kingdom rulers.
As the treasury profited from the new-found wealth of
the empire, kings added colossal statuary pylons, and
 134 ART

other auxiliary structures to Amun,s

temple at Karnak
and city that he established to honor Aten,
to other temples throughout the land-in called Akhetaten
a demonstra- (Tell el-Amarna), The emphasis
tion of devotion and a statement of power. on life in all its aspects
A growing bu_ gave rise to a new naturalism
reaucratic class also demanded sculpture in artistic representation.
for temples and The absence of images of the traditional
tombs, so private art proliferated, Individuals gods resulted in
commis- the creation of a whole new artistic lro"ub'rlury;
sioned innovative works to meet their the focus
specific needs. For was the royal family in its role as intermediary
example, although it would have been between
unseemly for a pri_ Aten and the populace. King and queen
vate individual to touch the pharaoh, were depicted in
Senenmut, Hatshep_ relaxed, intimate poses, playing with their
sut's architect and the tutor of her daughters, who
daughteq, did so cryi- eventually numbered six, or traveling
tically, by embracing a three_dimensiJnal rebus of his between palace and
temple in the state chariot in a panoply
monarch's name. fn other statuary,
Hatshepsut,s young of royal display.
Private sculpture was rare. Shortly after
daughter is shown on Senenmuts lap or A_khenaten,s
in his arms. Such death, during the reign of Tutankhamun,
close association between royalty and private the new city was
individuals abandoned and the old gods were restored
was seldom repeated. to prominence.
Artisans returned, for the most part, to
The New Kingdom was the great age the traditional,
of painting, a me- formal methods of figural representation, particularly
dium that found its most eloquent
in funerary those of deities and kings. A tendency
"*f,.".riorwails,
arts of all types, including palace andtomb toward greater nat_
coffins, uralism in the rendering of facial features,
and papyri. Through gradations of color and a baroque
or minute strokes attention to detail became part of Amarna,s artisticlegacy.
of the brush, paint lent itself to subtreties that
were un- Ramessid kings of the next two dlmasties
thinkable in relief or sculpture. A rich and defended
diverse reper_ Egypt's empire and depicted their military
tory of subjects challenged the rules of representation, exploits in pan_
oramic narratives on temple walls throughout
and artists met the challenge through experiments Egypt and
with Nubia, Temples were furnished, inside arid out,
innovative positions, use of space, emotion, with stat_
and perspec- uary of all sizes, particularly by Ramesses II ("the
tive, particularly in representations of servants Great,,).
or scenes What his artisans did not create, they usurped,
of daily life. by adding
Ramesses' name; at times, they ."r"ulpted earliei
In the course of Amenhotpe III's long and prosperous "u"r,
pieces in his image. private sculpture
reign of thirty-seven years, in both Egypt again proliferated,
and Nubia, he and innovative statue types and poses Jemonstrated
erected more temples and commissioneJ the
more and larger nelsgnal relationship between man and god.
statuary than any of his predecessors, much
of it in cele- Third Intermediate period. ExpresJons of personal
bration of his three jubilee festivals. Over the years,
his piety dominated the art of the Third Intermediate period,
image of himself changed, perhaps in conjunction
with possibly in response to governmental turmoil.
his increasing devotion to the sun god, Arc;. For Block stat_
the first ues with facial features reminiscent of the
time in Egyptian history and most likely during mid_eighteenth
the final dynasty were deposited in temples in record
years of his life, the king is shown in a less numbers,
than ideal and images of gods covered funerary equipment,
mannef, with pudgy cheeks, flaccid breasts, and pro_ includ_
a ing coffins, papyn, and stelae. The period is noteworthy
truding belly-decidedly overweight. Then all the
rules of for its unplundered twenty-first and twenty_second dy_
artistic representation were changed during the reign
of nasty royal tombs at Tanis, which contained a trove
his son and successo4, Amenhotpe fV whJ changed his of
jewelry made of gold and semiprecious
name to Akhenaten. His belief that the light of stones.
the sun, When Nubian kings.invaded in the twenty-fifth
Aten, was the world's sole god_who expressed dlmasty
himself and proclaimed themselves rightful heirs to the
only through the king and his wife Nefertiti_inspired Egyptian
a throne, they depicted themselves with pharaonic
social revolution and one reflected in artistic representa_ accou_
trements, augmented by distinctive Nubian trappings,
tion. In a series of colossal statues erected early in
his Those included a cap crown, adorned witth two
reign at Karnak, the image of Akhenaten transcended uraei
re- (coiled serpents) at the front and images
ality, to shock the viewer. A narrow and grossly of Amun, sym_
elongated bolized by the head of a ram at the shoulders and
face and facial features, an emaciated upper neck.
torso with a Round, compact faces with bolder features reflected
suggestion of breasts swelling into a pendant their
belly, and Nubian heritage.
voluptuous hips blured the distinction between man Late Period. The nationalism that accompanied the
and woman. His wife Nefertiti and their daughters
were expulsion of the Nubians and the return to native
shown in similar fashion, in the reliefs in temiles rule
built by found expression in the art of tJre twenty-sixth dSmasty.
the king at Karnak.
Both in sculpture and reliefs, there was a deliberate at_
The eccentricities of the new image lessened some_
tempt to copy the styles of earlier eras, particularly,
what after Akhenaten abandoned Thebes in favor but
of the not exclusively, the Old Kingdom, out of a desire
to iden_

tar. Wall-painting of the Seven Celestiat Cows and the Sacred BulI, nineteenth dynasty, tomb of
Nefertai, Valley of the Queens, Thebes. (Giratdon / Art Resource, NY)
tify with periods of Egypt's strength. The favored sculp-
ture types included block statues, which were deposited
i.n temples, or naophorous statues, which also demon-
strated the devotion between man and god. With a Greek
settlement at Naukratis and other foreign groups living
and trading in Egypts major cities and ports, the country
and its art were becoming increasingly cosmopolitan. Fre-
quent contact with Greece may have inspired Egyptian
aftists to experiment with more anatomically detailed
representations of the human face and body, which never-
theless still fell within traditional parameters. Highly pol-
ished, hard dark stones were a favored medium for such
The thirtieth dynasty, the last period of native
"qculptures.
rule, produced some of Egypt's finest and most sophisti-
cated works.
Ptolemaic Period. The dynasty founded by Alexander
ihe Great's general, Ptolemy, depicted its rulers in alterna-
tivel)' Egyptian or Greek style, with the appropriate ac-
coutrements; it also produced some of the best monumen-
tal architecture extant in Eglpt today. Although those
ART 135
buildings are Egyptian in style and content, the Hellenis-
tic Greek overlay is most apparent in the relief decoration,
which exhibits a bold, voluptuous modeling of the human
figure, both male and female. That body form was also
used in the contemporary sculpture, which, despite the
foreign rulers, maintained the same function and format
as it had in pharaonic times.
Roman Rule. Although traditional pharonic ideals
were maintained and the arts thrived during Ptolemaic
nrle, under the succeeding Roman control, support for
the arts diminished along with the general impover-
ishment of the country. The Roman emperors depicted
themselves in Egyptian garb in sculpture or as worship-
ping Eglptian gods on temples, but that diminished in
time. Private sculpture was comparatively rare. Perhaps
the best examples of the interrningling of Egyptian and
Roman ideals was attempted in the funerary arts; Roman
and Egyptian styles were juxtaposed but not combined in
paintings on tomb walls. Funerary masks, one of the most
traditional and long-lived of Egyptian art forms, exhibited
136 ARTISTS AND ARTISANS
either the most traditional of Egyptian imagery or classi-
cally attired figures, whose penetrating and direct gaze
forecast the finest of Bvzantine works.
fSee olso Archaistn; Arctutectrrre; Artists and. Artisarrs;
Beauty; Bronze; Bronze Statuettes; Calcite; Captions; Ce-
ramics; Color Symbolism; Diorite and Related Rocks; Fa-
ience; Gems; Gesture; Glass; Gold; Granite; Grid Systems;
Ivory; Jewelry; Limestone; Masks; Models; Painting; Pal-
ettes; Portraiture; Relief Sculpture; Royal Tomb Painting;
Silver; Sphinx; Vessels; and the composite article on Sculp-
ture.l
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aldred, C. Akhenaten an"d Nefeftifi. New York, 1973. Detailed analysis
ofart in the Amarna period for 1973 exhibition.
Aldred, C. Egyptian Aft: In the Days of the Pharaohs, 310U320 B.C.
New York, 1980. Very readable overview of stylistic development of
Egjptian art.
Arrrold, D. The Royal Women of Amanta: Images of Beauty from An-
cient Egpt. New York, 1996. Critical reexamination of Amarna
sculpture and relief.
Botlrme4, B. Y. Egyptian Sculpture of the Inte Period, New York, 1 960.
Pioneering attempt to analyze and date Egptian sculpture and re-
lief from the twenty-f,fth dynasty through Roman times.
Brovarski, E., S. Doll, and R. Freed, eds. Egtpt's Goden Age-The Art
of Living in the New Kingdom. Boston, 1982. Exhibition catalog of
Egypt's finest nonroyal minor arts of the New Kingdom; essays and
entries by multiple authors.
DAuria, S., P. Lacovara, and C. Roehrig. Mummizs anil Magic. Bos-
ton, 1988. Exhibition catalog about the art of burial; multiple au-
thors for entries and essays.
Donadbni Roveri, A. M. Egtptian Civilization-Daily Life, Religious
Beliefs, Monumental Art. Ttrrin, 1988/89. Catalog of the Egyptian
Museum, Turin, Italy, in three volumes.
Evers, H. G. Staat aus dem Stein-Denkmaler Geschichte und Bedeu-
tung der aegyptischen Plastikwtihrend des mittleren Redcfts. Munich,
1929. First detailed analysis of Middle Kingdom art.
Freed, R., Y. Markowitz, and S. D'Auria, eds. Pharaohs of the Sun:
Akhenaten, Nefeftili, Tutankhamen. Boston, 1999. Copiously illus-
trated essays and entries on Amarna period objects by a variety
of scholars,
Hayes, W. C.The ScepterofEgypt.2vols. NewYork, 1953; 1959. Over-
view of Egyptian collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York.
Josephson, J. Egyptian Royal Sculptureofthe Inte Penod,400-246 B.C.
Mainz, 1997. Well-written analysis of royal material from the
twenty-eighth dynasty through the early Ptolemaic period.
Kozloff, A., and B. Bryat Egptb Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and
His World. Cleveland, 1992. Exhaustive compendium and analysis
of material from Amenhotpe III's reign.
Mekhitarian, A. Egtptian Painting. New York, 1954. Analysis of the
style and methods of ancient Egyptian painters.
Robins, G. The Art of Ancient Egypt. Cambridge, Mass., 7997. The-
matic approach to Eg)?tian art.
Russman, E. Egtptian Sculpture. Cairo and Luxor. Austin, 1989. Beau-
tifully written overview and stylistic analysis of key pieces lrom the
Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and Luxor Museum.
Saleh, M., and H. Sourouzian. The Egptian Museum, Cairo: fficial
Catalogue. Mainz, 1987. Rich source of information and photo-
graphs on objects in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
Schdfer, H. Principlzs of Egyptian Art. Translated by J. Baines. Oxford,
1986; lst ed. Leipzig, 1919. Pioneering analysis of Eglptian art
theory.
Smith, W S. A History of Egyptian Sculpture anl Painting in the Old
Kingdom. London, 1946. Overview of art of the Old Kingdom, copi-
ously illustrated; somewhat out of date, but stil a standard refer-
ence work.
Smith, W. S. The Art and. Architecture of Ancient Eg1pt, reised by
W. K. Simpson. New Haven and London, 1998. Detailed overview
of the topic, recently revised, with extensive photographs and foot-
notes.
Vandersleyen, C., ed. Das Alte Aegpten. Berlin, 19?5. Collection of
essays and entries on Egyptian sculpture and relief by various
scholars; includes 440 plates.
Vandie4 J. Manuel d'archd.ologie ,Lgyptienne Pais, 1952-1978. Six vol-
umes of analysis of Eglptian sculptwe and relief.
Wildung, D. Sesostns und Amenemhat: Aeglpten im Mittleren Reich.
Munich, 1984. Development of Middle Kingdom scuipture.
RITA E. FREED
ARTISTS AND ARTISANS. Egyptologists long de-
bated whether the statuary painting, and relief created
during the three millennia of pharaonic history could
properly be considered art, since those products were in-
tended to serve an essentialy utilitarian purpose in the
context of Egyptian civilization, above all in the funerary
cult. Nowadays, specialists agree that the Egyptians did
indeed make art. The related issue of whether those who
produced art may be accurately called artists is a question
of definition, for there can be no doubt that a wealth of
masterpieces are preserved to attest the inspiration and
technical skill of artistic genius. Among the extensive doc-
umentation, there is no evidence for women working as
sulptors, draftsmen, or painters. The rare application of
the title "scribe/painter" to a woman identified her as a
cosmetician, a face painter. Weaving, with which this ar-
ticle is not concerned, was tJle only handicraft tradition-
ally open to women.
In this article, the term artbt will be reserved for men
who produced fine arE the sculptors, drafumen, and
painters. Focus is on those professions, especially on
sculptors working in stone, who have attracted more
scholarly attention than other artists. Their statues and
the reliefs carved in stone are hallmarks of ancient EgWt.
Men involved in metal-working and stone-vessel manu-
facture, cabinetmakers, joiners, and jewelers-called arti-
sans or craftsmen here-will figure in comparison with or
contrast to artists. The Egyptian language did not make
this distinction, for there was no word artist distinct from
fumwti ("artisan" or "craftsman").
Neither artists nor artisans were free agents in ancient
Egypt but were attached to an official institution-the
court or a temple. Yet some freelance work was possible
within that framework in all periods. Sculptors and paint-