The most noticing aspect of Egyptian religion is its obsession with immortality and the belief of life after death. This sculpture can show you this on how mummification gave upbringing to complex arts in ancient Egypt. The sculpture is the Mummy Case of Paankhenamun. The artwork is currently viewed at The Art Institute of Chicago. The sculpture was from the third period, Dynasty 22, in ancient Egypt. However, the sculpture has many features to it that makes it so unique in ancient Egypt from any other time.
Egyptians did not want to die. They saw no reason why life should not go on when they were dead. When the Egyptians thought about what happened when they died, they decided that there would be another life in store for them. A life that lasts forever, just like their life on earth, with parties, hunting, games, and good meals. What is the definition of a mummy? Egyptians wanted to cheat death. They had to do many things to achieve the gift of rebirth into the after-life. They had to stay on the right side of the gods, and learn the correct magic spells. If the Egyptians wanted to cheat death, their bodies had to be carefully preserved, for all time. The most important part of a person was thought to be his or her spirit, or double, known as the “ka.”
The ka was created at the same time as the physical body. The ka existed in the physical world and resided in the tomb. It had the same needs that the person had in life, which was to eat, drink, etc. The Egyptians left offerings of food, drink, and worldly possessions in the tombs for the ka to use.
The second important aspect was the person’s personality or “ba.” Like a person’s body, each ba was an individual. It entered a person’s body with the breath of life and it left at the time of death. It moved freely between the underworld and the physical world. The ba had the ability to take on different forms.
The last and final aspect was the person’s immortality or “akh.” The akh was the aspect of a person that would join the gods in the underworld being immortal and unchangeable. It was created after death by the use of funerary text and spells, designed to bring forth the akh. Once this was achieved that individual was assured of not “dying a second time”, a death that would mean the end of one’s existence.
An intact body was an integrate part of a person’s afterlife. Without a physical body th...
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...and the facial expressions are the same. You can see that the eyes are looking straightforward. They are both two-dimensional. It has the head an eagle but this one has it on its forehead and the mummy has it below the chest area. Nevertheless, they both have the same animal on them. A different sculpture would be Chefren. In this one, the sculptors approach to the anatomy and material is realistic; the details are still shown with great accuracy. In this sculpture, a falcon instead of an eagle is protecting him. The falcon is right behind his head, not in front like the other two. It is a portrait not of an individual but the concept of divine power unlike how the others were portraits of important people.
This mummy from ancient Egypt shows their belief in the afterlife and it shows a complex art and science of mummification. The painted mummy case shows how the sculptor wanted the person to see the life this person portrayed. The hieroglyphics inscriptions and painted scenes identify this mummy as a Paankhenamun, a doorkeeper in the temple of the god Amun. Therefore, The central scene shows the eagle-headed god Horus presenting Paankhenamun to Osiris, ruler of the afterlife.
The work I chose to analyze was from a wall fragment from the tomb of Ameneemhet and wife Hemet called Mummy Case of Paankhenamun, found in the Art Institute of Chicago. The case of the Mummy Paankhenamun is one of the most exquisite pieces of art produced by the Egyptian people during the time before Christ. This coffin belonged to a man named Paankhenamun, which translates to “He Lives for Amun” (Hornblower & Spawforth 74). Paankhenamun was the doorkeeper of the temple of the god Amun, a position he inherited from his father.
Ancient Egyptian culture was largely focused on the afterlife. One of their most important deities, Osiris, became the ruler of the Underworld through death. The pharaoh and elite class prepared for their impending deaths throughout their lives. Much of what survives from ancient Egypt today was found in tombs and temples of the dead. When one of the elite died, the process of laying him or her to rest was extensive. Harold Hays explains that “the ritualized process of embalming and mummification is usually stated as lasting seventy days” (Hays 5). "Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy" shows two of the processes that Hays details. The first depicted is the procession to the tomb. Pairy’s body would have already been through several processions, mummification, and embalming. This particular procession’s goal is to lead not just the body, but also the spirit into the afterlife. People of both high and low classes attended this procession, carrying with them the tomb goods (Hays 6-7). The second depicted
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
The final resting place for such individual would be adorned with lavish paintings and sculpture dedicated to them. All parts of the piece appear consistent to the works of the time, especially the way that Ti is posed in the typical Egyptian fashion of showing frontal and profile view. Practices such as hunting, farming, and dining were considered good nourishment for one’s ka, so one may have a healthy afterlife and make it through the process of judgement of their ka without fail. Perhaps depicting such work on Ti’s mastaba was to show proof of his work towards achieving a wholesome life force, and that he had lived a productive, well-respected life. Knowing how important ka is to the Egyptian people, it would be understandable that they would want to represent it in a positive light, doing so on their tomb to ward away
The grandeur with which Egyptians regarded their funerary customs does not come without explanation. They delighted in tying the occurrences of the natural world with supernatural dogma, and their burial practices exemplified this deluge of religion. A special deity was even attributed to cemeteries and embalmers: Anubis (Fiero, 46). Due to this deep sense of religion, a fixation with the afterlife developed within their culture. The Egyptian afterlife, however, is not synonymous of heave, but, rather, of The Field of Reeds, a continuation of one’s life in Egypt meant “to secure and perpetuate in the afterlife the ‘good life’ enjoyed on earth” (Mark 1; “Life in Ancient Egypt” 1). The pursuit of this sacred rest-place prompted the arousal of intricate Egyptian funeral rituals.
The New Kingdom in ancient Egypt, from 1550 – 1070 BC, was a time of extraordinary wealth, power, and the continuation of the arts in the classic ancient Egyptian style. Characterized by the abstract and impersonal depiction of humans, along with the strength of the Egyptian Empire, the New Kingdom is considered the peak of power and prosperity in ancient Egypt. “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” is a piece created in this time period that was originally part of a portrait located on the top of the king’s coffin. Because the coffin would carry the king’s mummified body in his tomb, the portrait depicts the pharaoh as being prepared for the Underworld, as well as being the ideal body for the spirit of the king to flow through. The objective of the coffin’s portrait is also to convey the power of the kingdom, putting emphasis on the king’s image and the immense wealth that accompanies him. In addition to the piece’s function as a coffin, “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” embodies the strength and wealth of the New Kingdom through the piece’s human face, use of bright colors, and geometric detailing.
Dried onions were stuffed into the ears of the mummies and along the bandages although the significance of this is still unknown. The modern examination of mummies has enabled us to ascertain various facts about everyday Egyptian life. The mummy of Maat-ka-re is a virgin. priestess had for thousands of years been thought to have been mummified. with a child in mind.
As these materials have magical means, often seen in Egyptian religious beliefs, a magical mean of the ushabti followed after-life of its deceased. The figurine appears to be inscribed with a special spell that contains summons; the intent of figure is placed in the tomb to act as substitute for its deceased body. This magical figurine was detailed to respond in the
To conclude, both sculptures do not have much in common, but it is obvious that the artists had knowledge in human anatomy and was able to sculpt them spectacularly. It is also obvious the break from somewhat idealistic to realistic human nature. The change is so drastic that one might not believe that both sculptures come from the same Greece because it is so well-known for its astonishing artworks found in temples, building, etc.
The pieces of sculpture are both carved using the subtractive method of sculpting from stone. However, the types of stone used were very different. The sculpture of Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II was carved from a stone called greywacke, a dark colored, very hard stone the Egyptians prized for sculpture despite the fact t...
The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, observed at the National Museum of Natural History, was very eye drawing, its drawings on the outside and inside captive that mummies journey to rebirth. The readings of the artwork state that the mummy of Tehtkhonsu has never been completely identify. The coffin also dates back to 3,000 years.
The most common ancient Egyptian burial practice is the mummification process as depicted in source B. Mummification is a ritual that embalmers performed when a pharaoh died. Source B is a photograph of the canoptic jars which are a main component of the mummification process. The first step in the mummification process is the removal and preservation of most of the internal organs, such as the lungs, the stomach, the liver and intestines. These organs are then separately embalmed and placed into canoptic jars as source B reveals. These jars were often decorated with one of the four animal-headed sons of the god Horus. Each head is believed to be the protector of each organ within the jar and is dedicated to a specific deity. The preservation of the organs is significant as they allowed the dead person to breathe and eat in the afterlife. The internal organs were then wrapped and put into either the body or put in boxes instead of sitting in jars. Canoptic jars were still placed in the tomb but they were solid or empty and provided a symbolic purpose. In Tutankhamun’s tomb the canoptic jars were discovered in a shrine that was found in the treasury room of the tomb. Source B is useful is when understanding the mummification process.
This book is about the process of mummification; there are many aspects of what Egyptians believe what the afterlife is. In Mummies it presents very detailed pictures; some pages are even see-through! It has various amounts of fascinating facts; although, due to the subject matter, it isn't well suited for younger children. Not only is it good for middle schoolers, but also for older too. The book has graphic details and pictures of ennoblement, but the Hall of Two Truths might scare, or upset a younger audience; although, middle schoolers and older would be able to handle this type of content.
It is clear that tombs and burial rituals were a key element in the Egyptian society and their way of life as it ties into almost all things they did on a daily basis. Whatever a person’s status was when they were alive followed them into the afterlife. Food and luxury goods were buried with a person so that they could have it in the afterlife. The tombs became a person’s new house after they died. Therefore, making it as nice as possible was really important. Art work and clay models were added to a person’s tomb as material goods needed for the afterlife. They were also seen as decorations that kept the tombs looking nice. Throughout the years, Egyptian artworks on the inner parts of the tombs and on the coffins show a development in the Egyptian customs. Each new development was created to better preserve the bodies and comfort of the dead.
Socrates maintains that practicing such a lifestyle "is a kind of cleansing or purification" (69c), and that "he who arrives [in the underworld] purified and initiated will dwell with the gods" (69d). Therefore, this purity is a loophole in the condemnation to the "corporeal" soul laid out in 83d. In the discussion of reincarnation, Socrates supports that "(n)o one may join the company of the gods who has not practiced philosophy and is not completely pure when he departs from life, no one but the lover of learning" (82c). Therefore, everyone is condemned to reincarnation and the "welding" of the soul to the body, unless