The Egyptian culture was a culture that lasted about 3,000 years and was located near the Nile River. The Nile River provided most of the resources for the Egyptians; therefore, a lot of the artwork was based on representing these bountiful resources. Another major influence of the artwork that was created was the kings and gods that were held at such high standards (Stokstad and Cothren, 50). There is one king in particular that was known in history for his great accomplishments, this king was King Narmer. The Egyptian’s expressed their respect for this king through a palette known as The Palette of Narmer. This piece is one of the firsts of Egyptian times that sets the morals for Egyptian artwork; it was created in the Early Dynastic time period. The Palette of Narmer tells a vast political story of the history of Egypt and the king, King Narmer.
The Palette of Narmer was created on a flat stone surface; the artists then carved the story into the flat stone in a very specific manor. This palette is known for representing the coming together of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (Stokstad and Cothren, 52). At the top of the palette on both sides shows two bulls that were said to possibly represent the goddess Hathor. Hathor was known as the goddess of protection, and is depicted in other Egyptian art as a woman with cow ears (British Museum, no page). In between the heads of Hathor is the name of the King Narmer, written with iconography called serekh. In this serekh, one can see the Horus falcon head and below it is the name of the king. The falcon head is said to protect the Egyptian ruler (Kinnaer). Although this is just one small piece of the top of the palette, it already starts to depict an enormous part of history in Egypt.
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... vast political success in Egypt. The palette was created to tell a story of the merging of Upper and Lower Egypt, and did so in a successful manner. King Narmer is shown several times in the palette vanquishing his opponents of Lower Egypt. The King is always shown in profile view, with his body facing forward. He does not wear any shoes, but wears clothing. This type of profile view can be seen in many other pieces of art in the Egyptian time period. The King also has his falcon watching over him, which not only shows his divine connection with the gods, but his connection with being the one of protection. King Narmer is a man who has power over the people in this time period and the people depicted in this palette. Overall, The Palette of Narmer is an exemplification of art of how Egypt became one large country, which had previously been divided into two states.
Looking at this Palette, it isn’t hard to see how the old Egyptian subjects were so entranced by their leaders and how that compares to our modern viewpoints. Where we view politicians and leaders as a wiry group, always keeping an eye on them lest today be the day they raise their daggers against us, the ancient Egyptians saw their leaders as infallible, godlike beings to be trusted, obeyed, and adored. Standing just over 2 feet tall and 1.4 feet wide, this Palette was carved out of a majestic shade of grey-green siltstone, almost shield-like in appearance. Both sides are exquisitely carved out, each one uniquely decorated but both sides containing a central serekh used to identify and in this case even confirm the subject as royalty. This serekh contains the symbols n’r and mr, which as you may have noticed, phonetically spell Narmer. These symbols are surrounded by two bovine heads, which could either represent the Goddess Hathor or Bat. The front s...
During the New Kingdom of Egypt (from 1552 through 1069 B.C.), there came a sweeping change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. "The Hymn to the Aten" was created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different from the old views in "The Hymn to the Aten", and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a complete break with the traditions which Egypt held to with great respect. Yet at the same time, there were many commonalties between these new ideas and the old views of the Egyptian world. Although through the duration of his reign, Amenhotep IV introduced a great many changes to the Egyptian religion along with "The Hymn", none of these reforms outlived their creator, mostly due to the massive forces placed on his successor, Tutankhamen, to renounce these new reforms. However, the significance of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten as he later changed his name to, is found in "The Hymn". "The Hymn" itself can be looked at as a contradiction of ideas; it must be looked at in relation to both the Old Kingdom's belief of steadfast and static values, as well as in regards to the changes of the Middle Kingdom, which saw unprecedented expansionistic and individualistic oriented reforms. In this paper I plan to discuss the evolvement of Egyptian Religious Beliefs throughout the Old,
The Greeks named the city Hierakonpolis, or “City of the Falcon”, in reference to a local god. The falcon god was the predecessor of Horus, the god of order and symbol of Egypt’s kings. Nekhen’s rulers received both ideological and political power through their link with, or personification of, Horus. A statue of Horus placed upon a pole, guarded a large and colorful shrine in the middle of Nekhen where worshippers deposited their sacrificial offerings. The ideological power exuded by Nekhen made it an important spiritual destination. Political power was also expressed in the tombs of the elites and rulers. Tomb 100, located in a cemetery outside of Nekhen, is a royal tomb with painted walls that show how the occupant fought against chaos and upheld the ideals of Horus. Palettes found in Nekhen, similar to the Narmer palette, illustrated the military prowess of rulers and were likely tools of propaganda used to proclaim superior political power over rival
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.
These two statues are famous to the Egyptian art era. They represent the woman’s position and the man’s position at that day and age. Traditionally, the rulers of Egypt were male. So, when Hatshepsut, Dynasty 18, ca. 1473-1458 B.C., assumed the titles and functions of king she was portrayed in royal male costumes. Such representations were more for a political statement, rather than a reflection of the way she actually looked. In this sculpture, she sits upon a throne and wears the royal kilt and the striped nemes (NEM-iss) headdress with the uraeus (cobra) and is bare chested like a man. However, she does not wear the royal beard, and the proportions of her body are delicate and feminine.
The pharaoh named Khafre was an ancient Egyptian king of the 4th dynasty during the old kingdom. Khafre enthroned shows the pharaoh is shown in a seated potion on a throne with a look of deep serenity in his face. The king is sitting rigidly upright with one of his hands on his knee and the other one making a fist on his thigh. Khafre is also wearing a headdress as well as a strapped on beard. Khafres’ face and body are both idealized with the help of bilateral symmetry. Khafre is perfectly symmetrical on both sides; his pose is also both frontal and ridged. The Sculptor shows all movement, however, still showing eternal stillness (Kleiner, 2013). The statue of Khafre is an image of unbridled power. This work, life-sized and carved from diorite (an extremely hard and difficult-to-work stone) portrays the Pharaoh Khafre, sitting immobile. This piece of art uses the Egyptian canon of proportions, creating a very idealized figure (Kleiner,
The Narmer Palette is known for its size, elaborate carvings, and hieroglyphic writings on both sides. This is a prime example of Ancient Egyptian craftsmanship. This palette shows great craftsmanship along with true dedication into the carvings and hieroglyphic writings. The high-quality of workmanship put into the Narmer Palette clearly indicates the significance of this object. According to Francesca Jourdan, the carvings on the front side of the palette are; a king with a traditional beard wearing the “White Crown” to
Two main devices used in Egyptian art from the fourth dynasty, that also help classify it, are a strive for naturalism and the use of sculpture in the round. In addition to the large burial monuments being built, portraiture became quite popular at this time in history. Paintings featuring humans used their own form of "sculpture in the round" by painting in ...
Compare and contrast the imagery of the Egyptian Palette of Narmer with the Akkadian Stele of Naram-Sin. How do they represent their respective kings, as rulers and also as human figures? How are the other figures represented? How do the artists approach the narrative (storytelling) process?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘Egyptian Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Art. New Series, Vol. 41, No. 3, Egyptian Art (Winter, 1983-1984): pp. 1+3-56
Let’s begin with what was going on during the time period for each sculpture. During the 2458-2446 BCE. Userkaf was thriving over his brother Sahure, and he became the new ruler of Egypt. In the start of 2446 BCE, Neferirkare beings his dominant over Egypt. King Sahure and Nome God is a high relief it is still attached to a surface of a stone. The Pharaoh sitting on his thorn wearing a Nemes headdress (it is usually blue and gold striped), fake beard. The king has an emotionless facial expression. It was made for a decoration for the king pyramid complex. The symbol behind this statue could be the gathering of the Nome gods form Upper and Lower Egypt around t...
The iconography of Egypt’s New Kingdom paints a distorted picture of the Nubian people. With a clear focus on demonstrating the power of the king, and by extension Egypt itself, the iconography of the period becomes propaganda for the military prowess of king and country alike. The foreign “enemies,” like the Nubians, become oversimplified to fit the role they are given in the iconography. Michele Buzon’s article, “A Bioarchaeological Perspective on Egyptian Colonialism in Nubia during the New Kingdom” aids the reader in seeing different facets of the Nubian people. Buzon’s work demonstrates the fact that the portrayal of Nubians in New Kingdom iconography is generalized with regards to race, culture, and their interactions with the Egyptian
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 unification of Ancient Egypt became the major foundation for which the way Egyptian and African history is taught in this day and time. The combination of the two dynamic kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt played a significant role in shaping Egypt’s impact on the early civilization of mankind. Before the unification can be explored, we must further understand the differences of the two kingdoms. This will allow us to better grasp the concept of how the two advanced kingdoms complemented one another during their unification. The geographical qualities/relationship with the Nile River, trade routes, symbols, and religious beliefs will be fully analyzed in order to compare and contrast the two kingdoms. King Narmer’s (Menes) role in the unification
Everyday in the Egyptian way of life, both men and women would adorn themselves with beautiful jewelry and makeup. Wearing these pieces of jewelry and makeup was part of their everyday life.