10.3 Sculpture, painting, and decorative arts

Egyptian sculpture played a vital role in ancient society, serving religious and political purposes. Statues, reliefs, and stelae depicted gods, pharaohs, and important events, allowing the deceased to participate in rituals and conveying messages to the living.

Paintings in tombs and temples were rich with symbolism, depicting daily life, afterlife journeys, and divine interactions. Color held deep meaning, with blue representing the Nile and fertility, while green symbolized life and regeneration.

Types and Functions of Egyptian Sculpture

Types and functions of Egyptian sculpture

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• Statues depict gods, pharaohs, and important individuals in free-standing, three-dimensional form
  • Placed in temples, tombs (pyramids), and public spaces to allow the depicted individual to eternally participate in religious rituals and receive offerings
• Reliefs are sculptures carved into flat surfaces like walls or stone slabs
  • Depict religious scenes, historical events (battles), and daily life activities (farming) in temples, tombs, and palaces
  • Serve to commemorate important events and convey religious and political messages
• Stelae are upright stone slabs with inscriptions and/or relief carvings
  • Function as tombstones, boundary markers, and commemorative monuments
  • Often depict the deceased individual or a deity accompanied by inscriptions
  • Act as a means of communication between the living and the dead or divine

Iconography and Symbolism in Egyptian Painting

Iconography in Egyptian painting

• Tomb paintings depict scenes from the deceased's daily life and afterlife journey
  • Hunting, fishing, and agricultural activities show the deceased's earthly life
  • Interaction with deities and symbolic elements (weighing of the heart ceremony, deceased as Osiris) represent the afterlife
• Temple paintings convey the idea of divine kingship and the pharaoh's role as mediator between gods and humans
  • Depict religious ceremonies, mythological scenes, and pharaoh-god interactions
  • Symbolic elements include the pharaoh as a sphinx and the god Horus as a falcon
• Color symbolism plays a significant role in conveying meaning
  • Blue represents the Nile, fertility, and rebirth
  • Green symbolizes vegetation, life, and regeneration
  • Red represents power, danger, and chaos
  • White symbolizes purity, cleanliness, and sacredness
  • Black represents the fertile Nile Valley soil and the underworld

Techniques and Materials in Egyptian Art

Techniques in Egyptian art production

• Sculpture techniques include subtractive (carving from a single stone block) and additive (building from smaller pieces) methods
  • Materials used are limestone, granite, quartzite, alabaster, and wood
• Painting techniques include fresco (painting on wet plaster) and tempera (pigments mixed with water-soluble binder)
  • Natural pigments (ochres, malachite, azurite) and synthetic pigments (Egyptian blue) are used
• Decorative arts techniques encompass faience (glazed ceramic for jewelry and figurines), glass (vessels, inlays, jewelry), and metalworking (gold, silver, copper, bronze for jewelry, vessels, statues)

Masterpieces of Egyptian Art

Significance of Egyptian art masterpieces

• Bust of Nefertiti is a limestone sculpture depicting Queen Nefertiti, wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten
  • Represents the ideal of feminine beauty in ancient Egypt
  • Reflects the artistic innovations and naturalistic, expressive style of the Amarna Period
• Treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb, discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, provide invaluable insights into New Kingdom material culture and funerary practices
  • Iconic gold mask symbolizes the pharaoh's divine status and power
  • Wide range of artistic objects includes jewelry, furniture, and statues
• These masterpieces demonstrate the high level of artistic skill and craftsmanship in ancient Egypt
  • Serve as a testament to the importance of art in expressing religious beliefs, political power, and social status
  • Their discovery and exhibition have greatly contributed to public fascination with ancient Egyptian culture and inspired countless works of art, literature, and popular culture