AP World History + Art

Unlike the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers which often flooded with devastating, unpredictable results, the Nile flooded like clockwork every year, rarely resulting in loss of life or property. The surrounding land, made fertile by the deposited silt, created an "Oasis in the Desert."  Egypt could not have developed without the Nile and the civilization that grew there was a nation of villages, dotting the narrow strip of fertile land on both sides of the river.  Deserts and mountains isolated Egypt for more than three millennia, allowing them to develop a completely unique culture that was not influenced initially by cultural diffusion from other civilizations.

Much of the art in ancient Egypt revolved around a belief system centered on a elaborate pantheon of gods and an afterlife.  In fact, the most recognizable feature of Egypt are the pyramids, made as tombs for the pharaohs.

Image source: Kallerna
Wikimedia Commons

Much of what we know about ancient Egypt has been preserved in tombs.  Everything in the tombs, from the writing on the walls, to the designs of the sarcophagi, to the statuary and trinkets, were all designed to ease the soul into the afterlife.  The Egyptians believed that the soul, or the ka, was immortal.  Statues of the deceased were believed to hold the ka for all eternity, if the mummified remains were not adequate.  Everything was made to last forever.  Therefore, the egyptians chose the hardest of materials to sculpt their images and the most long-lasting and beautiful metals to adorn their death masks. Diorite and granite were the preferred materials for sculpture.

Menkaure and His Queen
Keith Schengili-Roberts
 via Wikimedia Commons

Menkaure ruled Egypt as Pharaoh c. 2530 BCE.  He was buried in Giza, in the smallest of the pyramids located there.  This statue, carved from a hard stone known as greywacke, is typical of the statuary found in tombs.  Simple, yet displaying a quiet dignity, the statues of ancient Egypt were meant to calm the ka and remain timeless.

Seated Scribe
Public Domain

Although such sculptures were mostly reserved for royalty, ordinary people were also depicted in statuary. These would have been made out of wood or other materials.  They were also less formal, such as in this statue of a seated scribe from c. 2494.  This statue was made from limestone, which was more numerous.

Nefertiti Bust
Public Domain

Royal families had sculptors on call and they ran huge workshops, employing many artisans to create the statuary necessary for a royal family.  In the ruins of the workshop of Thutmose, a sculptor for the pharaoh, Akhenaten, a bust was discovered of the pharaoh's chief wife, Nefertiti.  The sculpture is a simple, painted limestone dating from c. 1348 BCE.  This sculpture was most likely used as a model for other sculptures of the queen.  It is unfinished, but is a wonderful example of Egyptian concepts of feminine beauty.



The walls of tombs were painted and carved with bas-relief sculptures, often depicting the gods and providing a narrative of the life of the deceased. These bas-relief sculptures were two-dimensional, barely raised from the flat surface as the background was carved away.  People were depicted from the side and accompanied by elaborate hieroglyphics.  Unlike the writing that developed in Mesopotamia, hieroglyphics did not represent sounds per se, but were a sophisticated system of pictographs.

Temple of Mentuhotep II
Public Domain

Although paper was not yet something invented, the ancient Egyptians used papyrus, an abundant plant growing along the banks of the Nile to create a paper-like material.  Numerous texts and artifacts exists on papyrus, such as the famous Book of the Dead, a collection of spells and rites relating to burial customs and beliefs.  There is not just one of these "books," but they were often tailored specifically to the deceased and placed in the tomb along with the other artifacts. This example dates from c. 1275 BCE.

Book of the Dead
Image: Jon Bodsworth
Public Domain

Tutankhamen Funeral Mask
By Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
via Wikimedia Commons
Creative Commons

In 1922, English archeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen, dating from c. 1323 BCE.  This was the most intact tomb ever discovered and provided a virtual trove of artifacts: sculptures, jewelry, furniture and, of course, the king's sarcophagus.  The king's mummy was placed in three nestled coffins, the innermost coffin made from about a quarter ton of gold and inlaid with precious stones.

The tomb provides an example of the lengths Egyptian people went to preserving the dead and providing for them in the afterlife.  The tombs of kings were grand, requiring a huge amount of resources to construct.  And Tutankhamen was a minor king who only ruled for ten years and then died at the age of 18.



Points to Remember 

• Ancient Egyptian belief in an everlasting soul, known as the ka, influenced the development of art
• Due to its geographical isolation, Egyptian culture and art remained static for nearly 3,000 years
• Ancient Egyptians developed a complex system of pictogram writing, known as hieroglyphics
• Statuary was often used to depict recently deceased humans in an effort to preserve the soul for all eternity

Next Chapter:  The Indus River Valley

Updated: August 14, 2014

© 2014  Bruce Janu
Bell, Book & Camera Productions