AA Unit 1 Exam: Nile Neighbors: Egypt & Nubia

Nubians Bringing Tribute to Tutankhamun, Tomb of Huy (TT40), Thebes, c. 1353–1327 BCE. Facsimile by Charles K. Wilkinson.

Shows how Egypt pictured Nubians: distinct skin tone and dress, bringing gold and goods as gifts. (People grouped by class)

Sphinx of Taharqo, Temple T, Kawa, Nubia, c. 680 BCE. Granite gneiss, 40.6 × 73 cm.

Taharqo was a Kushite king of the 25th Dynasty who ruled Egypt too. It’s an Egyptian form (the sphinx) with Kushite facial features and a double (snake head) for rule over BOTH LANDS.

• Nubians used Egyptian forms for their own kingship.

Pyramids at Meroe (Begrawiya), Sudan, c. 300 BCE–350 CE.

Royal tombs of the Kingdom of Kush. They’re smaller and steeper than Egyptian pyramids, and Sudans has more pyramids than Egypt.

Temple of Dendur, Dendur, Lower Nubia, Roman Period, completed by 10 BCE. Aeolian sandstone.

Built under ROMAN rule in Egyptian style. It was moved because of the Aswan High Dam, so it’s no longer IN SITU. (raises questions of provenance and who own hertitage,

Bridal Chest, Nubian, Qustul, 4th–6th c. CE. Wood, ivory, pigment, and metal. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

A luxury piece from Nubian royal burials after Meroe’s decline. It shows Nubian art continuing on its own terms in a later period.