Egyptian Art from the Middle Kingdom to Late Period (2000-525 BCE)

Middle Kingdom

Period from 2055 to 1650 BCE in Egypt.

New Kingdom

Period from 1550 to 1069 BCE in Egypt.

Late Period

Era from 1069 to 525 BCE in Egyptian history.

Mentuhotep II

Reunited Upper and Lower Egypt in the 11th Dynasty.

Thebes

Capital city of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom.

Osiris

God of the dead and the underworld in Egypt.

Rock-cut tombs

Replaced pyramids for Pharaoh burials in Middle Kingdom.

Nebhepetre Mentuhotep

Pharaoh associated with the funerary complex at Deir el-Bahri.

Carpenter's workshop model

Wooden model depicting afterlife services in tombs.

Beni Hasan

Location of elite rock-cut tombs from the Middle Kingdom.

Senusret III

Pharaoh known for expressive, individualistic sculpture.

Granodiorite

Material used for carving the statue of Senusret III.

Hatshepsut

Only female pharaoh with full kingly powers.

Expedition to Punt

Successful trade mission depicted in Hatshepsut's reliefs.

Akhenaten

Pharaoh who initiated worship of Aten, the sun god.

Amarna Period

Time of Akhenaten's reign marked by artistic changes.

Androgynous features

Akhenaten's statue displays both male and female traits.

Stele

Stone slab with relief depicting Akhenaten and family.

Nefertiti

Wife of Akhenaten, depicted in artistic representations.

Sunken relief

Technique used in the stele of Akhenaten and family.

Façade

The front of a building, often elaborately designed.

Lintel

Horizontal support across the top of a doorway.

Afterlife rituals

Ceremonies performed for deceased individuals in Egypt.

Cairo Museum

Location of significant Egyptian artifacts, including tomb models.

Bust

A sculpted representation of a person's head, neck, and sometimes shoulders.

Sarcophagus

A stone coffin, typically adorned with inscriptions or carvings, used in ancient Egypt to hold a deceased body.

Faience

A glazed ceramic material, often used in ancient Egypt for decorative objects and jewelry.

Obelisk

A tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument with a pyramidion on top, originally erected in ancient Egypt to commemorate solar deities and kings.

Tekhenu

The original Egyptian name for obelisks, derived from the verb 'to pierce,' referencing their shape.

Lost-wax casting

A metal casting process in which a molten metal is poured into a mold that has been created by means of a wax model.

Archaism

The use of styles, forms, or techniques from an earlier period in art, often to evoke a sense of tradition or continuity.

Aten

The sun disk deity in ancient Egyptian religion, often depicted with rays ending in ankh hieroglyphs.

Nemes headcloth

A striped headcloth worn by ancient Egyptian pharaohs, symbolizing royalty.

Ma'at feather

A symbol of truth and justice in ancient Egyptian mythology, often associated with the goddess Ma'at.

Cobra

A symbol of sovereignty in ancient Egypt, often depicted on the crowns of pharaohs.

Weighing of the Heart

A judgment ritual in ancient Egyptian belief where the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of Ma'at to determine their fate in the afterlife.

Inner coffin

The innermost coffin that holds the body in a burial, often elaborately decorated.

Colossal statues

Large-scale sculptures, often depicting deified kings or gods, typically found in temples or monumental sites.

Vibrant colors

Bright and intense colors used in art to enhance the visual impact and lifelike qualities of the artwork.

Quartzite

A hard, metamorphic rock used in ancient Egyptian architecture and sculpture.

Papyrus

A plant-based material used in ancient Egypt for writing and painting.

Granite

A durable igneous rock used in ancient Egyptian construction and sculpture.

Egyptian Museum

A museum in Cairo that houses a vast collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

British Museum

A museum in London known for its extensive collection of art and antiquities from around the world, including ancient Egypt.

Luxor

A city in Egypt known for its ancient temples and monuments, including the temple complex at Thebes.

Aswan Dam

A dam located in southern Egypt, which led to the relocation of the Abu Simbel temples in the 1960s.