AP Art History: Egyptian art (U2: Ancient Mediterranean)

Palette of King Narmer

ROO: Egypt

DOC: 3000-2920 BCE

M: Stone (greywacke)

- found in ritual deposit of a temple

- ceremonial version of a normally smaller palette (2ft tall)

- depicts unification of upper/lower egypt

- hierarchy of scale: king towers over opps

f(x):

- tool for mixing eye makeup

Seated Scribe

ROO: Saqqara, Egypt

DOC: 2620-2500 BCE

M: painted limestone

- 1.5 ft

- found in tomb

- unsure if just a symbol of scribe/specific scribe

f(x):

- created to accompany a high-ranking individual

Great Pyramids

DOC: 2550-2490 BCE

ROO: Giza, Egypt

M: cut limestone

- likeley modeled after the symbol of the cult of Ra (sun god)

f(x):

- monuments + tombs to deceased pharaohs Menkaure, Khufu, Khafre

Great Sphinx

DOC: 2500 BCE

ROO: Giza, Egypt

M: limestone

- composite human-animal fig. (body of lion, head of a god/human)

- missing parts of face, evidence of deliberate removal

Khufu's pyramid

DOC: 2551-2528 BCE

ROO: Giza, Egypt

M: limestone

- tallest of the pyramids of Giza

- flanked by 3 queens' pyramids + several boat pits

- 2 chambers

Menkaure's pyramid

DOC: 2490-2472 BCE

ROO: Giza, Egypt

M: limestone

- shortest of the pyramids

- flanked by 3 queens' pyramids

- complex internal architecture

Khafre's pyramid

DOC: 2550 BCE

ROO: Giza, Egypt

M: Limestone

- slightly smaller than Khufu's

- flanked by Sphinx

King Menkaure and Queen

DOC: 2490-2472 BCE

ROO: Giza, Egypt

M: greywacke

- high relief carved from single stone

- similar height= equal in status

- male fig. is idealized (lean, muscular), stands in canonized pharaoh pose

Temple of Amun-Ra and Hypostyle Hall

DOC: 1550-1250 BCE

ROO: Karnak, Egypt

M: cut sandstone + mud brick

- hypostyle hall: rows of tightly arranged columns held tog. w/stone lintels

f(x):

- principal religious center dedicated to amun-ra + other gods

Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters

DOC: 1353-1335 BCE

ROO: Egypt

M: limestone

- artwork shows changes to the Egyptian canon: thin figures, androgynous, heavily lidded eyes

- depicts intimacy between Akhenaten, Nefertiti, daughter

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

DOC: 1473-1458 BCE

ROO: Luxor, Egypt

M: Sandstone, red granite

- carved directly out of the side of a cliff

- 3 columned terraces connected by 2 ramps

- temple decorated w/reliefs that celebrates achievements

f(x):

- tribute to Hatshepsut's reign + her achievements

Innermost Coffin of Tutankhamun

DOC: 1323 BCE

ROO: Valley of the Kings, Egypt

M: Gold w/inlay of semi precious stone

- back is inscribed w/spells from book of dead

- false beard, headdress, cobra motifs = symbols associated w/ the pharaoh

Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer

DOC: 1275 BCE

ROO: Egypt

M: painted papyrus scroll

- part of the book of the dead

- depicts narrative of Hu Nefer's journey: led to scale by Anubis, where his heart is weighed against the Feather; Thoth records