PHARAOHS AND THE AFTERLIFE:
 THE ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT
ART HISTORY SURVEY I
Step Pyramid of the pharaoh Djoser
Profile image of the Great Sphinx at Giza
Image of the Great Sphinx at Giza
Stepped Pyramid of the Pharaoh Djoser (Zoser), 3rd Dynasty.  Designed and built by high priest-architect, Imhotep at Saqqara.  c.2650 bce.
The Great Sphinx, 4th Dynasty, at Giza.
The Great Sphinx at Giza, with the pyramids in the background.
The Sphinx is carved in sandstone, is 65 feet in height and 240 feet in length.
Painted limestone relief from Saqqara
Relief image of Ramses II
Egyptian sculpture of a provincial governor
Painted limestone relief figure from the 5th Dynasty.  Saqqara, c.2498 bce.  Notice the stylized triangular "apron," a heavily starched garment actually worn.  Height 39 3/4".
Ramses II, from the tomb of his father, Seti, 19th Dynasty.  Although more than a thousand years after the 5th Dynasty, note the stylistic similarity, to which Egyptian art returned after the 18th Dynasty.
From the 5th Dynasty, Saqqara, this naturalistic "Statue of Merti," who was a provincial governor and a priest of Maat, shows the relaxation of the formal conventions when portraying less important people in the hierarchical scale.  Ht 39 1/4".
The African tradition of the "ancestral couple" is clearly seen in these early dynasty Egyptian figures below.  The figures range from the formal Egyptian conventions seen in "Menkaure," left, to a  more relaxed naturalism of "Rahotep," right, to the center figure, "Memisabu," which shows a curious mixture of naturalism (their faces) and formalism (their body types and poses).
Statue of the Pharaoh Menkaure and his wife
Statue of Memisabu, a steward, and his wife
Seated statues of Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret
The Pharaoh Menkaure and his wife, Queen Khamerernebty, 4th Dynasty, from Giza. c. 2515 bce. Slate.  H.54 1/2"
Museum of Fine Art, Boston 		Memisabu and his wife.  5th Dynasty, c.2360 bce.  Memisabu was a steward and
keeper of the king's property.  Painted limestone, Ht 24 3/8".
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 		Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret. 4th Dynasty, c.2610 bce.  Painted limestone, Height 3"11". The eyes  are inlaid with rock
crystal and the faces, necklaces, headband are painted.  Rahotep is the son of Snefru and brother of Khufu.  Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
The strict Egyptian conventions were reserved for the Pharaoh, the royal family, the priests and nobility, and the gods and goddesses.  People of lesser rank were portrayed more naturally, like the scribe seen below and the steward above.  The face, center below, shows great realism, perhaps idealism, although the body and pose revert to the Egyptian conventions.
Frontal face detail of a statue of Senwosret I
Statue of a seated scribe from Saqqara
Statue of Menkaure and two goddesses
The frontal face detail shown here is from the statue of Senwosret I below, from the 12th Dynasty.
Seated Scribe, from Saqqara, c.2400 bce.  This figure is painted limestone, 21" in height.
The Louvre, Paris

Menkaure (Mycerinus) is flanked by two goddesses;  on the right is the Goddess Hathor, and left, a goddess representing the "Seventh None" (district) of Upper Egypt.  4th Dynasty.
Image of the three great pyramids at Giza
The Great Pyramids at Giza...against an extraordinary blue sky and the gold of the desert.
Statue of an Egyptian servant
Statue of Senwosret I
Statue of Senbi, a steward
Statue of Mentembet
Statue of a Servant, from the Tomb of Mekutra at Thebes, 11th Dynasty, c.2009-1998 bce.  Painted wood. 44 1/8" height. 
Metropolitan Museum of Art 		This figure is thought to be Senwosret I, holding the sceptor of royal authority.  From the 12th Dynasty, c.1962-1928 bce.  The statue is 22 7/8" in height, and is gessoed and painted wood.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 		Statue of Senbi, a steward, from the necropolis at Meir, 12th Dynasty, c.1991-1786 bce.  Painted wood with stone and copper inlays.  Small painted statues of workers and servants were often placed in the tombs.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 		Mentemhet the Governor, c.650 bce.  From the 25th Dynasty, this figure is carved in granite, and shows a return to the Egyptian conventions.  Height 53".
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Each of the statues above and below reflect the carefully planned aspect of Egyptian conventions in art.  The stiff pose, with hand and arms normally straight down, the squared shoulders and thin waist, the stance with one foot slightly in front of the other are all clearly defined in the figures of the Pharaoh.  Moving down the hierarchical scale, the figures become more relaxed and more naturalistic.  These conventions in Egyptian art lasted for more than 3,000 years and were changed only during the brief period of the 18th Dynasty (the Amarna Period).
Statue of a young Egyptian woman
Gold unguent box from the 18th Dynasty
Gold statue from the tomb of Tutankhamun
Statue of a Young Woman, 6th Dynasty, c.2345-2181 bce.  Painted wood.  Height 11 3/8".
Metropolitan Museum of Art
A gold unguent box from the 18th Dynasty, with inlaid turquoise, lapis lazuli and carnelian.
Gold statue from the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Page Updated 8/25/08
Click here to continue on, with the time of King Tut, the artistic changes of the
 Amarna Period, and the 19th Dynasty of Ramses.
Copyright M. Hoover and San Antonio College, July, 2001.  All rights reserved.