Exploring Egyptian Art: From Pyramids to Hieroglyphics

1. Grab your sketchbook and begin the Egyptian alphabox with a partner for your warm up.

2. Egyptian Art What kind of art did the Egyptians create?

3. When did the Egyptian Civilization take place? So this artwork is anywhere from 4650-3070 years old! The Old Kingdom 2650-2134BC The Middle Kingdom 2040-1640 The New Kingdom 1550-1070

4. Why did Egyptians create art? • Geographic location created a surplus of food which allowed Egyptians to create art instead of hunting and gathering. • Strong religious beliefs also contributed to a influx of creating artifacts • Art and artifacts were also made to honor the Pharaoh (king)

5. What kind of art did they create? Architecture-Pyramids were built as tombs for pharoahs Sarcophagi- Stone coffins Sculptures- Carvings of pharaohs’ portraits Paintings-These were Actually painted, low relief Sculptures on the walls of tombs

6. Pyramids • The pyramids were used as entombment for the dead kings to provide protection and appropriate transformation into the afterlife for them and their belongings • Originally, Egyptians built low, flat tombs called mastabas • These slowly transitioned into stepped pyramids • Lastly, turned into the true pyramid

7. The Great Pyramids at Giza • 2530-2470 BCE • 4th Dynasty • Giza • Some stones weighed over 40 tons! • The stones were floated on rafts down the Nile • The largest, central pyramid, covers 13 acres and is 55 stories high • It originally contained over 2 million blocks of limestone

8. The limestone and capstone were later stolen off the surface along with the pyramids contents • The pyramids are astonishing in size and mathematical precision • The four sides are perfectly oriented with the four cardinal directions • Each side is 230 meters long with only centimeters of difference • The pyramids were built by slaves and paid laborers who were faithful to their kings.

9. Summary Use key vocab words from the lesson today (pharaoh, mastaba, pyramid, tomb) and others we may have used today that were in your Alphabox to write a 3-5 sentence summary in the JOURNAL (4th) section of your notebook.

10. Tutankhamen Mummy Case • 1352 BCE • Gold inlaid with enamel and semiprecious stones • The tomb of Tutankhamun contained four gilded shrines nested one inside the other in order of decreasing size. Inside the innermost shrine was a red quartzite sarcophagus which protected three anthropoid coffins (man-shaped). The first two coffins were made of gilded wood but the final coffin was made of solid gold. The solid gold coffin housed the mummy of King Tut and his fabulous golden death mask. • 73” high • Egyptian Museum, Cairo • His modern fame and popularity stems from the fact that his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered almost completely intact, and is still the most complete ancient Egyptian tomb ever yet found. • Ruled from age 9-19

11. Sculptures Sculptors were commanded to carve pharaoh's portrait incase their mummified bodies were destroyed The sculpture would serve as a place for their “ka”, or soul to live Egyptian sculpture is characterized by (1) compactness (2) symmetry of form and (3) its block-like shape Queen Nefertiti

12. The Seated Khafre Khafre (Chefren or Chephren) Dynasty 3, c2570-2544 BCE Solid-Blocklike form Head is simplified (stylized) Seated on a throne Example of In-the-Round sculpture In- the –Round sculpture Free-standing sculpture, sculpture that is surrounded on all sides, except the base, by space. It is also known as sculpture "in the round", and is meant to be viewed from any angle

13. Relief Sculpture and Painting low relief is the quality of a projecting image where the overall depth is shallow. The background is very compressed or completely flat, as on most coins, on which all images are in low-relief. Covered the walls of tombs The figures are placed in registers- a series of horizontal bands Descriptive perspective- most important figures are shown larger than less important ones (to show social status)

14. These paintings followed very specific rules Every part of the body must be depicted in the most familiar point of view. Twisted perspective-Many legs, arms, and faces are in profile but with the shoulders and eyes seen from the front turned toward the viewer Therefore the body looked distorted They did this so that the “Ka” could recognize their bodies

15. Hieroglyphics Hieroglyphics (a form of picture writing) were used in the paintings to help tell the story Hieroglyphics was also used for cartouches A cartouche was an oval circle with a name written in it like a nameplate In the early days of ancient Egypt, a cartouche was attached to the coffins of kings and queens. As time went on, many people hired an artist to create a cartouche for their own coffins.  Reign of Akhenaten, 1353–1336 B.C. The ancient Egyptians believed that you had to have your name written down somewhere, so that you would not disappear when you died. Today many people have golden cartouche Necklaces made to wear

16. Clay Cartouche Vocabulary Cartouche-Egyptian nameplate Hieroglyphics-Picture writing used by the Egyptians Bas Relief Sculpture-A low sculpture projecting from a flat background Slab- A flat sheet of clay Coil- A snake like roll of clay Score-roughing up the surface of clay with lines Slip- watered down clay used when adhering two pieces of clay

19. What colors do Egyptians use in jewelry?