Egyptian Artwork "Fragment Of a Wall Relief" Essay example

The work I chose to analyze was from a wall fragment from the tomb of Ameneemhet and wife Hemet called Mummy Case of Paankhenamun, found in the Art Institute of Chicago. The case of the Mummy Paankhenamun is one of the most exquisite pieces of art produced by the Egyptian people during the time before Christ. This coffin belonged to a man named Paankhenamun, which translates to “He Lives for Amun” (Hornblower & Spawforth 74). Paankhenamun was the doorkeeper of the temple of the god Amun, a position he inherited from his father.

George Orwell famously declared »all art is propaganda.« Great works of art, in other words, have a very particular message for an intended audience. This function of art transcends historical periods, as is evident if one takes a closer look at the art of specific eras, such as Ancient Egyptian art. Ancient Egyptian art possessed a very specific propaganda function: to promote the divine origins and authority of the Pharaoh and thus a hierarchical social system.

The temple was originally carved out of the mountainside next to the Nile during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC. It was to serve as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. He also wanted to intimidate Egypt's neighbors, the Nubians. It was Ramses' way of trying to make an impression upon Egypt's neighbors, as well as to force Egypt's religion upon them. Propaganda in Egyptian art was common. Art can attempt to persuade, publicize and influence the people’s attitudes. Their art work includes paintings, stone carvings, statues, and sculpture and funeral artifacts. Daily life such as field work, special events, political and social hierarchy, battles

The cultural artifact that I propose to study is a bust of Queen Nefertiti, who was the Royal Wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. The bust is said to be painted with stucco-coated limestone, created in 1345 B.C by Thutmose who was a talented sculptor. The bust was discovered in 1912 in Thutmose’s workshop by Ludwig Borchardt and his archaeological team. The bust had many owners in Germany throughout the years, however, it is currently on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin. The Nefertiti bust is a cultural phenomenon, especially for ancient Egypt as well as Berlin. Germany had the bust for over a century now and it has been their pride and joy. The argument between Egypt and Germany over the bust has been going on for decades. Egypt believes that the bust belongs to them and that it was taken

“Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters,” is from the Amarna period in 18th dynasty ancient Egypt, which was around c. 1353-1335 BCE. This was a time where art in ancient Egypt was vastly different from anything that had come before it, mostly due to Akhenaton himself. The religion of the time was also very different, as it had become a monotheistic religion instead of a polytheistic one, where everyone now worships the life giving god Aton, represented here by the sun who is soaking them in life-giving rays and the ankh placed on the sun representing Aton. Pictured in this work is the Pharaoh Akhenaton and his family, yet it is not the stiff ceremonial

The carving in real sense depicts the victory of Naram who was the fourth king of the Semite dynasty in the Akkadian empire. This carving depicts a different point of

The ancient Egyptians are known for their fondness for animals, and the cat was a favorite household companion. Cats were common in ancient Egyptian art that depicted domestic scenes since they were greatly appreciated as killers of rodents, snakes, scorpions, ect. Typically homes with cats had less sickness, and fewer deaths. But beyond these roles, cats were cherished as pets and even worshipped. The ancient Egyptians revered and worshipped many animals, just as other ancient civilizations did, but none were worshipped as reverently as the cat. This essay will carefully analyze the Egyptian relief

The British Museum in London holds many ancient pieces of art. There are so many galleries and exhibits inside the museum that several pieces do not get the attention they deserve. One such piece resides in the Assyrian exhibit inside the museum. It is a collection of three alabaster panels that act as registers of a narrative story. The expertly carved reliefs illustrate the great lion hunt performed by an Assyrian king in an arena. So much emotion is portrayed in the brutal imagery of the lion hunt. These great alabaster slabs once resided in an Assyrian palace in present day Nineveh. The reliefs were excavated in the 1840’s by Hormuzd Rassam, employed by Austen Henry Layard of the British Museum. Rassum found the palace by secretly digging at night because the site was originally claimed by French archeologist Victor Place. Since the excavation, the lion hunt reliefs have been displayed in the British Museum. The lion hunt reliefs features so many qualities ranging from historical to artistic. In this report the topic of why the reliefs were made, how they represented the king, the symbolism of the lion, and artistic prowess of the piece will be exposed.

The two sculptures presented for this assignment are the Statue of Gudea, which dates back to 2090 B.C. (“Statue of Gudea,” 2000) and The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu, which dates back to 2575–2465 B.C. (“The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu,” 2000). Both statues represent people; however, they depict different types of people from completely different time periods and cultural backgrounds. The Statue of Gudea shows the ruler of southern Mesopotamian, Gudea, whose reign was from 2144-2124 B.C. (“The votive statue of Gudea: A formal analysis,” 2011) sitting in a praying position with his hands locked and his eyes forward. He is dressed in what appears to be a lavish robe with an inscription that clearly depicts what Gudea thought of himself and his successes during his time as ruler. The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu represent what is thought to be a married ancient Egyptian couple who are lovingly embracing each other. Aside from looking at

I find this piece to be very mysterious. Why does the head become narrow at the top? The face seems to be of an older woman, as shown by the wrinkles indented within the sides of the nose and the mouth, although they are not as prevalent as the one of NYC. There’s a soft jaw line of a woman. What is interesting to me is the indented/concave region of the eyes. Instead of forming an extruding eye with a pupil, the sculptor chose to extract the material to form the eye, unlike the piece we saw of Abu, with eyes stamped with bitumen tar. The lips are very well sculpted, and textured well. It seems like it would mean a lot to a Pharaoh who has lost his mother, or who hopes to forever remember his family. To see the portrait of his family along with himself would’ve made him feel happy and in the presence of his family. I feel this way much of the time when seeing photos of lost family members with me beside them within the photos. It’s like an everlasting memory of that person and being with them in the memory.

Just from looking at a few pieces of the art of the ancient Egyptians, you begin to notice many defining characteristics about it that make it unique and different from other styles of art. There are an ample amount of recurring features in the art, so this must mean that these traits and aspects are noteworthy. This next section of the essay will go into detail about a few of the many types of art and the stylistic elements that define ancient Egyptian art and make it special and distinguishable from other types of art, and why some particular aspects of the art are important.

The reliefs from the palace of King Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud play an important role in portraying the power and importance

Within the society of ancient Egypt, having a good Pharaoh was considered to be absolutely vital for the functioning of the country; and it was for this reason that Egypt had been ruled by these supposedly half gods half humans for over three thousand years. The position of the Pharaoh was auspiciously passed down through the royal family and traditionally to the eldest son when his father died. Hatshepsut was a significant individual who thwarted this convention by depicting herself as a male so that after her husband/brother Thutmosis II died suddenly she could become Pharaoh instead of the rightful successor, who was Thutmosis III. Because of the male-governed society of which she had lived in, Hatshepsut had to indeed subvert the

Egyptian Art and Architecture, the buildings, paintings, sculpture, and allied arts of ancient Egypt, from prehistoric times to its conquest by the Romans in 30 bc. Egypt had the longest unified history of any civilization in the ancient Mediterranean, extending with few interruptions from about 3000 bc to the 4th century ad. The nature of the country, fertilized and united by the Nile, and its semi-isolation from outside cultural influences, produced an artistic style that changed little during this long period. Art in all its forms was devoted principally to the service of the pharaoh, who was considered a god on Earth, to the state, and to religion. From early times a belief in a life after death

The architecture in ancient Egypt is one of the largest and most beautiful civilizations in the whole history according to the big monuments and famous places like temples, pyramids. And in this essay I’ll be talking about the history of the architecture in ancient Egypt and how they built some of the large monuments.