The origins of portraiture in ancient Egypt no doubt lie in the belief in eternal life. In the early phases of Egyptian history known collectively as the Predynastic period, there were attempts to preserve the body. In the Old Kingdom, the cadaver was wrapped in linen that was stiffened with resin or plaster. Lifelike details were molded or modeled, creating a sculpture from the body. Throughout Egyptian history, the ever-increasing elaboration of funerary equipment reveals the desire to prepare the deceased for eternity; tomb sculptures represent a personal ideological imperative that preserves the identity of the deceased as a self-presentation of a virtuous life, both to the deities and to humans.
Archive for the ‘Ancient art’ Category
13
Apr
Royal Sculpture in Egypt
Representations of the pharaohs in Egyptian statuary, known from the Early Dynastic to the Roman period had many functions: propagandistic, religious, didactic, commemorative, magical, and decorative. Found in temples, tombs, palaces and—exceptionally—private homes, they are made of various materials: most frequently stone, and less frequently wood, metals, or faience. The surfaces of the statues were usually painted, or sometimes overlaid with gold foil, but only a few statues now have parts of this coating. Like other cult objects, royal statues were believed to be endowed with life, which was granted through the Opening the Mouth ceremony.
18
Mar
Academy
The Academy was a public gymnasium in northwest Athens. Plato taught there, and the Academy remained the centre of Platonic philosophizing until the first century bc. Hence the term ‘Academy’ came to be used to designate Plato’s school; members of the school were called ‘Academics’. (And hence, ultimately, the modern use of the words to describe intellectual institutions and their members.)
1
Mar
Tutankhamun’s Tomb
Tutankhamun’s Tomb lies in the central area of the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, where it now bears the number KV 62. It was originally made for a private individual, but pressed into service as a royal tomb when Tutankhamun died with his own intended tomb incomplete. It comprises a passageway leading to an antechamber, off which opens a storeroom. To the right is a large room, running at a right angle to the first chamber, its floor lying around a meter lower. This difference in levels was intended to provide sufficient clearance for the items placed in it, surrounding the king’s quartzite sarcophagus.
25
Feb
Classical Greek Pottery
Most ancient Greek pottery forms were made primarily for local use and are found almost exclusively near where they were produced. Local coarse wares, used primarily in the household, are ubiquitous. A few fine wares, such as Corinthian and Attic, were widely distributed in the Mediterranean at different times and are exceptions. The Etruscans, in particular, were fond of painted Attic pottery for their graves. The provenances of vases sent abroad provide valuable evidence for trade routes. Transport amphorae, the most important of the undecorated vases, are often found in shipwrecks and provide the most useful information.
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Awareness of Classical Greek sculpture (ca. 480–330 B.C.) was for many centuries based upon ancient literary texts describing works of art and statues produced during the Roman Empire that were identified as copies or originals of ancient Greek sculpture. Direct knowledge of Classical sculpture based upon examples found in Greece only began in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when works like the sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens and the Temple of Apollo at Bassae were brought to the attention of scholars, at times overturning the picture that they had formed indirectly of Greek art. Since that time archaeological investigation has produced a more complete picture of Classical Greek sculpture, a picture that is still developing.
How beauty worked within the general context of classical Greek life. Then
beauty was deemed a gift of the gods and was often prized
accordingly in religious ritual. Perhaps the most striking example
of this is the phenomenon of the beauty competition (kallisteion),
which figures in many myths and is often adopted and adapted in
literature. The most popular role for the myth of the beauty contest
is aetiological.
14
Feb
Egyptian Furniture
By the New Kingdom, the quality of Egyptian “furniture” (ḫtwt) was renowned throughout the ancient world. It was often sent as tribute to the rulers of neighboring countries. Its origins can be found in the early Predynastic period. Then, poorly constructed furniture was made from roughly cut branches that were simply lashed together with rope; the timber was cut and formed with stone and flint tools. Flint knives have been found from that period with serrated teeth along their cutting edge, which enabled the woodworker to use them like a simple saw.
13
Feb
Egyptian jewelry
Items of personal adornment from the Nile Valley are an important part of the history of jewelry. More than mere body ornament, jewelry in ancient Egypt was used to display rank, proclaim wealth, and designate social status. It was also fashioned into powerful amulets, objects of barter and trade, accouterments of daily attire, diplomatic gifts, military honors, and propagandistic tools.
The Turkish word harim (Arab., “forbidden, inviolable”) refers to the part of a palace where the women and their resident personnel lived in seclusion. They were under the authority of the ruler, but within the harem existed a hierarchical order, the top of which was the sultan’s mother. A woman treasurer was responsible for the management of the harem.
At the next rank are the sultan’s favorite, then his sisters and daughters. The favorite who bore the first son to the sultan became his first spouse; he could have four. Women slaves assumed higher rank if they bore the sultan’s children. Women enjoying privileged status had their own household and income; the highest in rank owned palaces within the domain of the harem. Within the harem itself, the crown prince had his own harem. The work was done by numerous ordinary slaves and servants, watched over by eunuchs. The struggle for position was carried out through intrigue, and succession was often linked to murder.
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