The Art of Ancient Egypt

By Spencer Schlaich and Myles Freeman

Due: April 12, 2017
 Agenda
Visual Art

Sculpture/Pottery

Music

Dance and Theatre

Writing and Writers

Tools and Engineering

Architecture and Design

Fun Facts

Bibliography
 Visual Art
The beginning of the art of weaving and dyeing were
lost over time. Mummy cloths of varying degrees of
quality, showing how good they were at it, are
preserved in museums.

Ancient egyptians created paintings to make the

afterlife of the dead seem like a pleasant place. The
themes included journey through the afterworld or their
protective deities introducing the dead to the gods of
the underworld. Tomb paintings show activities that
the dead were involved in when they were alive.
 Sculpture/Pottery
The art of Egyptian sculpture was to represent the gods, pharaohs, divine kings
and queens in physical form. They built amazing statues to represent god,
kings, and queens. The statues were supposed to give eternal life to the god
kings and queens and to enable the subjects to see them in physical forms. They
also had strict rules for how to build sculptures and statues:

Male statues were darker than female ones

In seated statues, hands had to be placed on the knees
Every egyptian god had specific rules for their appearance:
Horus (the sky god) was to be represented with a falcons head.
Anubis (god of funeral rites) was to be shown with a jackals head.
 Sculpture/Pottery Contd
Materials used for sculpture:

Alabaster
Ivory
Limestone
Basalt
Wood gilded gold and/or solid gold

Relief sculpture: A relief is a sculpture that is part of a wall or structure. They often
carved them into the walls of their temples and tombs. Reliefs were mostly
painted too.
 Music
Music was a big part of Ancient Egyptian culture. They had many musical
instruments. Musical instruments buried with the dead often had the names of the
Egyptian gods Hathor and Bes who were the gods of music, written on them.

Percussion Instruments: rattles, drums, bells, and a metallic instrument called a

sistrum

Wind Instruments: Trumpets and flutes

Stringed Instruments: Ancient Egyptians did not use bowed instruments like the
violin but instead they played lyres, lutes, and harps.
 Music Contd
In Ancient Egypt, temple musicians had the highest status. They played in
temples for a certain god or goddess. A lower status was an entertainment
musician who at times played for royalty. They also played at parties and festivals
 Dance and Theatre
Theatre: Ancient Egyptian theatre came from ritual.
Story lines were inspired by local myths. Despite the
advanced civilization of Ancient Egypt theatre never
expanded beyond ritual, pageantry, burial
ceremonies, and commemorations of dead pharaohs.

Dance: Ancient Egyptian dance differed on the

situation. For example, a military meeting dance
performance would be different from a more ritualistic
time. The dancers were mostly in groups of one
gender. The steps were choreographed where each
dancer had his/her own unique gestures and
positions.
 Writing and Writers
The egyptians used hieroglyphics which are symbols
with independent meanings or are used in
combinations.

Egyptian literature also contains art as the texts and

pictures are recorded on papyrus or wall paintings.

Other literature related art forms include hymns to the

gods, mythological and magical texts, mortuary texts,
biographical and historical texts, scientific premises,
mathematical and medical texts, and wisdom texts
dealing with instructive literature and stories.
 Tools and Engineering
Ancient Egyptians invented many simple machines like
the ramp and the lever to help them with construction.
They used rope trusses to harden the beam of their
ships. They also had a major role in developing
technology like ships and lighthouses and they created
the pyramid.

It is possible that the Ancient Egyptians had aviation.

A wood carving dating back to the third century B.C.
was found in a tomb. It was first classified as a bird
carving and put in a museum with other bird carvings
until Dr. Khalil Messiha, an egyptologist realized that it
looked like model airplanes.
 Architecture and Design
Most ancient Egyptian towns were lost because they were
built in the cultivated and flooded area of the Nile Valley.
Many temples and tombs have survived because they
were built on ground unaffected by the Nile flood. The dry
and hot climate of Egypt has caused some mud brick
structures to survive and avoid the destructive effects of
water or man.

Materials used:

Stone: tombs and temples

Unbaked mud brick: domestic material, used for royal
palaces, fortresses, walls of temple precincts and
towns, and subsidiary buildings in temple complexes.
 Architecture and Design
Tombs:

Most tombs had two principal parts: the burial chamber (the tomb proper) and the
chapel, which is where offerings for the dead could be made.
 Architecture and Design
Temples: There are two kinds of temples built: cult temples and funerary or
mortuary temples.

The ancient Egyptians believed that temples were the homes of the gods and
goddesses. Every temple was dedicated to a god or goddess and they were
worshipped there by the temple priests and the pharaoh. The temple were made
of stone so they would last forever. The walls of temples were covered with
scenes that were carved onto the stone and then painted. The scenes showed
the pharaoh fighting in battles and performing rituals with the gods and
goddesses.
 Fun Facts
They mostly used they colors blue, black, red, green, and gold in their
paintings.
Most of the art depicted the pharaohs. They did this because the pharaohs
were considered gods.
The reason a lot of paintings from Ancient Egypt survived for so long was
because of the dry climate.
Small carved models were sometimes included in tombs. The models were of
slaves, animals, boats, buildings, or anything that would help them in the
afterlife.
A lot of the art hidden in tombs was stolen by thieves over the years.
 Fun Facts
Ancient Egyptian art was very diverse.
A lot of Ancient Egyptian artists and architects are unknown.
Most of their art was not seen by normal people because it was too powerful
to be viewed by the general public
Most of the people in Ancient Egypt were not mummified, and if they were,
only priests were allowed to see them.
 Bibliography: Websites
"Ancient Egyptian Art, Painting, Sculpture - Crystalinks." Ancient Egyptian Art,
Painting, Sculpture - Crystalinks. N.p., n.d. Web. Apr. 2017.

Dorman, Peter F., and Thomas Garnett Henry James. "Egyptian art and
architecture." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica, inc., 1 June
2016. Web. Apr. 2017.

"Facts about Ancient Egyptian History for Kids." Ancient Egyptian Facts. N.p., n.d.
Web. Apr. 2017.

Ken, Nelson. "Art History and Artists." Ducksters Educational Site. TSI
(technological solutions inc.), Apr. 2017. Web. Apr. 2017.
 Bibliography: Websites
Laukens, Dirk. "Music in Ancient Egypt." Ancient Egypt Online. N.p., Nov. 2015.
Web. Apr. 2017.

1 "10 surprising facts about Ancient Egyptian art and architecture." OUPblog. N.p.,
04 May 2016. Web. Apr. 2017.

"Temples." Temples. N.p., n.d. Web. Apr. 2017.

 Bibliography: Images
Image 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt
Image 2:
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-egypt/pictures/egyptian-r
elief-sculpture-and-paintings
Image 3: http://sculptures.website/egyptian-sculpture.html
Image 4: http://www.historyforkids.net/egyptian-music.html
Image 5:
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/298593-ancient-egyptian-
music/
Image 6: http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/tag/adrianna-parson/
 Bibliography: Images
Image 7:
http://www.artyfactory.com/egyptian_art/egyptian_hieroglyphs/hieroglyphs.ht
m
Image 8: http://techland.time.com/2010/06/09/cryptids-the-saqqara-bird/
Image 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQl67CvfrtI
Top 10 Ancient Egyptian Temples HD 2014 HD
Image 10:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160317-king-tut-tomb-hidden-ch
ambers-radar-egypt-archaeology/
Image 11:
http://www.mummies2pyramids.info/pyramids-tombs/pyramids-tombs-index.ht
m
 Bibliography: Images
Image 12:
http://www.ducksters.com/history/art/ancient_egypt_bust_of_nefertiti_sm.jpg
Image 13:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/fd/80/15/fd8015adf35b74dc9e9d
8960b06c7d40.jpg
EGYPT NATION