Introduction & Predynastic Period

Introduction:

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 through 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 king (the pharaoh), who was considered a god on earth, the state, and religion. From early times a belief in a life after death dictated that the dead be buried with material goods to ensure well-being for eternity. The regular patterns of nature-the annual flooding of the Nile, the cycle of the seasons, and the progress of the sun that brought day and night-were considered gifts of the gods for the people of Egypt. Egyptian thought, morality, and culture were rooted in a deep respect for order and balance. Change and novelty were not considered important in themselves; as a consequence Egyptian art was based on tradition and was to a certain extent unvarying. Manners of representation and artistic forms were worked out early in Egyptian history and were used for more than 3000 years. To the modern viewer this may seem to have resulted in a stiff and static art; the basic intention of Egyptian art, however, was not to create an image of things as they look to the eye, but rather to represent the essence of a person or object for eternity.

Predynastic Period:

The early prehistoric dwellers on the Nile inhabited the terraces or plateaus left by the river as it cut its bed. The remains of their tools and implements show their gradual development from hunters to settled agriculturists. By 4000 BC the civilization of Egypt was in its earliest formative stages; the Predynastic period, which lasted until about 3100 BC, had begun.

Evidence of organized settlements has been found; the art produced during this time was discovered mainly in their cemeteries. Objects were put into the grave with the body for the use of the spirit in the next life, thus preserving a great quantity of such personal goods as pottery, tools, and weapons. The pottery is often decorated with painting that reflects the life of the time. Images of birds and animals common to the land bordering the Nile abound, and from the latter part of the Predynastic period come elaborate depictions of many-oared Nile boats. Copper was used in limited quantities for beads and simple tools, but most implements were chipped from stone. Cosmetic palettes made of stone were used for grinding eye paint. Small sculptures and figurines were either carved from ivory and bone or modeled in clay.

Playing: Rag3een Midi