World History 1: Egypt

This work of art is a limestone raised relief (a sculpture in which the figures project slightly from the background). Much of the original paint can still be seen on the surface of the relief.

It took several artisans to make an Egyptian relief. The first artisan made a preliminary drawing using red paint and a brush. Next, an artisan carved away the background to form the raised imagery. Once the limestone was carved, the artisan coated the relief with a thin layer of whitewash, a mixture of glue and whiting (chalk). The whitewash filled in holes, smoothed the surface, and provided a white background that brightened the colors in the relief.

This relief was made during the Old Kingdom during the great age of pyramid building. Many of the tombs made in this period are decorated with scenes of daily life, such as the one we see here.

The main figure in this scene is probably the nobleman named Methethy, whose tomb was located at Saqqara, a large cemetery near ancient Memphis.

Ancient Egyptians wrote with brushes, not pens, that scribes made by cutting short, tender rush stems at an angle and then chewing the cut end to separate individual fibers. The brushes were kept in a palette that also held cakes of black and red ink. To use his ink, the scribe added water to the colored cakes with his brush.

Reddish, yellow, and brown pigments (raw colored material) came from naturally occurring minerals such as ochre (hydrated iron oxide). Black pigment came from lamp black (soot) and various forms of carbon black from charcoal.

The raw pigments were mixed with a relatively colorless substance called a binder, which made the pigment thicker and gummy. Possible binders included beeswax, a mixture of gelatin and glue, gum (made from sap of the acacia tree), and egg whites.

The Egyptians called their writing medu-netjer, or "Words of God". The word hieroglyph comes from the ancient Greek meaning “sacred carving.”

This alabaster sculpture is of a scribe named Sema-tawy tefnakht. The hieroglyphs in the cartouches on the scribe’s shoulders tell us the ruler’s name and title, Psamtik I who was a Pharaoh. This scribe must have been quite important since alabaster was rare in ancient Egypt. Egyptians considered it precious and made relatively few statues on this scale. Semy-tawy-tefnakht is shown with a papyrus scroll, the most common writing surface for Egyptian scribes, stretched across his lap.

The role of the Egyptian ruler was to mediate between gods and humans and to maintain ma’at, the balance between order and chaos, in both his kingdom and the universe. The kings of ancient Egypt are usually called pharaohs (from pr-aa, “the great house”), although the Egyptians only began using this term from the middle of Dynasty 18 (around 1400 BCE).

Pharaohs were absolute rulers who were considered the embodiment of the falcon-headed god Horus. When gods were shown with animal heads—or in the form of an animal, the Egyptians were not practicing animal worship. They were illustrating the characteristics of the gods.

At times in the long history of Egypt, the land was ruled by non-Egyptians. One group of rulers who often vied with Egyptian rulers for control of the Nile valley were the kings of Kush, an ancient African empire directly south of Egypt in what is now the Sudan. Kushites ruled all or part of Egypt during Dynasty 25 (760–656 BCE). Even after their expulsion Kushite rulers were portrayed with the same artistic conventions used to portray Egyptian pharaohs.

The inscriptions on the back pillar of this statue identify this figure as Senkamanisken, King of Kush. Gold or silver plating decorated the figure’s kilt and jewelry.

Egypt is sometimes called “the gift of the Nile,” because the fertile Nile Valley could produce large quantities of grain and other crops. Egyptians were also successful traders—and during many intervals, they controlled the gold supplies in Kush. These resources made Egypt a rich prize for foreign powers.

The large number of boat models reflects the Nile’s importance in Egyptian life: the river was Egypt’s main road and an important source of food (fish and waterfowl). Boats were also important in funerary rituals and myths. A burial usually included two or more boat models, at least one rigged for sailing (south, upstream on the Nile) and another for rowing (north, downstream). This model comes from the tomb of Djehutynakht, which contained fifty-five boat models, probably the largest group found in any Middle Kingdom tomb.

Mummification arose out of the Egyptian belief that the deceased must be physically preserved in order for them to enjoy the afterlife. Egyptians developed a ritualized process by which a body was first preserved and then wrapped to create a mummy. Although mummification differed over time and from place to place, the general process involved removing all internal organs (except the heart, which they believed was the seat of consciousness) and drying the body out. After that, several layers of 18 linens were used for wrapping the body, with protective amulets placed between them. Once the mummification process was complete, religious ceremonies (such as the Opening of the Mouth) were performed. Religious texts (including the Book of the Dead) were placed with the body to aid the deceased in the afterlife.

Tjeby lies on his left side facing outwards. Ancient Egyptians believed that his eyes might look through the set of painted eyes on the coffin, which were in the form of wedjet eye, or Eye of Horus. These eyes are a symbol often used to offer protection. It was also thought that they allowed Tjeby to see into the world and receive the life giving rays of the sun. The inscription gives prayers for the afterlife as well as his name and his title: “the Count and Sealbearer of the King of Lower Egypt.”