The Art of Ancient Egypt

THIS EDITION HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A NEWER EDITION..

From the awesome grandeur of the great pyramids to the delicacy of a face etched on an amulet, the spellbinding power of the art of ancient Egypt persists to this day. This beautifully illustrated book conducts us through the splendors of this world, great and small, and into the mysteries of its fascination in its day as well as in our own. What did art, and the architecture that housed it, mean to the ancient Egyptians? Why did they invest such vast wealth and effort in its production? These are the puzzles Gay Robins explores as she examines the objects of Egyptian art--the tombs and wall paintings, the sculpture and stelae, the coffins, funerary papyri, and amulets--from its first flowering in the Early Dynastic period to its final resurgence in the time of the Ptolemies.

Spanning three thousand years, her book offers a thorough and delightfully readable introduction to the art of ancient Egypt even as it provides insight into questions that have long perplexed experts and amateurs alike. With remarkable sensitivity to the complex ways in which historical, religious, and social changes are related to changes in Egyptian art, she brings out the power and significance of the image in Egyptian belief and life. Her attention to the later period, including Ptolemaic art, shows for the first time how Egyptian art is a continuous phenomenon, changing to meet the needs of different times, right down to the eclipse of ancient Egyptian culture. In its scope, its detail, and its eloquent reproduction of over 250 objects from the British Museum and other collections in Europe, the United States, and Egypt, this volume is without parallel as a guide to the art of ancient Egypt.

Spanning 3,000 years, this illustrated history, which eloquently reproduces over 250 objects, offers a thorough and readable introduction to the art of ancient Egypt even as it provides insight into questions that have long engaged experts and amateurs alike. 150 color illustrations. 150 halftones.

<>Gay Robinsis Associate Professor of Art History and Faculty Curator of Ancient Egyptian Art in the <>Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University.

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Chronology

1. Understanding Ancient Egyptian Art

2. Origins

The Early Dynastic Period

3. The First Flowering

The Old Kingdom (I)

4. A Golden Age

The Old Kingdom (II)

5. Diversity in Disunity

The First Intermediate Period

6. Return to the Heights

The Middle Kingdom (I)

7. Change and Collapse

The Middle Kingdom (II)

8. A New Momentum

The New Kingdom (I): Ahmose To Amenhotep III

9. The Great Heresy

The New Kingdom (II): The Amarna Period And Its Aftermath

10. The Glories of Empire

The New Kingdom (III)

11. Fragmentation and New Directions

The Third Intermediate Period

12. Looking to the Past

The Late Period (I)

13. The Final Flowering

The Late Period (II) And Ptolemaic Period

14. Epilogue

Abbreviations and Bibliography

Further Reading

Illustration Acknowledgements

Index