Ancient Egypt is a culture that lasted for thousands of years and with that came an abundance of art and artifacts that are still being examined today. Not much is exactly known about Ancient Egyptian culture but there are somethings that Archaeologist can infer about their culture. One piece that can shed some light onto the ancient Egyptians is the Palette of Narmer. The palette is intriguing both aesthetically and historically we will talk about both. Narmer’s Palette is an interesting piece I found it visually appealing at first but as I learned more about it I truly became entranced by it’s story. Visually Narmer’s Palette contains many elements of Egyptian art including hierarchical scale, stylization and repeated poses. Hierarchical …show more content…
It is the same with Egyptians and their use of sizing.; the largest item is the most important. The Pharaoh Narmer is the largest figure on the palette, this shows his power and his importance. Pharaohs were god-like rulers and were seen as far more powerful than a regular mortal. Pieces in Egypt such as this show Pharaohs as literally being larger than life. The story the Palette of Narmer tells is also a story of Narmer meaning he is even more important to this piece. Another feature that is easily distinguishable in this piece is the stylization. People depicted in Ancient Egyptian art were all made in a similar and recognizable pattern. They are shown with their body parts twisted into the most recognizable, if not physically impossible, way. The eyes and body were shown facing forward while the head and feet were shown in profile. This method of stylizing was used …show more content…
Traditionally King Menes is known as the Unifier. (Mertz 33) While he is only talked about in stories he still could be the famed Unifier. One example is that Pharaohs often had multiple names that they are referred by. It would not be uncommon for Pharaoh Narmer to also be Pharaoh Menes. The problem with this theory is there is another individual in question, Aha. Before the discovery of the Palette of Narmer Pharaoh Aha’s tomb was found. In his tomb there were two names used; Men and Aha. Archaeologist believe Aha was his Horus name, the name of the Pharaoh. Men, assumed to be Menes, was his Nebti name. Nebti, meaning the two ladies, is most likely used for the Pharaoh of both Upper and Lower Egypt which makes since considering Menes is the fabled Unifier. (Mertz 34, 35) Since both names were used to refer to Pharaoh Aha he may be the true Unifier of the two lands. Since this is all speculation historians have come up with many different explanations for these three names. The simplest is that all three names could be one person. (Mertz 34) One person and one war. This wouldn’t be too strange because, as stated before, Pharaohs often had many names. There’s also the possibility that Aha and Memes are the same person, the true Unifier, and Narmer’s Palette was merely a form of propaganda and not a historically accurate
The Palette Of Narmer is made of mudstone, which is a kind of shale. It is a flat stone with circular depressions on it. Palettes were common utensil of the time. It is believed that this flat stone was used for grinding eye paint. This eye paint was used for both men and women to prevent eye infections and possibly also used to reduce the glare of the bright desert sun. The Palette Of Narmer...
Egypt is a city bound to its history and tradition. Portraiture in Egypt was the inspiration for many cultures and stood as heavy influence for the catalyst of portraiture development around the world. Portraiture in ancient Egypt was constant and predictable until the late eighteenth century when Amarna style portraiture was introduced. The Amarna style stands out in Egyptian history for its severe contrast and break in tradition. The rendering of the body changes completely and deviates from what is expected of Egyptian art. This falls into the same time when Amenhotep IV was introducing other changes into Egyptian culture as well. As Amarna style progresses it is accompanied by the institution of Egyptian henotheism. Over two thousand deities were to be abandoned during Amenhotep IV’s eighteen year reign. His name would become Akhenaten and the Amarna style would be grouped into a class of ancient art surrounding Akhenaten, his family, and the sole god Aten.
The Narmer Palette is known for its size, elaborate carvings, and hieroglyphic writings on both sides. This is a prime example of Ancient Egyptian craftsmanship. This palette shows great craftsmanship along with true dedication into the carvings and hieroglyphic writings. The high-quality of workmanship put into the Narmer Palette clearly indicates the significance of this object. According to Francesca Jourdan, the carvings on the front side of the palette are; a king with a traditional beard wearing the “White Crown” to
Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)
The Egyptian Palette of Narmer includes four different sections, it also includes many different figures, some human like and others are different combinations of various animals.
The Palette of Narmer was created on a flat stone surface; the artists then carved the story into the flat stone in a very specific manor. This palette is known for representing the coming together of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (Stokstad and Cothren, 52). At the top of the palette on both sides shows two bulls that were said to possibly represent the goddess Hathor. Hathor was known as the goddess of protection, and is depicted in other Egyptian art as a woman with cow ears (British Museum, no page). In between the heads of Hathor is the name of the King Narmer, written with iconography called serekh. In this serekh, one can see the Horus falcon head and below it is the name of the king. The falcon head is said to protect the Egyptian ruler (Kinnaer). Although this is just one small piece of the top of the palette, it already starts to depict an enormous part of history in Egypt.
The figures, both seated and standing are depicted according to traditional Egyptian conventions. Nebamun is painted as the largest figure in the painting because he is the most significant . He is standing in perfect balance with a youthful, well proportioned and defined body. The artist has painted Nebamun in a way that emphasises what the Egyptians believed to be the most important parts of a man’s body. Teeter expands upon this.
Between history and showcasing, the Greek and Egyptian are utilized quite brilliantly in the Museum's organization. They set precedents not only culturally and historically that the museum goer can trace throughout the other galleries, but an implication that one can learn a lot about the culture just by observing the very nature of how it was showcased—whether it be the open flow between cultures to implicate a deep connection, or a system of separation to indicate category and purpose—there is so much more to be taken than the mere observation of singular artifacts and summaries.
W. Raymond Johnson, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, (1996), pp. 65-82, Date viewed 19th may, http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3822115.pdf?&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true
Make was around starting in the year 10,000 BC. Men and woman both used scented oils and ointments to clean, and get their skin softer. With the oils they would make they would make a type of mask to stop the bad body odors. In 10,000 BC they also used dyes and different type of paints to add color to their body, skin and hair. They would also rouge their lips and cheeks to make them look with more color. People use henna to paint their nail. They would also use a type sustains called kohl to cover/color/darken the eyes and eyebrows. Kohl was made up of crushed antimony, burnt almonds, lead, oxidized copper, ochre, ash, malachite, chrysocolla (a blue-green copper ore) or any combination thereof. The Kohl was applied with a stick and was put on to make almond effect to the eye. This also help to get to less glare from the sun. The most popular colors that the Egyptian used were green and black...
Both of these Egyptian’s have knee length white skirts that were belted at the waist along with big feet. They both have eyeliner around their black eyes along with emotionless expressions shown on their faces. The Egyptian worker on the left is leaning in a side stance with one foot in front of the other towards a tree a bit taller than him. The man also has a white mixed with gray covering on his head. His left hand is holding small box filled with flesh colored figs forming a pyramid. The woven yellow box the Egyptian is holding has small black rectangles on its bottom and top sides. A brown rope is used to hold the box like a basket. His right hand is grabbing a fig towards the middle of the tree near a baboon’s
The major motifs of Egyptian art, such as obelisks, hieroglyphs, the sphinx, and pyramids, were used in various artistic media, including architecture, furniture (68.207a,b), ceramics, and silver. Egyptian motifs provided an exotic alternative to the more traditional styles of the day. Over the course of the nineteenth century, American tastes evolved from a highly ornamented aesthetic to a simpler, sparer sense of decoration; the vocabulary of ancient Egyptian art would be interpreted and adapted in different ways depending on the standards and motivations of the
I find the color element to be the most prominent because of the well done contrasting of colors. The lightness of the model’s skin contrasts to the slightly darkened background to almost give her an otherworldly or angelic glow. The green in the background contrasts greatly with the russet brown of the mountain like trail that seems to be right behind the woman. Even her clothes show contrast because the sleeves are the same russet brown but the rest of her outfit is darker. Those darker colors make her skin tone seem lighter than normal and help to create that luminous or radiant color that seems to radiate from her. The principle that I think stands out the most is emphasis because while more emphasis is put on the model so she is the focal point, the background is also very interesting and not overshadowed by the model. Both of them complement each other with the contrasting light of the girl and the darker background. The viewer’s eyes will immediately go to the lighter section in the middle but will stray to the darker part because neither are forcefully dominating or fighting attention. The color contrast and light contrast aren’t at war with each other; rather they are more like two halves of a whole that perfectly fit each other in a way not commonly
The Egyptians were big lovers of all beauty and fashion. They were such lovers of beauty that some of their names were based on the word ‘nefer’, which means beautiful. Examples of such were Nefert, Nefertiti, and Nefertari. The goddess associated with adornment was “Hathor the Golden”, who is seen as the ideal of beauty in love and poetry of the time.
This red pattern has an obvious texture to it. Immediately, one can see that this red pattern looks to be rougher or “distressed”. Because we do not have any real life images of the boy pharaoh, King Tut, we must focus on the facial structures to gain information about this pharaoh. The plump cheeks and full lips can help us identify him as a young boy. On the headdress of this mask there is two serpents which represent his dominion over the southern end of