Egyptian Art: Trajan's Kiosk

Egyptian art is distinguished for its endurance and for influencing the following civilizations, Greek, Roman, and all the succeeding modern arts. Everything was minutely created with a sense of permanence, Egyptians believed "in continued life after death" (Abercrombie, Whiton 12).

We foresee a roofless Temple of Hathor from Philae Island, (also known as Trajan's Kiosk or Pharaoh's Bed) and a well-preserved, armless chair, built approximately during the 18-19 Dynasty, 1550-1186 B.C., and housed in the Louvre Museum of France.

The meticulous decorations are remarkable on both structures, either in wood or in stone. Hardwood, because of its rarity in Egypt, was used "with appropriate economy" (Abercrombie, Whiton 27), employing "sophisticated

techniques for the design and construction" (Abercrombie, Whiton 28). Many of those techniques are still being used today. The chair's legs are decorated with carved lion's paws, the seat presents an opening, covered only by intrinsic weaved leather straps, and the backseat of the chair presents decorative ivory inlays of lotus flowers, symbol of the sun, of creation and rebirth. Similarly, the Philae temple arrays 14 columns with adorning floral capitals - bundled papyrus stalks with lotus blossoms (volutes) are sublimely carved in stone.
Even though the structures have different scales and different construction materials, both of them exhibit an axial movement - every element is being "mirrored by an equal element". "In the vast temple complexes", as well as "in the small personal objects of daily life", "symmetry and repetition abound, giving a sense of vast, perfectly ordered, and timeless universe", "a universe combining both the natural and the supernatural" (Abercrombie, Whiton 29).
It should be added, perhaps, that the Egyptians excelled in building simple but appealing designs, using innate elements, basic tools and ingenious techniques. All decorations dispatched unique symbols, connected to their complex spiritual beliefs.