A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World

"A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art. * Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award for Single Volume Reference in the Humanities & Social Sciences * Features contributions from top scholars in their respective fields of expertise relating to ancient Egyptian art * Provides overviews of past and present scholarship and suggests new avenues to stimulate debate and allow for critical readings of individual art works * Explores themes and topics such as methodological approaches, transmission of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, ancient reception, technology and interpretation, * Provides a comprehensive synthesis on a discipline that has diversified to the extent that it now incorporates subjects ranging from gender theory to 'X-ray fluorescence' and 'image-based interpretations systems'". -- Prové de l'editor Cover 1 Title Page 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 11 Foreword 15 Preface 17 Acknowledgments 19 List of Abbreviations 21 List of Illustrations 23 List of Plates 33 Chronology of Egyptian Kings 35 Chronology of Kushite Rulers 43 Maps 47 Chapter 1 What Is Art? 51 Introduction: “Art” and the Aesthetic 51 The Aesthetic Context 53 The Aesthetic Community 55 Pictorial Representation 56 Idealization 60 Enactment 61 The Unity of Aesthetic Forms 62 Change and Tradition 64 What Is Distinctively Egyptian? 65 Guide to Further Reading 66 References 67 Part I Methodological Approaches 73 Chapter 2 Historiography of Ancient Egyptian Art 75 Acknowledgment 82 Guide to Further Reading 82 References and Bibliography 83 Chapter 3 Style 89 Introduction 89 Early Studies 89 Formalistic Analysis 91 Stylistic Change and Its Meaning 95 Style and Iconography 97 Style and Egyptian Proportions 99 Semiotics, Hermeneutics, and Style 99 The Reception of Style 101 Conclusion 103 Acknowledgment 104 Guide to Further Reading 104 References 104 Chapter 4 Connoisseurship 110 Introduction 110 Predynastic Period 111 Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom 112 Middle Kingdom 116 New Kingdom 118 Third Intermediate Period 122 Late Period 123 Guide to Further Reading 126 References 126 Chapter 5 Iconography and Symbolism 128 Introduction: What Is Iconography? 128 First Phase of Iconographical Research: Emergence (ca. 1900–1950) 130 Second Phase of Iconographical Research: Consolidation (ca. 1950–1980) 131 Third Phase of Iconographical Research: New Horizons (ca. 1980–2010) 132 Showing, Propagating, and Discussing Iconography: The New Mass Media 138 Theoretical Reflection on Iconography, Iconology, and Symbolism 140 Guide to further Reading 142 References 143 Internet Resources 146 Chapter 6 Semiotics and Hermeneutics 148 Semiotics 148 Hermeneutics 158 Conclusion – Conception vs Reception: The Role of the Interpreter 166 Guide to Further Reading 167 References 167 Chapter 7 Gender and Sexuality 170 What Are Gender and Sexuality? 170 Gender in Ancient Egyptian Art 171 Elite Male and Female Figures 172 Non-elite Figures 175 Figures of Children 175 Figures of the King and Royal Women 176 Figures of Male and Female Deities 177 Gender Structure and Organization in Ancient Egyptian Society 178 Sexuality 178 Sexuality and Elite Figures 180 Nude Female Images 182 Guide to Further Reading 186 References 186 Chapter 8 Reception and Perception 191 Reception and Perception of Art 191 Reception and Perception of Ancient Egyptian Art 192 Aesthetics 197 Conditions of Reception and Perception 199 Guide to Further Reading 201 References 201 Chapter 9 Representing the Other: Non-Egyptians in Pharaonic Iconography 205 The Other 205 The Cosmological Role of Foreigners 205 Foreigners and Kingship 206 Internal Divisions among Foreigners 209 The Nine Bows and “Egyptian Foreigners” 210 The Old and Middle Kingdoms 212 The New Kingdom and Later 217 Conclusion 221 Guide to Further Reading 222 References 222 Chapter 10 Interpreting Ancient Egyptian Material Culture 225 The Parameters of Ancient Egyptian Material Culture 225 Problems in the Interpretation of Ancient Egyptian Material Culture, General and Specific 228 Ways of Looking, or Methodologies of Interpretation 232 Potential Avenues for Exploration 234 Guide to Further Reading 236 References 236 Part II Materials and Mediums 239 Chapter 11 Sculpture 241 Introduction 241 Development of Sculpture 243 Methodological Analysis of Egyptian Sculpture 260 Guide to Further Reading 262 References 263 Chapter 12 Relief 269 Introduction 269 Chronological Development 272 Stylistic Analysis of Relief 278 Context and Function: Interpreting the Significance of Egyptian Relief 281 Guide to Further Reading 288 References 288 Chapter 13 Painting 299 Introduction 299 The Early Steps of Egyptian Painting 299 The Innovative Strength of Dynasty 4 301 Painting as Alternative to Painted Relief 302 Painting as Incompleteness, and Incompleteness as an Expression of Eternity 303 The First Intermediate Period—Catching the Most Colorful Moments of Life 304 The Middle Kingdom—the Province as a Center 306 The Second Intermediate Period 308 The “Minoan Painting” of Palace F at Tell el-Dab’a 308 The New Kingdom and the Peak of Egyptian Painting 310 The Palatine Painting of Mid Dynasty 18 312 The Royal Tombs of the New Kingdom 312 Ramesside Painting 313 The First Millennium BCE 314 Guide to Further Reading 315 References 315 Chapter 14 Coffins, Cartonnage, and Sarcophagi 319 The Function of the Body Container 320 Coffin Types 322 Coffins and Ancient Egyptian Society 323 Coffin Studies Methodologies 324 Coffin Development 327 Guide to Further Reading 338 References 339 Chapter 15 Luxury Arts 343 Nothing Can Compare... 343 Gifts for the Gods 344 Royal Treasures 345 Courtiers’ Tickets to Heaven 347 Manufacturing Secrets of Antiquity’s High-Tech Materials 352 Guide to Further Reading 354 References 354 Part III Concepts in Art 357 Chapter 16 Ideology and Propaganda 359 Introduction 359 Accessibility 359 Royal Propaganda 362 Private Propaganda 365 Guide to Further Reading 373 References 374 Chapter 17 Religion and Ritual 378 Introduction 378 Art and Architecture as Reflections of Religion 379 Festivals and Their Impact upon Architectural Forms 386 Religion and Art in the Amarna Period 390 Conclusion 391 Guide to Further Reading 391 References 392 Chapter 18 Narrative 394 Definition of Narrative and Narratology 394 Visual Narrative 397 Visual Narrative in Ancient Egypt 401 Examples of Visual Narrative in Ancient Egyptian Art 402 Conclusion 407 Guide to Further Reading 407 References 407 Chapter 19 The Ordering of the Figure 410 Guide to Further Reading 423 References 423 Chapter 20 Portraiture 425 Approaches to and Definitions of the "Portrait" in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: Appreciation and Growth of Collections 425 Descriptive Analysis 426 Physiognomy and Race 428 Individual Likeness and Its Interpretation 429 Twentieth-Century Portraiture Scholarship and the Formalist Methodologies 436 Current Trends in Portrait Analysis 438 Guide to Further Reading 442 References 442 Part IV Interconnections with the Larger World 447 Chapter 21 Egyptian Connections with the Larger World: Greece and Rome 449 Overview 449 Egypt and the Aegean Islands 450 Egypt and Greece: The Hellenistic Period 461 Egypt and Rome 466 Guide to Further Reading 470 References 470 Chapter 22 Egyptian Connections with the Larger World: Ancient Near East 473 Introduction 473 Predynastic Egypt and Western Asia 474 Predynastic Egypt and Early Dynastic Mesopotamia 478 The Old Kingdom 479 The Middle Kingdom 480 The New Kingdom 482 New Kingdom Egypt and the Iron Age in Ancient Mesopotamia 487 Western Asia and the “Eastern High Gate” at Medinet Habu 488 Ancient Egypt and the Achaemenid Persian Empire 490 Acknowledgment 491 Guide to Further Reading 491 References 492 Chapter 23 The Art and Architecture of Kushite Nubia 497 The Origins of the Kushite Empire 497 Dynasty 25 499 Napatan Sculpture 504 The Meroitic Period 506 The Post-Meroitic Period 510 Guide to Further Reading 510 References 510 Part V Reception of Ancient Egyptian Art in the Modern World 513 Chapter 24 Egyptomania: Fascination for Egypt and Its Expression in the Modern World 515 Guide to Further Reading 530 References 531 Part VI Technology and Interpretation 533 Chapter 25 Interpretation 535 Traditional Methods, and Their Advantages and Disadvantages 536 Possible Productive Future Approaches 547 Conclusion 550 Guide to Further Reading 550 References 551 Chapter 26 Technology 554 Questions Science Can Address 554 Pigments and Painting 556 Vitreous Materials 557 Glass 558 Metals 561 Ceramics 565 Organic Materials Used in Coatings, Paint Binders, and Adhesives 566 Conclusion 568 Guide to Further Reading 568 References 569 Chapter 27 Conservation of Egyptian Objects: A Review of Current Practices in the Field and in Museum Settings 572 Introduction 572 The Nature of Egyptian Collections 572 The Conservation Profession and Current Trends with Special Reference to Egypt 573 Egyptian Materials and Their Deterioration 577 Field Conservation 579 Conservation in Museums 581 Conclusion 590 Guide to Further Reading 591 References 591 Index 595 Supplemental Images 624 EULA 632

A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art.

•Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award for Single Volume Reference in the Humanities & Social Sciences
•Features contributions from top scholars in their respective fields of expertise relating to ancient Egyptian art
•Provides overviews of past and present scholarship and suggests new avenues to stimulate debate and allow for critical readings of individual art works
•Explores themes and topics such as methodological approaches, transmission of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, ancient reception, technology and interpretation,
•Provides a comprehensive synthesis on a discipline that has diversified to the extent that it now incorporates subjects ranging from gender theory to 'X-ray fluorescence' and 'image-based interpretations systems'

A companion to Ancient Egyptian art' presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art.0• Features contributions from top scholars in their respective fields of expertise relating to ancient Egyptian art0• Provides overviews of past and present scholarship and suggests new avenues to stimulate debate and allow for critical readings of individual art works0• Explores themes and topics such as methodological approaches, transmission of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, ancient reception, technology and interpretation, 0• Provides a comprehensive synthesis on a discipline that has diversified to the extent that it now incorporates subjects ranging from gender theory to ‘X-ray fluorescence’ and ‘image-based interpretations systems’