Images and Artists
Male god- Anonymous
King Sahure and a Nome God-Anonymous
Funeral Boat, Tomb of Haremhad–Norman de Garis Davis
Funeral Ritual in a Garden, Tomb of Minnakht–Charles K. Wilkinson
Flight into Egypt-Henry Ossawa Tanner
Purifying and Mourning the Dead, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky–Charles K. Wilkinson
Artist’s Sketch of Pharaoh Spearing a Lion-Anonymous
Barbering, Tomb of Userhat–Nina de Garis
Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy–Nina de Garis Davis
Jurors Statement
The exhibit “Culture and Religion Practices in the Ancient Egypt” shows the artwork that persisted in Egypt in the ancient times. The artwork covered the number of the prominent historical events that took place in Egypt making it a unique country in Africa. As such, the drawings reviewed are the ones involving the funeral practices as well as the gods that were used to rule Egypt. In this case, the selected artwork in this report reveals some of the significant aspects of the religion and cultural practices of Egypt. The efforts of the artists in documenting these events in the form of drawings, paintings, and sculptures is presented by reviewing the component of the pictures and the significance of the pictures in relation to the history of the Egypt. The paintings, therefore, are made to reveal the practices used during the funeral procession and in burying the dead with their properties with the belief that they will continue living in the living world. Moreover, other paintings discussed assess the religion part of Egypt by discussing the artwork of the Egyptian gods.
Male god
Anonymous
- 1390-1352 B.C.
Granodiorite
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The elegance part of this picture is the way it presents the reign of the Pharaoh in the entire of the drawing. The god in the picture holds a scepter in the left hand that shows the dominion where the right hand would have held the ankh hieroglyph that would save life. Despite that fact that major attributes of the statue are missing, it is clearly shown that it is erected through Amenhotep III.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547777
King Sahure and a Nome God
Anonymous
Ca. 2458-2446 BC.
Gneiss
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The artist shows the artistic skills by presenting the picture in three-dimensional. The picture represents Sahure the rule of Dynasty 5 seated on the throne with a smaller male figure who represented the local god. Moreover, the artist shows an understanding of the Egyptian ruling culture by showing the right wearing of Sahure in the picture where he wears an archaic wig with a curling beard of god.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/543882
Funeral Boat, Tomb of Haremhad
Norman de Garis Davis
- 1295-1070 BC
Tempera on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The artist displays the basic picture of the funeral procession in Egypt by showing the components of the funeral boat. The picture contains a man and a woman standing in the opposite direction, as they were standing at the opposite ends of the coffin. Between the man and woman, there is a female priestess who acts as the Isis god by taking his roles. These three characters in the picture are differentiated from the coloring that the artist gives each to show their distinction.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/557841
Funeral Ritual in a Garden, Tomb of Minnakht
Charles K. Wilkinson
Tempera on paper
Ca. 1479-1425 B.C.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The artist signifies the rituals made during a funeral by making paintings in the tomb of Minnakht. The entire scene presents the prowess of the artist by marking the important rituals made during the Egyptian funeral. This is clearly presented in a garden that surrounded the building with a huge pool in front of the building. In addition, the artist presents two men in front of the offering tables where each of these men pour the libation with the other hand holding brazier for burning incense. The pool has a boat that shows what will be used to carry the dead body. A clear combination of these figures shows the artistic skills of combining all the rituals performed in the Egyptian funeral.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544601
Flight into Egypt
Henry Ossawa Tanner
1923
Oil on canvas
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The flight is an artistic work used to demonstrate the Biblical story of Joseph and Mary who flew from the assassination attempts of King Herod. This being Tenner’s favorite story in the Bible, he uses his artistic prowess to present the personal issues on freedom and attempts of escaping persecutions through migration. In addition, the artist shows the concern of the migration that Africans were subjected during the colonial times. The mode of freeing is shown in the picture where walking was the only means of transport and the lucky ones have to be carried by animals. Besides, the drawing shows that those who fled carried little or no belongings when moving to the foreign country.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/16947
Purifying and Mourning the Dead, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky
Charles K. Wilkinson
- 1390-1349 B.C.
Tempera on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
With the similar intent of describing the death funeral in Egypt, Charles discusses the purifying ritual of both Nebamun and Ipuky. In this drawing, the artist shows the role that women played in facilitating the entire process. The women are presented as squatting in front of the mummified body held by a man. In one of the pictures, a man pours the purifying oil in the head of the mourning woman. The mummified body is placed in a tomb that has a number of items that the dead will be buried with. In this case, the artist shows the internal and external structure of the Egyptian tombs, hence showing their significance.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545140
Artist’s Sketch of Pharaoh Spearing a Lion
Anonymous
Ca. 1186-1070 B.C.
Limestone, ink
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The artist in this drawing aims at showing the essence of Pharaohs in Egypt dynasty during the ancient times. As a result, the artist represents Pharaoh slaying a lion, which is a symbolic showing that the Pharaoh was to protect the Egyptians from its enemies and see through their success. The artist also attempted to show that any Egyptian ruler should be strong to protect the Egypt from its enemies. Conversely, the drawing was made on a limestone chip showing the artistic skills of the artist, as he did not use grid lines to guide him.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544076
Barbering, Tomb of Userhat
Nina de Garis
Ca. 1427-1400 B.C.
Tempera on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The drawing and painting presented in this picture represent the tomb of Userhat at Thebes. The artist makes clear drawing so various people who could attend the tomb by making drawing of both young and old adults attending the barber. The artist shows the way people were calm as they awaited for their turn to be shaved as none of them was conversing with each other.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/557688
Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy
Nina de Garis Davis
Ca. 1390-1352 B.C.
Tempera on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
The use artistic skills are exploited in this picture to show the funeral procession in Egypt. Coffin transportation is shown together with the properties that the dead will be buried with. The mummified body is shown with the presents that people are offering to the dead person. On the lower left side of the picture, the artist shows the way the attendees practiced and prepared themselves for the mouth ceremony once the offering was finished.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/557766
References
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). Artist’s Sketch of Pharaoh Spearing a Lion. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544076
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). Barbering, Tomb of Userhat. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/557688
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). Flight into Egypt. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/16947
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/557766
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). Funeral Ritual in a Garden, Tomb of Minnakht. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544601
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). King Sahure and a Nome God. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/543882
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). Male god. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547777
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2016). Purifying and Mourning the Dead, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545140
