Egyptian Art

439 Pages·2017·194.54 MB·English

by  Bill Manley

BILL MANLEY is an Egyptologist, university lecturer, museum curator
and best-selling author. He teaches Egyptology and Coptic at the
University of Glasgow, and is Co-Director of Egiptología Complutense,
Honorary President of Egyptology Scotland and an Honorary Research
Fellow at the University of Liverpool. He was formerly Senior Curator for
Ancient Egypt at National Museums Scotland, and continues to work with
archaeological projects in Egypt. His specialist output includes books,
catalogues, articles and exhibitions covering such diverse subjects as
ancient texts, the history of Egyptology, gold jewelry, the archaeology of
Palestine and the world’s earliest philosophy.
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1 View of the burial chamber of the mayor of Thebes Sennefer (see p. 119).

Now, there is a law written in the darkest of the Books Of Life, and it is this: If
you look at a thing nine hundred and ninety-nine times, you are perfectly safe; if
you look at it the thousandth time, you are in frightful danger of seeing it for the
first time.
G. K. Chesterton, The Napoleon Of Notting Hill (1904) I.1
To JEB, for the gift of new eyes
Contents
PART I ART & CREATION
Chapter 1
‘Giving Stone to Its Lord’: Offerings and Monuments
Chapter 2
‘See My Perfection, My Son’: Offerings and the King
Chapter 3
‘The Risen Earth’: Creation in Art and Architecture
PART II ART & THE ARTISTS
Chapter 4
‘All the Craftsmanship Was Under My Attention’: The Artists
Chapter 5
‘Rejoicing in the Perfect Monument’: The Artists at Work
Chapter 6
‘A Gateway to the Far Side of the Sky’: The Principles of Art
Chapter 7
‘For Your Spirit – Have the Perfect Day’: The Canon of the Human Figure
PART III ART IN CONTEXT
Chapter 8
‘The First Instance’: The Earliest Art of Pharaonic Egypt
Chapter 9
‘Stride Perfected on Perfect Paths’: The Noble Offering Cult
Chapter 10
‘I Was The One Who Opened Up This Area’: A Study in Change: The
First Intermediate Period
Chapter 11
‘She Who is Facing Her Lord’: The Tombs and Temples of Thebes
Chapter 12
‘You Create the World As You Will in Your Uniqueness’: Two More
Studies in Change
1. The Amarna Period
2. An Imperial Legacy
Chapter 13
‘I Drove Away the Killers’: Service to Others
Chapter 14
‘A Perfect Joy to Look At’: The Significance of the Minor Arts
Chapter 15
‘I Shall Bring No More Offerings For You’: The Latest Art of Pharaonic
Egypt
Postscript
King-list & Dynasties
Notes
Select Bibliography
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Index
2 Personifications of the Nile Valley (left) and a temple estate presenting their produce as
offerings at the ‘Red Chapel’ of the female king Hatshepsut (see p. 222).
PART I ART & CREATION