Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Egypt has one of the richest cultural and religious histories in the world. The level of advancement of the ancient Egyptian culture was higher than that of its neighbors. The Egyptian culture helped in the advancement of various aspects of humanity. The significance of the Egyptian culture in the modern day world makes it one of the most studied cultures in the world. Contemporary mathematics has its roots in the ancient Egyptian culture. Ancient Egyptians used various form to express their culture. Of all the forms used to express Ancient Egyptian culture, none is more significant than the Egyptian art. Ancient Egyptian art give insights into the ancient Egyptian culture. In ancient Egypt, sculpture had a significant religious and political importance. Art symbolized various seasons and religious practices. Sculpture continues to have a significant political and religious importance in the contemporary world, just as it did in the ancient Egyptian culture.

The giant stone head of King Amenhotep III is one of the sculptures that symbolize ancient Egyptian culture. The giant stone head of King Amenhotep III is 2.5 meters high and is a portrait of the king with very youthful features. The head has double crowns, which represent the unification of the Upper and Lower Egypt. The upper crown of ancient Egyptian kings was white with the lower crown being red. In essence, the king was the symbol of the unification of the 'two lands' (Kuhrt 125). Egyptian art for kings was usually slightly different from that of normal people. Most sculptures portrayed majestic frontal view figures of the king seated. This portrayed an image of tranquility and authority (Wilder 61).

Ancient Egyptian art underwent significant changes between the old, middle and new kingdom. The old kingdom art comprised of majestic sitting or standing sculptures. Most of the art from this period shows the frontal view. The art from the middle kingdom has higher level of sophistication. Art from this period is not as uniform as art from the old kingdom (Kleiner 65). There was more advancement in the level of intricacy of art in the new kingdom. The furnishings of the tomb of Tutankhamen portray the high level of artistry skill of the new kingdom art (Venable 272).

However, Egypt was not the only culture that had a high level of civilization. Mesopotamia also is also home to one of the earliest civilizations in the world. Mesopotamians made high quality sculptures. Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian ancient sculptures showed the frontal images of the sculptures. In both cultures, they associated the sculpture with various events. Mesopotamians made majestic sculptures bulls with human heads. This differed with Egyptian art, which comprised of human figures with animal heads. In addition, rarity of stone made Mesopotamians use clay in making their sculptures. Mesopotamians had to import boulders for making stone sculptures. However, Egyptians made their sculptures primarily in stone due to the abundance of rocks (Kuiper 137).

The level of advancement of ancient Egyptian sculpture was higher than that of the neighboring regions. Therefore, it greatly influenced the sculpture of the neighboring regions. The ancient Egyptian