THE PREDYNASTIC PERIOD — 3500-3000 B.C.
As implied by the name, we do not have reliable history
of the Predynastic period. We are
not sure “who” the early Egyptians were — whether they were Africans or
whether they peoples who had migrated from
Upper Egypt
(Southern part of the
Lower
At the end of the Predynastic period, Upper and
Technically, this is a makeup palette made of slate and embellished with low relief sculpture; the well on the front between the intertwined lion's necks would have been used to grind and mix pigments that were applied to the face. However, this particular palette was never used as such. It functioned strictly as a work of art and, as noted above, was a commemorative piece that celebrated the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. It was difficult to execute and was probably an expensive piece.
FRONT |
BACK |
Back of the Palette of Narmer:
At the top are two heads of Hathor. According to Egyptian mythology, Hathor was a goddess who could transform herself into a lioness. She was also commonly depicted as a young women with a cow’s head. Here she is a supporter of Narmer. Namer’s name appears in the central hieroglyph. Altogether, she is depicted four times at the top (i.e. on the front and back). The position at the top is associated with the sky and the number four represents the four corners of the sky. Thus, Hathor's presence in this composition implies that the King’s power is universal. The sky is also linked to the eternal cosmos.
On the left, the King is accompanied by an official who is carrying his sandals.
Of the right, Horus — here as a human-armed falcon — is holding captive a man with papyrus
growing from his back. This is a hieroglyph for the people of
Here I want to digress for a bit and provide some information about the complicated mythology associated with Horus. This story begins with two brothers — Osiris and Set — and two sisters — Isis and Nephthys. Osiris was a good and beneficent Egyptian king who was murdered by his brother Set (this recalls the biblical story of Cain and Abel). Osiris was deeply mourned. His body was recovered and temporarily restored to life by Isis. Isis then conceived a child with Osiris — the child was Horus. When Horus reached manhood, Horus was identified with royalty.
In ancient |
At the very bottom register, we see two fallen enemies.
Front of the Palette of Narmer:
At the top, we again see the two heads of Hathor.
In the second register, King Narmer appears wearing the red cobra crown of
In the third register, the lions of Upper and Lower Egypt are symbolically united with their long necks intertwined.
In the bottom register, we see the King as a bull knocking down the walls of a great fortress
Although the perspective is not consistent, notice that the horizontal lines are used to establish a ground line.
Although this is an interesting work of art with a lot of symbolism, it should be noted that commemorative art of any sort is is rare in Ancient Egypt. Most of the art that survives is funerary in nature and is associated with the dead.
Mastaba tombs
In Egyptian culture, the perception was that life was a very short blip, but that life after death was eternal. Therefore, funerary structures were meant to endure.
During the Predynastic period and continuing during the
period of the
Because the Egyptians believed that the body could be inhabited by the spirit after death, part of their funerary ritual required preservation of the body — or mummification. They believed that the body inhabited by the ka required all that had been required on earth — food, clothing, utensils. In case the mummy disintegrated, there were sculpted figures that the ka could inhabit.
Imhotep, Stepped Pyramid of King Zoser (Djoser) at
Saqqara
was the necropolis associated with the city of
Note that the pyramid stood on top of a burial chamber
that was meant for the King. Around
this room was a network of underground passages and corridors.
Some of the walls were decorated with relief carvings of King Zoser,
while some passages were filled with vases that were carved from alabaster,
serpentine, rock crystal and other fine stones.
When completed, the Pyramid of King Zoser was part of a large funerary complex that was surrounded by a wall of white limestone — the perimeter is approximately 1 mile in length and is about 33 feet high. There are 14 large gateways — all of which are false except for one. Inside the wall are a series of courtyards and chapels — all executed in cut stone and most of them sham (these were for the ka of the deceased, not the living visitors to the site). They imitate temporary structures that were erected to for celebrations in honor of the King.
Notes:
Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids (
New York
: