Nelson miller: the structural art of ancient Egypt

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

When one thinks of art, thoughts of traditional oil paintings or statues come to mind. In the 21st century, art is perhaps best known as select things such as abstract wall paintings, random objects welded together on lawns of university campuses, or perhaps a poster or photograph. However, art encompases so much more than paint, clay, or metal, and so much more than creative aesthetics. Art is everywhere around us in many different forms. Some of these traditional forms are paintings, prints, drawings, photography, craft, design, performance, installation, mixed media, sculpture, and new media. However, viewing art in these forms alone will be found as limiting. Art is always a diverse range of human activities that express the author’s imaginative or technical skill. These works are intended to be appreciated for their beauty, function, or emotional power. These qualities are displayed perfectly in the study of ancient man, and we will look into one particular area of art now that has not been listed above.As a theme of this discourse we would like to discover and analyse another form of art that can often be overlooked. Often today an Architect will design a building in such a way as to be more about creativity and aesthetics than it is about function and practical purpose. However, something that struck me about ancient Egyptian architecture and structure was the seamless combination of both of these. For example, large columns or decorated cantilever corbel structures serve both to be pleasing to the eye and atmosphere as well as serve a practical purpose of strength and support. This is inspiring to us all today, and it shows the creative and practical spirits of the ancient man as it relates to construction and art.As I have mentioned, art is so much more than creativity -- it is also design and science. Building structures, no matter how small or how massive, share creativity in design and often a brilliant use of technology. Not only is this found in the structure, but also in its method of assembly. Buildings can be some of the most beautiful and attractive art forms around the world, but they take lots of careful planning, management, and designing. In fact, there are ancient structures around the world in which the construction methods utterly amaze us and even outdo that of our present day, even though we have the privilege of utilizing modern technology and equipment. These amazing ancient structures still cannot be fully explained and we are left to postulate on how these people were able to construct them without the work saving tools and technology we have today. It is clear that ancient structural art is not only fascinating to behold as aesthetic wonders, but as mysteries of engineering history. It is appealing and even mysterious as a special craft that should not be overlooked.In my exhibition I will focus on five works of art that are awe inspiring in artistic creativity as well structural integrity. Each of t he works in my exhibition support my the overall theme of “Art in Ancient Egypt.”

[North Side of the Temple of Amenhotep at Luxor] / [Luxor, Temple d'Amenoflin Cote Nord], Antonio Beato, 1880–1889, From the collection of: The J. Paul Getty Museum

Architect: Amenhotep Title: The Temple of Amenhotep Location of artwork: Luxor, Egypt Medium: Stone Date: 1390-1353 BC Amenhotep III ruled Egypt for nearly forty years until his death in 1349 B.C. at the age of 50. During his reign Egypt experienced prosperity, political stability, and built some of ancient Egypts greatest structures. The legacy of Amenhotep III includes an elaborate mortuary temple built for rituals and offerings to honor the pharaoh’s eternal existence. Amenhotep’s chief architect was Amenhotep, son of Hapu. Amenhotep III built many large structures in his reign. The Temple here was the largest of all teh temple complexes in Egypt. Originally, it contained three large mud-brick pylons lined up on a single axis, and along connecting corridor leading to a huge, open courtyard, a hall with a roof, a sanctuary, and sacred altars. The temple complex was huge! It measured 328 feet wide by 1,968 feet in length. The design of the temple was unique in that parts of the structure lay in the Nile flood plain. The chambers in the back however were built on higher ground and probably always stayed above the average flood water level. The other parts would have been under water when the Nile flooded. Some thing this concept came about from roots in their creation myth in which the creation emerged from the chaos of the waters of the swamp. This flooding design and the fact that most of the temple buildings were made of mud bricks evidently led to their rapid deterioration. An earthquake in 27 B.C. and the pillaging of stone and statuary for reuse in other structures (not uncommon in ancient Egypt) further damaged the integrity of the temple. Another unique aspect of Amenhotep’s temple was it large collection of statues. All Egyptian temples and shrines had lots of statues of the king and deities situated around their courts, but this pharaoh must have surpassed them all in quantity. The temple contained hundreds of free standing statues, sphinxes, and massive tombstone-like slabs of stone, once carved with descriptions of Amenhotep III’s building achievements.

Temple of Taffeh, From the collection of: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

Title: The Temple of Taffeh Location of artwork: Nubia Materials: Limestone Dating from: 25 B.C. - 25 A.D. The Temple of Taffeh was built of sandstone between the years 25 B.C. to 25 A.D. as part of the Roman fortress of Taphis in Nubia. This was during the reign of emperor Augustus in Rome. At that time Egypt formed part of the Roman Empire and interestingly enough the Egyptian gods were venerated far and wide, even considering the popularity of the Greek and Roman Gods. The temple is actually made in the traditional Egyptian architectural style. The temple was build when the Roman army conquered Lower Nubia. The white building blocks used for construction arrived from various surrounding quarries and were finished on the building site. The blocks were dry stacked without mortar, shoved into place with a type of slushy clay. There were twelve layers of blocks up to the cornices. This building is constructed from 657 blocks weighing approximately 250 tons. Inside the temple at the rear is a statue. At the front are two columns formed by square pillars. Around the sides are half columns integrated into the walls. The temple survived in good condition in Egypt for several centuries.As time went on, changes were made to the temple in the fourth century as well as the eighth. The facade is not original, but dates from the first century. It is decorated with cobras and winged sun discs. In later centuries, the Nubians used the temple as a place to house humans and animals.

From under the Portico of the Temple of Edfu, Upper Egypt, David Roberts, 1796–1864, British, 1846, From the collection of: Yale Center for British Art

Title: From Under the Portico of the Temple of Edfu, Upper Egypt Location: Edfu, Egypt Date: 257-37 BCE The Temple of Edu is also called the Temple of Horus in Edfu. The site of Edfu is considered the best-preserved, most beautiful, and most complete cult temple in Egypt. This of course makes sense because it was built later than most temples, and the construction is dated from the Ptolemaic era from 237 to 57 BC. The Temple of Horus at Edfu was built on top of the remains of an earlier temple to Horus, which was oriented east-west instead of the current north-south configuration. However, even though the date of its construction was so late, it actually reflects the traditional pharaonic architecture very well and provides an excellent example of how all the other temples may have once looked. Edfu is also very large, with it’s size being the second largest temple in Egypt. The Horus temple was once part of a larger settlement area that extended westwards beyond the complex. The temple is very beautiful. The construction of this Temple and its additions, inscriptions, and reliefs took about 180 years! There are many reliefs covering the walls, columns, and doorways of the temple. These make an extremely important source of information about the ancient Egyptian religious and political thought. There are also other reliefs that tell the story of the temple’s construction and provide dates for the completion of each phase and different parts of the building. On various walls of the Temple, there are many battle scenes, as well as the famous scene of the ritual of the Temple foundation. Some of the features that are noteworthy in the temple include a colossal statue of Horus as a falcon, which stands at the entrance to the main temple building. The temple complex also includes the remains of a birth house and the base of a pylon belonging to a temple of Ramesses III.

[Luxor, Obelisk and Pylon of Ramses] / [Luxor, Obelisque et Pylone de Ramses], Antonio Beato, 1880–1889, From the collection of: The J. Paul Getty Museum

Title: Luxor, Obelisk and Pylon of Ramses II Location: Luxor Temple, Egypt Medium: Albumen silver print Dimensions: 82 feet Weight: 254 tons Date: 1304-1237 BC In the 1880s archaeologist discovered an truly amazing find at the main entrance to the temple of Luxor in Egypt -- the pylon of Ramses II. Ramses II was certainly one of the greatest pharaohs in ancient Egypt and was referred to as “Ramses the Great.” He was known for building many spectacular memorials, and he erected more obelisks than any other pharaoh before or after him. Some of them still remain today. Most of his obelisks are small, but there are two at the Luxor Temple are very large, and this was was the second largest one in existence in Egypt. Sadly, only one of the pair remains and one is lost. Between two very large carved seated men made of solid pink granite at the entrance, there is a pylon and a pair of pink granite obelisks at the Luxor Temple. These were begun by Amenophis III and largely completed by Ramses II. later builders added to it, including Alexander the Great and several Roman emperors. An avenue of sphinxes once connected it to Karnak Temple almost two miles away and were used during festivals. This eighty two foot tall obelisk is covered with lots of hieroglyphics. At the base are reliefs of four baboons. The obelisk had four sides and each were covered with scenes. At the top was a scene of Ramses making offerings to the gods. Farther down are three columns of hieroglyphics. One of them contains words like “splendid of statues, great of monuments in Southern Opet (which is Luxor)...making monument sin Thebes for the One.” Another column proclaims pharaoh as “the sovereign, great of Jubilees.” On another side Ramses is shown with his advisers and battle commanders. On another side he is shown driving his chariot over dead and dying enemies in battle.

The Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx, Egypt, Francis Frith, 1858, From the collection of: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Title: The Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx, Egypt Location: Giza, Egypt Date: 2558–2532 BC; The Great Sphinx of Giza is the first truly colossal sculpture in Egyptian history. The Great Sphinx of Giza is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafra (around 2558–2532 BC). The Great Sphinx looks like a lion laying down with the head of a king. The lion’s body is larger than the king’s head, but it appears that this was not intentional and may have been caused by a defect in the stone. It appears the builders compensated for it by created a 150 foot long body on teh lion. Amazingly enough, the Great Sphinx is carved from the bedrock of the Giza plateau. Since other building projects were taking place nearby, it appears as if they quarried the rocks and made blocks of stone from around the upper sides of the Sphinx. The Great Pyramid of Giza is another outstanding work of art in Egypt, and is famous worldwide for very good reason. It is the largest structure in the ancient world, and even though it is old it has mysteries that are still left uncovered. Some believe the pyramids were funerary structures, but there is no evidence to support this idea. The Great Pyramid was originally 481 feet tall, and had a 755 foot length and width. It is made from about 2.5 million limestone blocks which each weighed an average of 2.6 tons, while its total mass is more than 6.3 million tons. It covers an area of 14 acres. It had been covered with beautiful white limestone, but it was removed in 1356. The mathematical complexity, engineering requirements, and sheer size and volume of the Giza plateau pyramids are a testimony to the enormous, seemingly impossible skills and abilities of the ancient egyptians and is truly an awesome and fascinating piece of art.

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Yale Center for British Art

The J. Paul Getty Museum