Ancient Egyptian

The styles and culture that developed in antiquity in the Nile Valley in the area of modern-day Egypt and southward.

Dates

c. 5000 B.C.E.–395 C.E.

Places

Africa > North Africa > Egypt, Sudan

Basics Works of Art Artists Periods, Cultures, Styles Curated Guides

Ancient Egyptian

The styles and culture that developed in antiquity in the Nile Valley in the area of modern-day Egypt and southward.

Dates

c. 5000 B.C.E.–395 C.E.

Places

Africa > North Africa > Egypt, Sudan

Basics Works of Art Artists Periods, Cultures, Styles Curated Guides

Basics to get you started

Ancient Egypt, an introduction

Ancient Egyptian chronology and historical framework

Creation myths and form(s) of the gods in ancient Egypt

Egyptian social organization—from the pharaoh to the farmer (part 1)

Multilingualism along the Nile

Materials and techniques in ancient Egyptian art

Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period, an introduction

King Piye and the Kushite control of Egypt

Late Period and the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, an introduction

The mummification process

Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 5th–3rd millennia B.C.E.

Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 2nd–1st millennia B.C.E.

Art Appreciation: Power—comparisons and connections

Obelisks and ancient Rome

Private tombs, portals to the afterlife

Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period, an introduction

Works of Art

Bust of an African Child

2nd–3rd century C.E.

Painted portrait of Isis: between empires and icons

2nd century C.E.

King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen

2490–2472 B.C.E.

Portraits of Alexander the Great

Roman copy c. 1–50 C.E.

Roman copy c. 20 B.C.E.–20 C.E.

Roman copy c. 2nd century C.E.

c. 325 B.C.E.

305–281 B.C.E.

The New York Obelisk, Cleopatra’s Needle

c. 1425 B.C.E

The Temple of Dendur

15–10 B.C.E.

The White Chapel

c. 1971–1926 B.C.E.

Lateran Obelisk

c. 1400 B.C.E.

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Artists

Stela of the sculptor Userwer, 12th dynasty, limestone, from Egypt, 52 x 48 cm wide (© Trustees of the British Museum)

Stela of the sculptor Userwer, 12th dynasty, limestone, from Egypt, 52 x 48 cm wide (© Trustees of the British Museum)

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Periods, Cultures, Styles

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Predynastic

c. 5000–3000 B.C.E.

King Den’s sandal label, 1st dynasty, ivory, found at Abydos, Upper Egypt, 4.5 x 5.3 cm (© Trustees of the British Museum)

Early Dynastic

c. 3000–2686 B.C.E.

Great Sphinx, Giza, Egypt, c. 2520 - 2494 B.C.E. (photo: Alexander C. Kafka, CC BY-ND 2.0)

Old Kingdom

c. 2649–2150 B.C.E.

Pectoral and Necklace of Sithathoryunet with the Name of Senwosret II, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret II, c. 1887–1878 B.C.E., Egypt, Fayum Entrance Area, el-Lahun (Illahun, Kahun; Ptolemais Hormos), Tomb of Sithathoryunet (BSA Tomb 8), EES 1914, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, garnet, turquoise, lapis lazuli

Middle Kingdom

c. 2030–1640 B.C.E.

Headband with Heads of Gazelles and a Stag Between Stars or Flowers, Second Intermediate Period c. 1648–1540 B.C.E., gold (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Second Intermediate Period

c. 1640–1530 B.C.E.

Nebamun fowling in the marshes, Tomb-chapel of Nebamun, c. 1350 B.C.E., 18th Dynasty, paint on plaster, 83 x 98 cm, Thebes © Trustees of the British Museum

New Kingdom

c. 1550–1070 B.C.E.

Cult Image of the God Ptah, Third Intermediate Period–early Dynasty 26, c. 945–600 B.C.E., lapis lazuli, Egypt (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Third Intermediate Period

c. 1070–713 B.C.E.

Ushabti for Neferibresaneith, about 570–526 B.C., Egyptian. Green faience, 7 3/16 × 2 1/16 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2016.2.

Late Period (Ancient Egyptian)

c. 713–332 B.C.E.

Rosetta Stone (stela fragment decree by priests regarding Ptolemy V, in Hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek scripts), 196 B.C.E., grey and pink granodiorite, 112.3 x 75.7 x 28.4 cm (The British Museum)

Ptolemaic period

332–30 B.C.E.

The Temple of Dendur, completed by 10 B.C.E. (Roman Period, Egypt), Aeolian sandstone (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Roman Period (Ancient Egyptian)

c. 30 B.C.E.–395 C.E.

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Curated Guides to Ancient Egyptian

All Textbook Chapters Syllabi

Textbook Chapter

Ancient Egyptian religious life and afterlife

Textbook Chapter

The world of ancient Egypt

Syllabus

Prehistory to the Middle Ages: the Mediterranean Syllabus