Lesson 6

Lesson 6
Lesson 6
Section 2
Arts in the Early and
Modern Civilizations
Lesson 6: Ancient Arts

 The Cave Arts
 Egyptian Arts
Lesson 6
Cave Art
Lesson 6
Cave Art
Ancient Art History Refers to the many

types of art produced by the advanced cultures
of ancient societies of some of the oldest
civilizations with some form of writing, such as
those of ancient China, India, Mesopotamia, Persia,
Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Lesson 6
Cave Art
Ancient Art History, Some art were found

during 700,000 to 2000 BCE. The Stone Age Art
where humans used natural materials like stone,
ivory and bone for small Venus figurines. And they
made paints from natural pigments like iron oxide
to create scenes of animals on walls deep in caves.
Lesson 6
Cave Art
Known also as stone age, ‘parietal art’, Cave Art
is a general term used to describe any kind of man-
made image on the walls, ceiling or floor of a cave
or rock shelter. Most cave art is found in shallow
rock shelters, such as those formed by overhanging
rocks, but some was created in total darkness within
deep, uninhabited caves, and was rarely seen by
humans.
Lesson 6
Cave Art
Types:
1. Hand prints and finger marks
2. Abstract signs and symbols
3. Figurative painting
4. Rock engraving
5. Relief sculpture
Lesson 6
Cave Art
Ten of the notable Oldest evidences of cave art to
be scientifically dated are the following:
1. Bhimbetka Petroglyphs
(290,000-700,000 BCE) Cupules
at Auditorium Cave & Daraki-
Chattan Rock Shelter, India. The
oldest known rock art in the world
Lesson 6
Cave Art
Five of the notable Oldest evidences of cave art to
2. Venus of Berekhat Ram (230-700,000

BCE), Israel. At first, historians believed
that the artifact was a product of natural
erosion rather than a deliberate human act
of creativity until the discovery of a second
one, the Venus of Tan-Tan, in Morocco.
Lesson 6
Cave Art
3. An abstract
drawing from the
73,000 BCE at
Blombos Cave,
South Africa
Lesson 6
Cave Art
4. Diepkloof Ostrich
Eggshell Abstract
Engravings 60,000 BCE
South Africa
Lesson 6
Cave Art
5. Hall of Bulls Cave

Painting, 28,000 and 10,000
BCE, France. The paintings on
cave walls represent the earliest
surviving examples of the artistic
expression of early people.
Lesson 6
Cave Art
6. Amur River Basin Pottery,

14,300 BCE, Chinese ceramics
from Late Paleolithic Culture
Lesson 6
Cave Art
7. Tuc d’Audoubert Bison

Sculpture in France 13,500 BCE,
sculpted in soft clay. The relief
carries marks left by artist’s
fingers and nails.
Lesson 6
Cave Art
8. Tassili-n-Ajjer Rock Art ,

8,000 BCE. The major African
art contains the Mesolithic art
in animal & human engravings
or paintings. It indicates
Archaic Tradition.
Lesson 6
Cave Art
9. The Swimming Reindeer,

11,000 BCE. Carving from
the tip of a mammoth tusk
of two swimming reindeer
found in the cave of
Montastruc, France
Lesson 6
Cave Art
10. The Venus of

Willendorf, Austria is an
11.1cm tall Venus figurine
estimated to have been
made 30,000 BCE.
Lesson 6
Ancient Egyptian Art

Lesson 6
Ancient Egyptian Art includes the painting,

sculpture, architecture, and other arts produced by
the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 BCE
to 300 CE. Ancient Egyptian art reached considerable
sophistication in painting and sculpture, and was both
highly stylized and symbolic.
Lesson 6
Much of the Ancient Egyptians artwork

created by the had to do with their religion. They
would fill the tombs of the Pharaohs with paintings
and sculptures. Much of this artwork was there to
help the Pharaohs in the afterlife. The temples often
held large statues of their gods as well as many
paintings on the walls.
Lesson 6
All Egyptian art is based on perfect balance

because it reflects the ideal world of the gods. The
same way these gods provided all good gifts for
humanity, so the artwork was imagined and created
to provide a use. Egyptian art was always first and
foremost functional.
Lesson 6

Characteristics and Functions:
1. Daily life activities.
2. Journey of the deceased into the afterworld.
3. Images of the gods and deities.
4. Honoring pharaohs, noble people and the dead.
5. Social and political rank.
6. Writings on the wall to tell stories about the images.
7. Worship and rituals.
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
1. Wall Painting
2. Sculpture
3. Carving, Relief and Jewelry
4. Architecture
5. Writings
6. Funerary Art
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
1 Egyptian wall paintings were

two dimensional, without the
perspective of the three dimensional
physical world. Subjects were painted
with a combination of the profile view
and frontal view.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Notable Wall Paintings
Ramesses the Great and Battle of Dapur,

depicting his achievement in his raid against
Muwatalli’s Hittite resurgent forces.
Lesson 6

Battle of Nubia: This painting shows Ramses II

battling Nubians and was considered the strongest
and most celebrated pharaoh of the 19th dynasty.
Lesson 6

Tutankhamun Cartouche,
Royal Encryption of a Pharaohs name.
Lesson 6

Egyptian Dance Painting: Aside for ritualistic

function, talent in dance is also an indicator that a
person is an efficient worker.
Lesson 6

Depiction of Nubians Worshipping

Lesson 6

Art Forms:
2 Egyptian sculpture were not
only images of the pharaoh and his
family, but also of people, animals and
slaves that surrounded him during his
life. The ones we see today look like
they are carved from stone or made
from clay and are colorless.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Notable Sculptures
Nefertiti Bust, coated limestone

produced by Thutmose in 1345 BC.
Depiction of the Great Royal Wife of
the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. This
is regarded as one of the most copied
works on ancient Egypt.
Lesson 6

Great Sphinx of Giza, 2575-
2465BCE: A limestone statue of
reclining sphinx. It depicts a
mythical creature with the
human body and a lion’s head.
73m long and 20m high.
Lesson 6

Khufu Statuette: Founded by Sir

Willian Matthew Flinders Petrie in
1903 at the Temple of
Khentyamentiu, Abydos in Upper
Egypt. The statue is a three-
dimensional depiction of Khufu.
Lesson 6

Block statue: A memorial statue

discovered in the Middle Kingdom of
Ancient Egypt. The statue was
designed that way to serve as a
guardian of temples gateway.
Lesson 6

Colossi of Memnon: Two

massive huge stone statues
representing greatness of
Pharaoh Amenhotep III and
it meant to protect the
temple from evil.
Lesson 6

Pharaoh Ramesses II: Weighed 20
tons statue was designed to show
him as a beneficent ruler, a
mighty warrior and a living god. It
was erected in the Ramesseum,
his mortuary temple, where the
believers of Ramesses would
continue for centuries.
Lesson 6

Seated statues of Rahotep and

Nofret: From the 4th dynasty the
statues were skillfully sculpted
confirming their high rank stature.
With glass inlaid eyes makes the
statue more realistic.
Lesson 6

Wrapped Osiris Statue: statues like

this were buried in tombs, wrapped
in cloth. It was thought the statues
helped the dead be reborn in the
next life, like the real deity Osiris.
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
3 Egyptian artists, whose skills are best
exemplified not only in statuary but
carving, relief and jewelry as well.
Their distinctive talent as craftsmen were
from their discipline and highly developed
aesthetic sense deserving to rank as an
outstanding art by any standards.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Notable Carvings & Relief
The Narmer Palette: Also
known as Great Hierakonpolis
Palette which was created to
symbolize the unity of the
“Kingdoms of Two Lands,” the
Upper and Lower Egypt under
King Narmer. The palette
measured 64x42 cm.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Notable Carvings
Tutankhamun’s ‘golden death mask’
is an ancient death mask produced
in the 18th century in ancient Egypt.
It was discovered by Howard Carter
in 1925. This is regarded as one of
the most famous Egyptian artworks
and almost admired and well-known
works of art around the world.
Lesson 6

Ceremonial gilded wooden shield:

found in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Egyptian artists also used a variety of
woods in their work, including the
native acacia, tamarisk, and
sycamore fig as well as fir, cedar, and
other conifers imported from Syria.
Lesson 6

Tutankhamun’s lunar pectoral: metal

casted, carved jewelry work was
quite sophisticated even in the Old
Kingdom, as demonstrated by some
highly creative pieces depicted
specially in tomb scenes.
Lesson 6

A part of the wall in the Temple

of Seti I is an artistic carving
painted relief. Archeologists
discovered red grid marking
that the artisans used to ensure
the proportion of the human
figures being carved.
Lesson 6

Sesostris III
Pectoral:Gold pectoral
with semiprecious
stones, Middle
Kingdom, 12th dynasty
(1991–1786 BCE).
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
4 Egyptian Architecture developed
since 3000 BC and characterized by post
and lintel construction, massive walls
covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial
carving, flat roofs, and structures except
for the Pyramids. Most houses were built
of clay or baked bricks.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Architecture
Typical Egyptian Column

and Capitals at the
Temple of Horus at Edfu,
Constructed Between 237
and 57 B.C.
David Strydom/Getty Images
Lesson 6

The Egyptian Column can refer to a column
from ancient Egypt inspired by distinct Egyptian
ideas. The earliest builders carved columns from
enormous blocks of limestone, sandstone, and red
granite. Later, columns and capitals were constructed
from stacks of stone disks. Some Egyptian columns
have polygon-shaped shafts with as many as 16
sides while common columns are circular.
Lesson 6

One of the great ancient Egyptian architect

Imhotep, who lived over 4,000 years ago in 27th
century B.C., is credited with carving stone columns
and capitals to resemble bundled reeds and other
plant forms. The columns were placed close together
so they could carry the weight of the heavy stone
roof beams.
Lesson 6

Common features of Egyptian columns include:
1) stone shafts carved to resemble tree trunks or bundled

reeds or plant stems, sometimes called papyrus columns;
2) lily, lotus, palm or papyrus plant motifs on the capitals
(tops); 3) bud-shaped or campaniform ‘bell-shaped’
capitals; and 4) brightly painted carved relief decorations.
Lesson 6

Egyptian
Column
Types
Lesson 6

Egyptian
Column
Details
Example
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Notable Architecture
Like the Temple at Edfu, the Temple
at Kom Ombo has similar
architectural influences and Egyptian
gods. Kom Ombo is a temple not only to
Horus, the falcon, but also to Sobek, the
crocodile. The columns records history in
Hieroglyphs was about Greek
Conquerors, great Pharaohs old and new.
Lesson 6

Most significant to Western civilization is
the Temple of the
Ramesseum, 1250 B.C. The mighty
columns and colonnade are a remarkable
feat of engineering for being created
circa 1250 B.C., well-before the Greek
conquest of Alexander the Great.
Lesson 6

Columns of the Temple of Isis at

Philae show a distinct influence of
Greek and Roman occupation of Egypt.
The temple was built for the Egyptian
goddess Isis during the reign of the
Ptolemaic Kings in the centuries before
the birth of Christianity.
Lesson 6

The Luxor Temple – is a temple
complex located in the city of Thebes, the
ancient capital of Egypt during the time of
the New Kingdom. Thebes is located in
Upper Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile
River. Construction of the temple was
begun by the pharaoh Amenhotep III and
was completed by Tutankhamen.
Lesson 6

The first royal tombs before the pyramids
were called mastabas. Inside were
rooms containing jars, small objects, and
offerings of food and drink. The tombs
were surrounded by a large number of
graves of women and men believed to be
servants of the kings who were sacrificed
to serve pharaohs in their afterlife.
Lesson 6

The Temple of Edfu is
dedicated to the worship of the
Egyptian god Horus, who was
frequently merged with the Greek
god Apollo. In fact, the city of Edfu
was renamed Apollonopolis Magna
during Greco-Roman rule in Egypt.
Lesson 6

The Great Pyramids of Giza:
located on the Giza plateau near the
modern city of Cairo, the pyramids was
built during the reign of the king Khufu
of the 4th Dynasty in the span of over a
20-years. Khufu's vizier, Hemiunu the
pharaos physician was also the
architect of his Pyramid.
Lesson 6

• The oldest pyramid in the middle is for King Khufu, ‘Cheops’
in Greek, the second king of the 4th dynasty.
• The second tallest was built for King Khafre, ‘Chephren’ in
Greek was the fourth king in the same dynasty.
• The last pyramid to be built was that of Menkaure,
‘Mykerinus’ in Greek was the fifth king of the same dynasty.
Lesson 6
Art Forms:
5 An original form of Egyptian writing,
Hieroglyphs are written in rows or columns and can be
read from left to right or from right to left. You can
distinguish the direction in which the text is to be read
because the human or animal figures always face
towards the beginning of the line. Also the upper
symbols are read before the lower.
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
6 Egyptian funerary art was not simply
memorial, but played an active role in the afterlife of
the departed. Most of the tomb art studied from ancient
Egypt comes from the commissions of kings and high-
ranking court officials. Egyptian philosophy of art refers
to balanced realism and stylization to present images of
harmony, balance and order, victory over chaos.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Notable Funerary Art
Funeral Wall Painting: Aside

from honoring the dead, the
painting should contain the
ritual of the dead’s human
heart in the weighing scale.
Lesson 6

Egyptian concept of afterlife,

wall painting: A belief that
death is just an interruption
of life.
Lesson 6

Book of the Dead Wall
Painting: Containing
spells to help the dead
back to life after the
journey to the
underworld.
Lesson 6

Tomb Wall Painting:

Primarily should
contain images of the
king’s chosen deity and
success stories of his
life as a pharaoh.
Lesson 6

Egyptian Deities, Wall
Painting: Images of
their gods in one
ensemble is one
important feature in
king’s tomb’s.
Lesson 6

Egyptian Mummification
Wall Painting:
Mummifying the dead is
also a sacred ritual in
preparation to the
afterlife.
Lesson 6

The anthropoid coffin itself is typical of the
ancient Egyptian burial practices. The coffin
echoes the shape of the mummified body.
Decorated with an idealized representation of
the owner's face and with images of gods,
goddesses, animals and objects, as well as
hieroglyphic writings, that would identify him
and help him attain a successful afterlife.
Lesson 6

Unlike anthropoid, sarcophagus
were rectangular boxes with flat lids. They
were painted and inscribed in hieroglyphs
with four important features: the
deceased's name and titles; a list of food
offerings; a false door through which the
‘ka’ could pass; and eyes through which
the deceased could see outside the coffin.
Lesson 6

The Egyptian concept of the soul:
Ka, Ba and Akh.
Ka is the life force or spiritual double of

the person. The royal Ka symbolized a
pharaoh's right to rule, a universal force
that passed from one pharaoh to the next.
Lesson 6

Ka, Ba and Akh.
Ba is represented as a human-
headed bird that leaves the body
when a person dies. The face of Ba
was the exact likeness of that of the
deceased person.
Lesson 6

Ka, Ba and Akh.
Akh is the spirit of Ra, which encapsulates the

concept of light - the transfigured spirit of a person
that becomes one with light after death. The opposite
of Akh is Mut (dead), the state of a person who has
died but has not been transfigured into light.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Gods and Deities
Amun-Ra: The Hidden One As Zeus was
to the Greeks, the Egyptian god Amun-Ra,
Re or Amon was considered the king of the
gods and goddesses. He became Amun-Ra
after being amalgamated with the sun god
Ra. He was thought to be the father of the
pharaohs, and his female counterpart,
Amunet, was called the Female Hidden One.
Lesson 6

Mut: The Mother Goddess of Egyptian. Mut is a
primal deity who wears two crowns on her head,
each representing Upper and Lower Egypt. Also
titled “She who gives birth, but was herself not
born of any,” Mut is represented as a vulture in
hieroglyphs. She is variously integrated with
other deities and is often portrayed as a cat,
cobra, cow and even a lioness.
Lesson 6

Osiris: The King of the Living. Considered the oldest child of

the earth god Zeb and the sky goddess Nut, Osiris was
worshiped as the god of the afterlife as the ancient Egyptians
believed there was life after death. Often portrayed with green
skin, Osiris was the god of vegetation which indicated renewal
and growth and was thought to be responsible for the fertile
flooding and vegetation around the banks of the Nile.
Lesson 6

Anubis: The Divine Embalmer. He was known for

mummifying the dead and guiding their souls towards the
afterlife. His skin was black, symbolizing the dark Nile deposits
which made the land so fertile. With the head of a jackal and
the body of a man, Anubis also stood for renaissance and the
staining of dead bodies after the embalming process.
Lesson 6

Ra: God of the Sun and Radiance

The midday sun, Ra or Re, is of great importance in Egyptian
history. The god of the sun, Ra, has a sun disk around his head
and is believed to have created this world. Every sunrise and
sunset were seen as a process of renewal. Portrayed as a
falcon-headed god, he and Horus shared an association which
led him to be known as the Horus of the Horizon.
Lesson 6

Horus: : God of Vengeance. Horus had a special position in
ancient Egypt. The child of Osiris and Isis, he avenged his
father’s death and ruled Egypt. His falcon-headed god with a
crown of red and white was worshiped as the god of sky, war,
protection, and light. The Eye of Horus or the Wedjat Eye was
personified as the goddess Wadjet and was popularly known as
the Eye of the Ra. It symbolized that everything was being
watched from above.
Lesson 6

Hathor: Goddess of Motherhood. Sometimes called the
Mistress of the West, Hathor welcomed the dead into the next
life. Born of Ra, she exemplified motherhood and feminine
love. She is the goddess of music and dance. She is believed to
provide a blessing as the helper of women during pregnancy
and childbirth. Affectionate, humble and kind to both the dead
and living, she was also known as the Lady of Heaven, Earth
and the Underworld.
Lesson 6

Sekhmet: Goddess of War and Healing. Leading and
protecting the pharaohs during war, the daughter of Ra, is
depicted as a lioness and is known for her fierce character. She
is also known as the Powerful One and is capable of destroying
the enemies of her allies. She is depicted with a solar disk and
uraeus, an Egyptian cobra, which was associated with royalty
and the divine. She assisted the goddess Ma’at in the
Judgement Hall of Osiris which also gained her the reputation
of arbitrator.
Lesson 6

Geb: God of Earth. Also described as the Father of Snakes,

Geb represented crops and healing. With a goose on his head,
this bearded god was believed to have caused earthquakes
whenever he laughed. He was the son of Shu ‘the god of air’
and Tefnut ‘the goddess of moisture’, and had an important
role in the Book of the Dead as the one who weighs the heart
of the dead in the Judgment Hall of Osiris. The ancient
Egyptians believed that he retained the souls of the wicked.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Writing
Hieroglyphics writing:
Hieroglyphic writing signs and symbols represented by
pictures of living beings or inanimate objects.
Hieroglyphic texts are found primarily on the walls of
temples and tombs, but they also appear on
memorials and gravestones, on statues, on coffins,
and on all sorts of vessels and implements.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Writing
Hieroglyphic writing was used as much for secular
texts, historical inscriptions, songs, legal documents,
scientific documents, as for religious subject matter,
the likes of cult rituals, myths, hymns, grave
inscriptions of all kinds, and prayers.
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
Hieroglyphics writing evolved into two:
• Hieratic – a simplified form of hieroglyphics used for
administrative and business purposes, as well as for
literary, scientific and religious texts.
• Demotic – a Greek word meaning ‘popular script’, was in
general use for the daily requirements of the society.
Coptic Writing – Coptic on the other hand is a Greek writing
adopted by Egyptians 450 CE.
Lesson 6

Art Forms: Writings
Rosetta Stone: A granodiorite stele discovered in 1799. The

Rosetta Stone is inscribed with the three versions of texts. The
top is in the hieroglyphic script, middle in the
demotic script while the bottom in the ancient coptic
Greek. The discovery of the stone holds the key to
understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
The ‘Prayer to Thoth for Skill in Writing’ is a literary piece
dated to c. 1150 BCE from the latter period of the New
Kingdom of Egypt (1570-1069 BCE) in which a young scribe
prays for inspiration to Thoth, god of wisdom and writing. The
prayer was found among the works of ‘Papyrus Anastasi V’, a
papyrus scroll discovered at Thebes. The prayer is an
interesting glimpse into how the profession of the scribe was
viewed by the ancient Egyptians a noble occupation.
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
Hieroglyphs are written in rows or columns and can be
read from left to right or from right to left. You can
distinguish the direction in which the text is to be read
because the human or animal figures always face
towards the beginning of the line. Also the upper
symbols are read before the lower.
Lesson 6

Art Forms:
Decoding:
Lesson 6

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Lesson 6

Lesson 6: Ancient Arts

Ancient Art History Refers to the many

Ancient Art History, Some art were found

2. Venus of Berekhat Ram (230-700,000

5. Hall of Bulls Cave

6. Amur River Basin Pottery,

7. Tuc d’Audoubert Bison

8. Tassili-n-Ajjer Rock Art ,

9. The Swimming Reindeer,

10. The Venus of

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art includes the painting,

Ancient Egyptian Art

Much of the Ancient Egyptians artwork

Ancient Egyptian Art

All Egyptian art is based on perfect balance

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

1 Egyptian wall paintings were

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ramesses the Great and Battle of Dapur,

Ancient Egyptian Art

Battle of Nubia: This painting shows Ramses II

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Egyptian Dance Painting: Aside for ritualistic

Ancient Egyptian Art

Depiction of Nubians Worshipping

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Nefertiti Bust, coated limestone

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Khufu Statuette: Founded by Sir

Ancient Egyptian Art

Block statue: A memorial statue

Ancient Egyptian Art

Colossi of Memnon: Two

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Seated statues of Rahotep and

Ancient Egyptian Art

Wrapped Osiris Statue: statues like

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ceremonial gilded wooden shield:

Ancient Egyptian Art

Tutankhamun’s lunar pectoral: metal

Ancient Egyptian Art

A part of the wall in the Temple

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

Typical Egyptian Column

Ancient Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art

One of the great ancient Egyptian architect

Ancient Egyptian Art

1) stone shafts carved to resemble tree trunks or bundled