In the book, the explanations went chronologically, and focused on the most important tombs and temples, and many large pieces that are in the largest Egyptian collections in the world (Metropolitan Museum in New York, Louvre in Paris, British Museum in London, Egyptian Museum in Cairo). Generally, we should remember that Upper and Lower Egypt were united, probably under King Narmer, in about 3000 B.C. In the Old Kingdom, the pyramids and the Great Sphinx at Giza were built, and statues were left in tombs as substitute abodes for the spirit ("ka"). After a period of unrest, the Middle Kingdom begins in about 2000 B.C. Egyptians began to build rock-cut tombs instead of pyramids. Middle Kingdom sculpture shows some innovations, notably a new realism to the the facial features of the pharaohs. After another period of unrest, the New Kingdom began, probably the most brilliant period of Egyptian history. Hatshepsut and Ramses II, for example, built immense rock-cut temples. In the midst of the New Kingdom, there is the strange little "Amarna" period of Akhenaten, bringing a short-lived revolution in art and religion for the duration of one reign. Interesting to note that the famous Nefertiti was Akhenaten's wife. After Akhenaten, things went back to normal, and we know much of this period from the tomb of Tutankhamen. During the first millenium BCE, Egypt dwindled away and was eventually taken over by foreigners, including the Ptolemies and eventually the emperors of Rome.
Our galleries are arranged, not chronologically, but thematically. Our grand entrance, flanked by statues of Sekhmet, is designed to look like the entrance to a tomb. The somber lighting inside the Egyptian galleries helps that illusion.
Sekhmet (or Sakhmet), with her lioness head, small intense eyes and prominent sinewy jaws, was the goddess of war, violence, unexpected disaster and pestilence. Because she was so dangerous, she elicited great efforts of appeasement. She was often associated with Mut's violent side, and known as the "flame of Mut," but she also served as the "fiery eye of Ra." Her name means "she who is powerful." When she was appeased her powers of destruction could be used to protect, and in this aspect she was the goddess of healing. Egyptian "physicians" were usually priests of this goddess. When she withheld her power, she bestowed life, symbolized by the ankh she holds. I think this could be a great discussion with children - how many dangerous things, when kept in check and used properly, are really forces for good? Water, fire, wind, electricity, even vaccines.
These two statues are on extended loan from the British Museum, and they are from a series of statues found in Karnak at the temple of Mut, the wife of the sun god Amen. There are at least six hundred statues of the goddess created during the reign of Amenhotep III that either still stand in, or can be traced to, two main locales: Amenhotep's mortuary complex at Kom el Heitan on the Theban west bank, and the Mut Temple Complex at Karnak on the east bank. Today many scholars believe that originally the statues all stood at the mortuary temple and were later moved to the Mut temple. The Sakhmet statues have convincingly been shown to have constituted a "litany in stone" that appeased the goddess and invoked her not to use her negative powers, thereby delivering the king from illness and evil for a year. Based on the understanding of the litany, there may originally have been 730 statues, one seated and one standing for each day of the year.
The form of the statues radiates serenity. Sekhmet gazes calmly into eternity. The figure is compact and solid, without a lot of projecting parts. The form manifests the purpose: to last for eternity. By suppressing movement, the sculptor stopped time, creating an eternal stillness. Our text mentions the "subtractive" method of creating this block-like look, which was formulaic in Egyptian statues of gods and pharaohs. (Also, any statue that was designed to provide a substitute home for the ka - the soul or spirit - used frozen gestures and timeless poses. Carvings for other purposes were more lifelike - more on that later).
The first room of the Egyptian "tomb" is devoted to gods and worship. The grand piece just inside the entrance is the life-size statue of Nehy. This statue depicts a woman, not a god, in the timeless frozen pose of a ka statue. Hieroglyphics on her gown designate her as Nehy, "true of voice," a musician in the important Hathor sanctuary at Memphis. She holds a sistrum, a type of rattle, adorned with the head of the goddess Hathor. The use of clappers and rattles was an important part of the temple worship intended to invoke and delight the gods. Nehy wears an pleated, full-length gown and a long wig with decorative filets. (Wigs for a high-born priestess like Nehy would probably have been made of human hair, but even those who could not afford such finery would wear a wig made of straw and then painted black rather than appear without.)
Her statute would have been elaborately painted. She might once have looked like the chantress in this fragment, but with even brighter details in orange and blue. (The thing on her head, not present in the statue, is a decorated ball of perfumed fat or wax which would melt onto the headdress.) Her skin would have been a shade of yellow; male skin was always red.
And her sistrum may have looked like the one on the left,which also is decorated with the head of the goddess Hathor; the naos-sistrum on the right shows Hathor even more clearly. Sistrums made of faience would not have been used as musical instruments but as sacred objects donated to the temple.
Temple Relief of Nectanebo II shows three male figures, representing individual Egyptian nomes, bearing goods that symbolized the nation's prosperity and wealth. Jars held liquids, lotus flowers represented agricultural products, and the figures are holding symbols for life (ankh) and strength (djed) flanking the central cartouche containing the name of Nectanebo II and the "two-feather" crown. The djed is considered a symbol of Osiris, indicating that the king had the favor of the god. Raised relief was used in interior temple walls; this block was used in the lower register and the dark stone alludes to the fertility of the soil. Hieroglyphics should be read in the direction the figures are walking.
Archaeologists have found other similar processions, showing each nome's patron deity identified by the standard which sits atop a pole rising from the hieroglyphic sign for nome. A fragment of one such procession, from the temple of Ramesses II at Abydos, is in the Walters' collection.
We skipped over the bronze statues in cases, but Henry Walters actually amassed an extraordinary collection of Egyptian bronzes. He also enjoyed smaller sculptures, like this seated statue of Sesostris III. This statue demonstrates the care-worn features of the pharaoh characteristic of the Middle Kingdom.
Another room is dedicated to objects from daily life. All of these objects were actually found in tombs, because of the Egyptian belief that people must carry with them the things they would need to continue with their lives after death. There are beautiful objects in faience, in glass, and in ivory - game boards and pieces, cosmetic containers (almost everyone wore kohl around their eyes, even the children), perfume bottles made of beautiful decorated glass, even dried fruits in a bowl.
We could talk about writing on papyrus while showing this seated scribe in a relatively life-like pose.
and discuss the mechanics of creating art work by showing these objects.
The fragment on the left still shows traces of the grid lines used by artists to assure correct proportions. The fragment on the right, called an ostracon, was probably used for preparatory sketches or as a teaching tool for a master to show his students.
In the room relating to "kingship" there are various pharaonic heads. Royal heads can always be distinguished by either a crown or the nemes headdress. The crown below (figure on the left is Tutankhamen) is called the blue crown. It was often shown in times of war or upheaval. The red figure below, which seems very different than other pharaohs, shows a Libyan pharaoh.
We spent a lot of time in front of our mummy, but I am not going to discuss mummification here. It might be interesting to note for children that bodies of common people were buried in the sand, where they "self-mummified" from the dry heat. In addition, there are many stories told in the paintings on the mummy's cartonnage. We have laminated reproductions from which to teach about ma'at (divine order), the weighing of the heart before Horus, with Anubis on the side of the dead, Thoth waiting to write down the verdict, and Ammenit waiting to devour the unworthy heart, the scarab beetle pushing the sun across the sky, the winged ba hovering in the air, etc.
Such paintings also appear on the coffin box set on long-term loan from the Metropolitan Museum, which also allow us to discuss the many layers of protection between the mummy and the tomb, including in some cases mummy masks like these.
Such masks were not intended as portraits of the deceased, but rather as idealized features of the divine beings in the afterlife. Gilding or gold-painting the skin reinforced this idea; the Egyptians believed that the flesh of the gods was made of gold.
Children also like to see the animal mummies and their cases.
There are various examples of shabti, or answerers. These figures were buried with the deceased so that if the deceased were to be called upon to perform work in the afterlife, these figures would answer on his behalf.
And there are several funeral stelae like this one. Note the two wedjat eyes (eyes of Horus), the ring of eternity, and the water symbol in the lunette. Beneath is an offering scene, showing the eldest daughter performing the ritual which assured food and drink for those in the afterlife. A monkey under the chair holds an upside down mirror. The deceased's children are shown in the lower register.
Magic was an important element of Egyptian life. In this stela, Horus the Child stands on crocodiles and controls snakes, scorpions, an oryx, and a lion. Called a "cippus," this is a magical device believed to ward off poisonous and dangerous animals and to heal those who had been bitten or stung. Liquid would be poured over the "cippus" to absorb the strength of the images and spells and then be drunk by, or poured on, the afflicted.
Magic wands were carved from hippopotamus tusks to intensify their magical properties. They resemble throw-sticks used to hunt wildfowl, but their decoraton indicates that they were magic instruments. The carvings, which include images of the goddess Tawaret, indicate that the protection of mother and child was one of their functions.
Representations of Tawaret were widely produced and worn by women and children as amulets to ward off evil. Small figures of the the goddess were worshiped in household shrines, and her image appears on furniture, domestic vessels, cosmetic tools, and jewelry. This statue is large enough that it was probably used in a temple setting. Her paws grasp the hieroglyphic symbol for protection.
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By the end of this day, we had an overwhelming amount of information about the objects in the Walters collection and a much better way to put them in context. But we were pretty exhausted.
Post-script: For a tour of AP Art History students, I concentrated on a set of themes from the AP guidelines. In the ANE and Egypt, concentrate on royal figures and their relationship to divinities, showing that deities are represented with human qualities and kings with divine attributes. Also focus on the functions of funerary and palatial complexes in their cultural contexts, especially in the ANE, and highlight the issue of permanence, especially in Egypt.
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