2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The sculpture of Ancient Egypt owes its appearance and further development to religious beliefs. The requirements of cult faith were the basis for the emergence of one or another type of statues. Religious teachings determined the iconography of the sculptures, as well as their installation locations.
Sculpture of Ancient Egypt, the basic rules for the creation of which were finally formed in the period of the Early Kingdom, had a frontal and symmetrical figure, clarity and calmness of lines. All these characteristics corresponded to its direct purpose, and were also due to its location, which were mainly niches in the walls.
The sculpture of Ancient Egypt is distinguished by the predominance of certain poses. These include:
- seated - while the hands are on their knees;
- standing - left leg extended forward;
- the pose of a scribe who sits cross-legged.
For all sculptures, a set of rules was mandatory:
- direct head setting;
- the presence of attributes of a profession or power:
- certain kindcoloring pages for female and male bodies (yellow and brown respectively);
- inlaid eyes with stones or bronze;
- exaggeration of the power and development of the body, which contributed to the message of solemn elation to the figure;
- transmission of individual facial features of the dead (it was believed that the statues watched the life of people through special holes made at eye level).
The sculpture of Ancient Egypt has become one of the means in mastering the art of portraiture. With the help of gypsum, they tried to save the corpse from decomposition, getting a semblance of a mask. However, for the image of a living person, it was required that the eyes of the sculpture be open. In order to achieve this, the mask was further processed.
Sculptures of Ancient Egypt are found during the opening of the tombs. Their main purpose was to display various aspects of the funeral cult. In some tombs, researchers have found wooden statues. Over them, in all likelihood, certain cult rites were performed. During the Middle Kingdom, figurines of workers were also placed in the tombs. Their purpose was to ensure the afterlife of the deceased. At the same time, the sculptors depicted people at the moment of engaging in a wide variety of activities.
The architectural design of the temples of Ancient Egypt was made using statues. Sculptures stood along the roads leading to them, in courtyards and interior spaces. Those statues, the main load of which was architectural and decorative design,different from the cult. Their figures were large, and the outlines lacked detail.
The statues that conveyed images of kings contained prayers in which God was asked for he alth and well-being, and sometimes assistance in political affairs. The period that lasted after the fall of the Old Kingdom was characterized by fundamental changes in the ideological field. The pharaohs, seeking to glorify themselves and their power, ordered to put their statues in temples, next to the figures of various deities. The main purpose of such sculptures was the glorification of the living ruler. In this regard, these statues had to be as close as possible to the portrait of the pharaoh.
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