The Art of Ancient Egypt

by Robins, Gay

• ISBN13: 9780674003767
• ISBN10: 0674003764
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-11-01
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

THIS EDITION HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A NEWER EDITION. .From the awesome grandeur of the great pyramids to the delicacy of a face etched on an amulet, the spellbinding power of the art of ancient Egypt persists to this day. This beautifully illustrated book conducts us through the splendors of this world, great and small, and into the mysteries of its fascination in its day as well as in our own. What did art, and the architecture that housed it, mean to the ancient Egyptians? Why did they invest such vast wealth and effort in its production? These are the puzzles Gay Robins explores as she examines the objects of Egyptian art--the tombs and wall paintings, the sculpture and stelae, the coffins, funerary papyri, and amulets--from its first flowering in the Early Dynastic period to its final resurgence in the time of the Ptolemies.Spanning three thousand years, her book offers a thorough and delightfully readable introduction to the art of ancient Egypt even as it provides insight into questions that have long perplexed experts and amateurs alike. With remarkable sensitivity to the complex ways in which historical, religious, and social changes are related to changes in Egyptian art, she brings out the power and significance of the image in Egyptian belief and life. Her attention to the later period, including Ptolemaic art, shows for the first time how Egyptian art is a continuous phenomenon, changing to meet the needs of different times, right down to the eclipse of ancient Egyptian culture. In its scope, its detail, and its eloquent reproduction of over 250 objects from the British Museum and other collections in Europe, the United States, and Egypt, this volume is without parallel as a guide to the art of ancient Egypt.

Author Biography

Gay Robins is Professor of Ancient Egyptian Art in the Art History Department at Emory University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	6	(1)
Foreword	7	(1)
Chronology	8	(4)
Understanding Ancient Egyptian Art	12	(18)
Origins	30	(10)
The Early Dynastic Period
The First Flowering	40	(18)
The Old Kingdom (I)
A Golden Age	58	(22)
The Old Kingdom (II)
Diversity in Disunity	80	(10)
The First Intermediate Period
Return to the Heights	90	(20)
The Middle Kingdom (I)
Change and Collapse	110	(12)
The Middle Kingdom (II)
A New Momentum	122	(27)
The New Kingdom (I): Ahmose to Amenhotep III
The Great Heresy	149	(17)
The New Kingdom (II): The Amarna Period and its Aftermath
The Glories of Empire	166	(29)
The New Kingdom (III)
Fragmentation and New Directions	195	(15)
The Third Intermediate Period
Looking to the Past	210	(21)
The Late Period (I)
The Final Flowering	231	(21)
The Late Period (II) and Ptolemaic Period
Epilogue	252	(4)
Abbreviations and Bibliography	256	(9)
Further Reading	265	(2)
Illustration Acknowledgements	267	(2)
Index	269