ANCIENT EGYPT: Structural Conservatism & Material Extravagance
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Transcript of ANCIENT EGYPT: Structural Conservatism & Material Extravagance
ANCIENT EGYPT:Structural Conservatism &Material Extravagance
The Nile River Valley• due to basic human
needs for sustenance it is no surprise the Nile River Valley developed as it did:– water– fertilization– transportation– building materials– aesthetic inspiration
•sepulchral structure built above ground•elaboration of pre-dynastic burial-pit & mound form •generally rectangular in plan with a flat roof and inward-sloping walls• built of brick and faced with limestone slabs
mastabaOld Kingdom (2680–2181 B.C.)
• angle of repose—natural “structure” of earth when piled• battered—or has a slope
Pyramids of Giza
Structural Conservatism• Skiomorphosis - describes that process
whereby a form is invented in one material as a response to the physical properties of that material and then transferred to another material whose properties do not demand that form.
Segregation of Classes
• Division of class– Royalty– Military – Laboring class– Merchant class
• Segregation of residential districts
Temple Complex at Karnac
Trabeated Construction
Post: Vertical Element
Lintel: Horizontal Element
Battered Wall
Temple of Edfu:
The Main Pylon/Gate
Cavetto Cornice
Obelisk
Temple of Amon at Karnac
Path or Axis
Temple of Amon at Karnac
Axial Planning
Additive Construction
Hypostyle Hall: Nature’s Grid
NILE
SUN
Hypostyle Hall
Latin: hypo-inside, style-column
Clerestory
Lotus Flower Capital
hierarchy of society (statues and restricted spaces) fused in architecture
The Dense Forest
Applied Polychromy
Bas (Low) Relief Carving Incised Carving
HIEROGLYPHICS
Arab World Institute
Jean Nouvel, Paris France, 1983-87
Notre Dame
Light Sensitive Windows
Jean Nouvel’s
Hypostyle Hall
Interior of Nouvel’s Hypostyle
Interior of Arab World Institute
INTERIORS
• Egyptian Pyramids– Eternal
• Egyptian Villas and Palaces– Absence of ceremony and its effect
on the interior– Symbolic journey of life– Importance of the hearth – Movable furniture– Ephemeral
Model of a Villa of an aristocratic family at Te El Armana, 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom
(reconstructed from archeological evidence)
Plan of a Villa of an aristocratic family at Te El Armana, 18th Dynasty, New
Kingdom
(reconstructed from archeological evidence)
Walls were a canvas
for carving or painted murals.
Wooden shutters or grilles for windows.
Sun-baked earthen floors cooler than
having textiles.
Egyptian Furniture
Products of the Vernacular• Products for ordinary people• Local materials• Priority of function
Products of the High Style• Products for the elite• Extravagant materials• Followed them to the afterlife
Alabaster Lamp
table and oil lamps, Old Kingdom
Wrapped Joints
Diagonal Struts
Wood Joinery
Bedroom Suite of Queen Hetepheres, c. 2300 BCE Wood encased in gold; loose cushions covered in cotton,
painted leather, metallic cloth
Folding Bed, Middle Kingdom
Headrest from the tomb of Tutankhamun, c. 1352 Often wrapped in linen
Impost Block
Zoomorphic furniture
Lotus Blossom
Reeds
The Discovery of King Tut’sTomb by Howard Carter(1922)
The Antechamber
(Evidence of trade; Greek artifacts found in tombs)
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/3499/MUMMY.HTM
Burial Chamber Entrance
An Unbroken Seal
The Primary Sarcophagus of King
Tutankhamen
http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/
Stool from the tomb of Tutankhamun, c. 1352 BCE
• Seating– Stool
Painted and Guilded Stool, 18th dynasty
• Seating– Stool– Chair
• Seating– Stool– Chair– Arm chair
Arm Chair from the tomb of Tutankhamun,
c. 1352 BCE
• Seating– Stool– Chair– Arm chair – Throne
1. Loose cushion
2. Pads or rolls of fabric secured over the back and seat of chair
3. Leather (cowhide or goat skin) as collapsible sling
Use of textiles on furnishings:
Shrine Shaped Box, Old Kingdom
Chest on Legs, Old Kingdom
Egyptian Decorative Arts
Ivory hunting dogLate Dynasty 18, 1400-1350 B.C.
Ivory, tinted red inside mouth and black around eyes and on undersides of paws, l. 7 1/8 in.
HippopotamusThebes, area of Deir el-Bahri, Dynasty 18, ca.
1450 B.C.Painting on limestone, 4 11/16 x 4 1/8 in.
CatPtolemaic Period, 305-30 B.C.
Bronze, h. 11 in.
Prancing Horse, New Kingdom, late Dynasty 18, probably reign of Amenhotep III, ca. 1391–1353 B.C.
EgyptianIvory, garnet inlay; L. 6 in. (15 cm)
Make-up Palettes in the form of Turtles, Old Kingdom
Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet Lahun
Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret II, ca. 1897-1797 BCEGold, carnelian, feldspar, garnet, and turquoise; l. 3 1/4 in.
Egyptian Revivals
• The first occurs in the early 19th century due to Napoleon’s campaigns in Egypt and the resulting Descriptions of Egypt.
• The second is concurrent with Carter’s discovery of King Tut’s Tomb in the early part of the 20th century.
Clock, 1808, Benjamin Vulliamy
Black Marble and Ormolu
Grauman’s Egyptian Theater
Egyptian Theater
Boise, Idaho