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Egyptian art in the age of the pyramids.

Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art, [1999]Distributor: New York : Distributed by H.N. Abrams Copyright date: ©1999Description: xxiii, 536 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 31 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0870999060 (HC)
  • 0870999079 (pbk.)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 709/.32/0747471 21
LOC classification:
  • N5350 .E37 1999
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Book Book James Prendergast Library Association Main Floor Nonfiction 709.32 E (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 3188004057164
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

During the course of the Old Kingdom (about 2649-2150 B.C.E.), Egyptians not only created the pyramid, which has come to stand as an emblem of the civilization, but also defined the essence of their art, establishing a tradition that endured for three thousand years. Centering their attention on the human image but depicting animals, plants, landscapes, and inanimate objects as well, they served their culture's all-encompassing goals of maintaining cosmic order and defeating death. This they did by preserving an idealized image of life in statues and reliefs destined for tombs and temples. Working in a wide range of materials, they were able to express the multiplicity of existence by means of an artistic canon of circumscribed types, which they subtly varied and infused with innumerable realistic details. Keen observation of nature and a thorough understanding of human and animal bodies led to the invention of images of an extraordinary organic truthfullness. Intimate human relationships and impressions of daily life as well as the majestic pharaonic presence are captured in the many forms of their art. Sometimes stark, always straightforward, the images of this early period are graced by what one scholar termed "the charm of the first time."


Old Kingdom art first came to light in the middle of the nineteenth century, and explorations marked by many spectacular discoveries have continued to the present. In recent years especially there has been a notable renaissance in studies of the period. This flowering of research has inspired the many authors of this volume, which accompanies a major exhibition of Old Kingdom art held at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In essays that will enrich the understanding of the general and scholarly audience alike, these internaional experts examine the history of the Old Kingdom, the architecture of royal pyramid complexes and nonroyal tombs, statuary, reliefs, minor arts, and the history of excavations of Old Kingdom monuments. They also focus sharply on the individual works in the exhibition in more than two hundred illuminating entries. The texts are lavishly supported by plans, drawings, and reproductions in color abd black and white of the works in the exhibition as well as comparative material. A chronology, provenances, references, an extensive bibliography, and indexes are provided.

Catalogue of an exhibition to be held at the Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, Apr. 6-July 12, 1999, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sept. 16, 1999-Jan. 9, 2000, and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Feb. 13-May 22, 2000.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 495-516) and indexes.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This intense and intimidating work is a classic research statement on Egypt's 3rd-6th dynasties. The 25 authors--career curators, archaeologists, and linguists, together with Dorothea Arnold (Metropolitan Museum of Art)--offer 15 poignant, clear, comprehensive, and up-to-date introductory essays. The 213 entries, with big, well-lighted and enticing photographs, conclusively describe each piece, old and current responses to them, and where they were formerly published. The works are outstanding finds and architectural settings, are connected with the famous art, and are gathered from their museums or still at the find-sites. Thorough footnotes; 30-page bibliography. Egyptophiles will regret that the authors took for granted that the flat planes of the Egyptian style did not need to be explained; these scholars often seemed to experience Old Kingdom art as a universe; words like baroque, naturalism, and realism do not clarify this art in the context of other world art. And, all the writers dismissal of the ancient Egyptian religion as magic is neither empathetic with the ancients nor sophisticated scholarship. But the careful observation, verbal presentations of techniques, and the scholarship will keep this book in use. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. E. L. Anderson; formerly, Lansing Community College

Booklist Review

Three handsome volumes depict life in ancient Egypt through excavated sites and artifacts. Malek sets the stage here, followed by the two gorgeous oversize museum books. Egyptologist Malek takes the reader on a visual and intellectual tour of history beginning with the days of the ancient pharaohs. The history of Egypt was preserved in the configuration of the pyramids, and Egyptian Art shares this amazing history. Malek uses discoveries from excavations to explain the past of Egypt from prehistoric eras to the days of Roman occupation and beyond. Egyptians were obsessed with the afterlife. Hieroglyphs uncovered in the pyramids tell the history of the religious as well as the political belief systems of this long-ago culture. Malek uses wall art, jewelry, and sculptures to explain burial rites and the functions of government. During the period known as the Old Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians began the construction of their most famous legacy, the pyramids. Age of the Pyramids dissects these ancient wonders using documentation from archaeological excavations. The pyramids contained the ancient Egyptian belief system regarding the afterlife. In-depth tutorial essays describe the rituals involved in the funeral practices. Egyptians spent their lives preparing for life after death, although only the upper class could fully prepare themselves and their graves for the next stage; therefore, archaeologists are only able to further examine the practices of the pharaohs and their cohorts. The layout of the pyramids is quite complex, with multiple chambers complete with all the items considered necessary for the next stage of life. Using text, drawings, and photos, this book brings the era of the Old Kingdom to life for all audiences. Egyptian Treasures is a marvelous descriptive guide to the ancient history exhibit at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Beginning with an essay on the nineteenth-century European obsession with all things Egyptian and the Egyptian government's sanctioned gifts of artifacts to foreign dignitaries, editor Tiradritti writes about modern Egypt's desire for a museum to properly display their history and to maintain the jewelry, mummy cases, and statues. Egyptian officials were eventually able to retain a significant amount of their ancient legacy and build a museum worthy of their ancestors. Following the introduction are educational essays by Egyptologists from around the world, on topics ranging from the early dynastic eras through to the later periods of invasion by the Greeks. Throughout the book, there are vivid photographs of artifacts with a narration explaining the historical and artistic significance of each piece. --Julia Glynn

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