Egyptian Pyramids Ancient Egyptian Art: Day 2
The Old Kingdom: Most people associate pyramids with the great Old Kingdom pyramids at Giza. The gigantic stone pyramids were actually built over the course of three generations: Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure. Egypt has over 90 royal pyramids which span a period of a thousand years, plus over 180 pyramids which were built in Nubia over the course of another thousand years.
The primal archetype of the Egyptian obelisk and pyramid was the sacred Ben-Ben stone in the temple of Heliopolis, the oldest center of the sun cult. The original stone at Heliopolis, symbolizing the primeval mound, was believed to have been the point at which the rays of the rising sun first fell. The gilded capstone of the pyramid, which would sit at the apex, or the tip of an obelisk was known as a ben-benet.
Old Kingdom Pyramid Complexes The Age of the Pyramids was one of the most glorious in human history. Known as the Old Kingdom 2650 to 2150 B.C. Third through Sixth dynasties During these five centuries: Egyptians created their famous pyramids the world's most abstract building form Defined once and for all the essence of their civilization's art.
At the center of Egyptian art are the human figure and the animals and plants of the Nile Valley. Artists of the Old Kingdom created a limited number of conventions to depict this rich environment; the resulting artistic canon governed Egyptian art for the next three thousand years. Predominantly youthful and vigorous, Old Kingdom images exude an air of utter confidence in human achievement. At the same time, gentle gestures express the intimate relationships between: king and deity man and wife mother and child.
The primary medium of Old Kingdom art was stone, a material whose durability best served the culture's all-encompassing goal of defeating death. Most works of art were created for temples attached to the royal pyramids and for the surrounding tombs of officials and their families. Some sculptures have been discovered in middleclass tombs of administrators, scribes, and craftsmen. The peasants and servants of Old Kingdom society have left almost nothing of themselves to posterity, but their lives are depicted in the reliefs and small sculptures of elite tombs.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara 3rd Dynasty The first pyramid funerary complex was designed and built by Imhotep. Developed from the mastaba tombs, the step pyramid was gradually extended until it became a superstructure. Basically adding smaller mastaba to larger mastaba.
The Pyramids of Snefru - 4th Dynasty The Bent Pyramid of Dahshur Probably the first pyramid to be conceived as a "true" pyramid. This pyramid owes its characteristic bend due to the marked change of angle part way up the profile. The explanation for the shape of this pyramid is uncertain.
The Red Pyramid of Dahshur. The first successful "true" pyramid of Snefru was constructed with a constant angle. The Red pyramid (or northern pyramid) was known as "Snefru appears in glory". It was probably in this northern pyramid that Snefru was buried. With such resources available to him, Snefru was able to leave a strong inheritance to his son Khufu.
Pyramids of Giza - 4th Dynasty. Snefru's son Khufu took his father's achievements to the extreme of pyramid building by the construction of the Great Pyramid complex at Giza. It stands alongside the smaller pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, and the three pyramids of Khufu's queens.
Graphic of Giza
Temple of Isis Graphic
In purely architectural terms, pyramids can be divided into two broad types: the step pyramid The first step pyramids appear to have evolved and developed from the royal and private mastaba tombs of the early Dynastic Period. the true pyramid by the early 4th Dynasty the first true smooth sided pyramid had been built by Snefru at Dahshur. The full scale pyramid complex consisted of: a true pyramid with mortuary valley temples a causeway between the two usually a number of smaller subsidiary pyramids
The Middle Kingdom Pyramids During the First Intermediate Period, pyramid building had practically stopped. The form of the pyramid complex was revived during the Middle Kingdom by the 12th Dynasty pharaoh Amenemhet I (1991-1962 BC). Pyramids tended to be built with mudbrick inner cores and then faced with limestone. Once completed the effect would look similar to the Old Kingdom stone pyramids. If this outer casing of limestone was removed, the pyramid was "unprotected" and would deteriorate badly.
Middle Kingdom map
Middle Kingdom Pyramids of Senwosret I (top) and Amenemhet I (bottom)
The Nubian Pyramids The kingdom of Kush, as Nubia was known to the Ancient Egyptians, grew from a trading post established on Egypt's periphery around the time of the Middle Kingdom. During the early New Kingdom, Nubia became a province of Egypt. During the Third Intermediate Period, a Kushite dynasty emerged from Thebes, led by a ruler called Kashta, from Napata in Nubia. Kashta's successor Piye (Piankhi) led a campaign and claimed kingship of Upper and Lower Egypt.
The first Nubian pyramids were built at the site of el-kurru, downstream from the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal. The site at el-kurru contains the tombs of Kashta and his son Piye (Piankhi), five earlier generations, together with Piye's successors Shabako, Shabatko and Tanutamun, and fourteen pyramids of the queens.
The re-emergence of the pyramid after such a significant interval shows the transfer of an architectural idea from one region and culture to another. The Nubian pyramids are: much smaller far more numerous considerably more standardized than those of Egypt's classic pyramid age.
Temple of Karnak