A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art

How did ancient Egyptians define “art”—and how did the myriad of artistic works they produced mirror their worldview? A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art. Themes and topics include methodological approaches and theoretical concepts, the development of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, technology and interpretation, and current debates surrounding field and museum conservation.

In addition to providing overviews of past and present scholarship on a broad range of topics relating to art in ancient Egypt, readings pave the way for new avenues of exploration that are certain to stimulate ongoing and future debate. With its unprecedented breadth of coverage and impeccable scholarship, A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art is an indispensable reference resource for the field of ancient Egyptian art history.

Notes on Contributors ix

Foreword xiii

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

List of Abbreviations xix

List of Illustrations xxi

List of Plates xxxi

Chronology of Egyptian Kings xxxiii

Chronology of Kushite Rulers xli

Maps xlv

1 WhatIsArt? 1
John Baines

PART I Methodological Approaches 23

2 Historiography of Ancient Egyptian Art 25
Diane Bergman

3 Style 39
Melinda K. Hartwig

4 Connoisseurship 60
Jack A. Josephson

5 Iconography and Symbolism 78
Maya Müller

6 Semiotics and Hermeneutics 98
Valérie Angenot

7 Gender and Sexuality 120
Gay Robins

8 Reception and Perception 141
Alexandra Verbovsek

9 Representing the Other: Non-Egyptians in Pharaonic Iconography 155
Ann Macy Roth

10 Interpreting Ancient Egyptian Material Culture 175
Salima Ikram

PART II Materials and Mediums 189

11 Sculpture 191
Melinda K. Hartwig

12 Relief 219
Alexandra Woods

13 Painting 249
Francesco Tiradritti

14 Coffins, Cartonnage, and Sarcophagi 269
Kathlyn M. Cooney

15 Luxury Arts 293
Arielle P. Kozloff

PART III Concepts in Art 307

16 Ideology and Propaganda 309
Ronald J. Leprohon

17 Religion and Ritual 328
Emily Teeter

18 Narrative 344
Nadja S. Braun

19 The Ordering of the Figure 360
William H. Peck

20 Portraiture 375
Betsy M. Bryan

PART IV Interconnections with the Larger World 397

21 Egyptian Connections with the Larger World: Greece and Rome 399
Barbara Mendoza

22 Egyptian Connections with the Larger World: Ancient Near East 423
Mehmet-Ali Ataç

23 The Art and Architecture of Kushite Nubia 447
Peter Lacovara

PART V Reception of Ancient Egyptian Art in the Modern World 463

24 Egyptomania: Fascination for Egypt and Its Expression in the Modern World 465
Jean-Marcel Humbert

PART VI Technology and Interpretation 483

25 Interpretation 485
Nigel Strudwick

26 Technology 504
Richard Newman

27 Conservation of Egyptian Objects: A Review of Current Practices in the Field and in Museum Settings 522
Susanne Gänsicke

Index 545

“No other work comes close to providing such an introduction to the ideas and bibliography of Egyptian art history; many of its chapters stand alone as thought-provoking essays of particular use to students; and in documenting the state of Egyptian art history it points to several productive paths forward. . . A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art thus serves not only as an introduction to art-historical theory for Egyptologists but also as a call to arms for the field. We should answer.” (College Art Association, October 2015)

"Such a multidisciplinary approach to Egyptian art is new. These articles describe, from a number of different perspectives, how ancient Egyptian art 'worked' and will be of special interest to those who wonder why Pharaonic imagery is so distinctive." (Ancient Egypt, 1 February 2015)

“Edited volumes can vary in consistency and relevance but A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art is strong in these areas. This work certainly fulfills a need in the current literature of ancient Egyptian art history and I am very glad to have it on my shelf, both for myself and for my students. (I am currently using this volume extensively in an upper-level undergraduate Egyptian art course.)” (Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 52, 2016)

THE EDITOR

Melinda K. Hartwig is a Professor of Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Art and Archaeology at Georgia State University, USA. She is the author of Tomb Painting and Identity in Ancient Thebes, 1419–1372 BCE (2004) and the Tomb Chapel of Menna (Theban Tomb 69): The Art, Culture, and Science of Painting in an Egyptian Tomb (2013).

How did ancient Egyptians define “art”—and how did the myriad of artistic works they produced mirror their worldview? A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art. Themes and topics include methodological approaches and theoretical concepts, the development of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, technology and interpretation, and current debates surrounding field and museum conservation.

In addition to providing overviews of past and present scholarship on a broad range of topics relating to art in ancient Egypt, readings pave the way for new avenues of exploration that are certain to stimulate ongoing and future debate. With its unprecedented breadth of coverage and impeccable scholarship, A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art is an indispensable reference resource for the field of ancient Egyptian art history.