Tomb group of Nesmutaatneru.Egyptian artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. and treasures mesmerize mes·mer·ize tr.v. mes·mer·ized, mes·mer·iz·ing, mes·mer·iz·es 1. To spellbind; enthrall: "He could mesmerize an audience by the sheer force of his presence" nearly all museum visitors. A careful look at ancient Egyptian art can tell us a great about Egyptian culture and artistry. About the Culture The ancient Egyptians believed that in the afterlife, the spirit (or ka) of the deceased returned to the body. It was important for the body to be preserved to ensure that the ka had a safe home for eternity. The ancient Egyptians used a complex mummification mummification /mum·mi·fi·ca·tion/ (mum?i-fi-ka´shun) the shriveling up of a tissue, as in dry gangrene, or of a dead, retained fetus. mum·mi·fi·ca·tion n. process. Internal organs were removed, preserved, and stored in canopic jars outside of the mummy case. The body was dehydrated de·hy·drate v. de·hy·drat·ed, de·hy·drat·ing, de·hy·drates v.tr. 1. To remove water from; make anhydrous. 2. To preserve by removing water from (vegetables, for example). with natron na·tron n. A mineral of hydrous sodium carbonate, Na2CO3·10H2O, often found crystallized with other salts. [French, from Spanish natrón, from Arabic salts and wrapped in yards of linen. This process, which took about three months, was accompanied by many elaborate rituals invoking the aid of gods to ensure a safe passage to the afterlife. About the Artwork Nesmutaatneru, buried about 700-675 Be, was the wife of a high-ranking Theban priest. Her family's status is reflected in the craftsmanship of her burial goods. All three coffins are made of wood, a rare commodity in ancient Egypt. The outermost out·er·most adj. Most distant from the center or inside; outmost. outermost Adjective furthest from the centre or middle Adj. 1. coffin is in the shape of a shrine with arched roof. On top of it rests a small wooden sculpture of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the dead, associated with the mummification process. Anubis guards the mummy of Nesmutaatneru from evil forces in the night. The second and third coffins, which nest within the first, are in the shape of the mummy, with face mask and wig. The second coffin is decorated with a floral collar, a winged sun disk, and two columns of inscription written in the hieroglyphic hieroglyphic (hī'rəglĭf`ĭk, hī'ərə–) [Gr.,=priestly carving], type of writing used in ancient Egypt. Similar pictographic styles of Crete, Asia Minor, and Central America and Mexico are also called hieroglyphics script, a form of picture writing. While the decoration is simple, it is very skillfully executed. The third coffin is much more elaborate. The entire coffin is covered with inscriptions and images of protective funerary fu·ner·ar·y adj. Of or suitable for a funeral or burial. [Latin f  ner gods.
Nesmutaatneru is shown twice near the top worshiping Osiris in the form
of a standing mummy. Osiris was one of the most significant deities of
ancient Egypt. Paradoxically, he was associated with both death and
fertility.
The mummy itself is wrapped in a linen shroud and covered with a bead net dress. This dress, the protective amulets, winged scarab, and sons of Horus are made of faience faience (fāĕns`, –äns`, fī–) [for Faenza, Italy], any of several kinds of pottery, especially earthenware made of coarse clay and covered with an opaque tin-oxide glaze. . The technology of faience reflects the Egyptians' resourcefulness. They discovered that by mixing a recipe of quartz, lime, alkali, and water, molding it into a variety of shapes, and then glazing and firing it, they could produce a variety of jewel-like objects. Fortunately, these objects were not plundered by grave robbers, but discovered by archeologist Edouard Naville in 1894-95. They were found in the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahri), Egypt's only female pharaoh. A Closer Look What do you notice about the style of Egyptian art? What kinds of colors do they use? Arc the figures realistic or stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. ? How is the human figure depicted? Do you notice anything unusual about the figures? (They are all shown in profile.) How is the human face depicted? Does it look like an individual portrait, or a stylized rendition? Resources Freed, Rita, Lawrence Berman, and Denise M. Doxey. MFA See multifactor authentication. highlights, Arts of Ancient Egypt. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, chartered and incorporated (1870) after a decision by the Boston Athenaeum, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pool their collections of art objects and house them in adequate public galleries. , 2003. Hart, George. Eyewitness Books Ancient Egypt. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Egyptology World www.egyptology.com. This is a scholarly website with an extensive list of fascinating links (high school). Things to Do Elementary School Study hieroglyphic writing with students. Discuss the difference between hieroglyphics and our system of writing. Ask them if they can decode any of the writing on Nesmutaatneru's cartonnage Cartonnage is a type of material composing Egyptian funerary masks from the First Intermediate Period onward. It was made of layers of linen or papyrus covered with plaster. Some of the Fayum mummy portraits are also painted on panels made of cartonnage. . If not, what do they think it might say? Have students make papier-mache to simulate the linen/papyrus/ plaster of the cartonnage. Ask each student to make and decorate a coffin as if it were from ancient Egypt. Do students understand and employ ancient Egyptian design conventions? Middle School Discuss the purposes of art with students. (religious observance, expression of power, historical commemoration, celebration of the individual, etc.) Ask them to find information on ancient Egyptian, ancient American, or ancient Chinese funerary art at the library. Give students clay with which to make an object like that of "their" ancient culture. Make an exhibition of the objects, complete with student-written labels explaining the name and function of their objects. Ask students to write a brief essay comparing and contrasting the style and function of objects from the ancient cultures. High School Have teams of students conduct an in-depth investigation of ancient Egyptian or ancient Chinese funerary art. What do they discover about belief systems or gods? What were the expectations about the afterlife? What do the artifacts tell us about daily life at the time? What materials were used? What were the artistic conventions of the culture? Ask students to explore the design conventions of ancient Egypt or ancient China by replicating an object in clay or wood. Does re-creating an object give the student a deeper understanding of the culture represented? Nancy Sponpinato is manager of School Group Learning at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, and contains one of the largest permanent museum collections in the Americas. . Judith King is manager of School and Teacher Partnerships at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. |
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