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