7.5: New Kingdom
- Page ID
- 108595
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
New Kingdom: Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
by Dr. Elizabeth Cummins
The massive temple complex of Karnak was the principal religious center of the god Amun-Re in Thebes during the New Kingdom (which lasted from 1550 until 1070 BCE). The complex remains one of the largest religious complexes in the world. However, Karnak was not just one temple dedicated to one god—it held not only the main precinct to the god Amun-Re—but also the precincts of the gods Mut and Montu. Compared to other temple compounds that survive from ancient Egypt, Karnak is in a poor state of preservation but it still gives scholars a wealth of information about Egyptian religion and art.
“The Most Select of Places”
The site was first developed during the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BCE) and was initially modest in scale but as new importance was placed on the city of Thebes, subsequent pharaohs began to place their own mark on Karnak. The main precinct alone would eventually have as many as twenty temples and chapels. [1] Karnak was known in ancient times as “The Most Select of Places” (Ipet-isut) and was not only the location of the cult image of Amun and a place for the god to dwell on earth but also a working estate for the priestly community who lived on site. Additional buildings included a sacred lake, kitchens, and workshops for the production of religious accoutrements.
The main temple of Amun-Re had two axes—one that went north/south and the other that extended east/west. The southern axis continued towards the temple of Luxor and was connected by an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes.
While the sanctuary was plundered for stone in ancient times, there are still a number of unique architectural features within this vast complex. For example, the tallest obelisk in Egypt stood at Karnak and was dedicated by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt during the New Kingdom. Made of one piece of red granite, it originally had a matching obelisk that was removed by the Roman emperor Constantine and re-erected in Rome. Another unusual feature was the Festival Temple of Thutmose III, which had columns that represented tent poles, a feature this pharaoh was no doubt familiar with from his many war campaigns.
Hypostyle hall
One of the greatest architectural marvels of Karnak is the hypostyle hall built during the Ramesside period (a hypostyle hall is a space with a roof supported by columns). The hall has 134 massive sandstone columns with the center twelve columns standing at 69 feet. Like most of the temple decoration, the hall would have been brightly painted and some of this paint still exists on the upper portions of the columns and ceiling today. With the center of the hall taller than the spaces on either side, the Egyptians allowed for clerestory lighting (a section of wall that allowed light and air into the otherwise dark space below). In fact, the earliest evidence for clerestory lighting comes from Egypt. Not many ancient Egyptians would have had access to this hall, since the further one went into the temple, the more restricted access became.
Temple as cosmos
Conceptually, temples in Egypt were connected to the idea of zep tepi, or “the first time,” the beginnings of the creation of the world. The temple was a reflection of this time, when the mound of creation emerged from the primeval waters. The pylons, or gateways in the temple represent the horizon, and as one moves further into the temple, the floor rises until it reaches the sanctuary of the god, giving the impression of a rising mound, like that during creation. The temple roof represented the sky and was often decorated with stars and birds. The columns were designed with lotus, papyrus, and palm plants in order to reflect the marsh-like environment of creation. The outer areas of Karnak, which was located near the Nile River, would flood during the annual inundation—an intentional effect by the ancient designers no doubt, in order to enhance the temple’s symbolism. [2]
Notes
[1] R. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt (New York, Thames & Hudson, 2000), p. 154.
[2] R. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt (New York, Thames & Hudson, 2000), p. 77.
The Valley of the Kings
By Boundless Art History
By this time, pyramids were no longer built by kings, but they continued to build magnificent tombs. This renowned valley in Egypt is where, for a period of nearly 500 years, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom. The valley is known to contain 63 tombs and chambers, the most well known of which is the tomb of Tutankhamun (commonly known as King Tut). Despite its small size, it is the most complete ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found. In 1979, the Valley became a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis .
Hatshepsut
The Temple of Hatshepsut was Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple and was the first to be built in the area. The focal point of the tomb was the Djeser-Djeseru, a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony that predates the Parthenon by nearly one thousand years. Built into a cliff face, Djeser-Djeseru, or “the Sublime of Sublimes,” sits atop a series of terraces that once were graced with lush gardens. Funerary goods belonging to Hatshepsut include a lioness “throne,” a game board with carved lioness head, red-jasper game pieces bearing her title as pharaoh, a signet ring, and a partial shabti figurine bearing her name.
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut: A CONVERSATION
By Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
This is the transcript of a conversation conducted in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Click to watch the video.
Steven: We’re in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in the section devoted to the art of Ancient Egypt. And we’re looking at an enormous, granite sculpture.
Beth: This is a sculpture of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut.
Steven: We think of pharaohs, that is, ancient Egyptian kings, as male. And of course, the vast majority were. There had been a long tradition in ancient Egypt of women assuming enormous authority in the position of regent, that is as a mother or a member of the royal family who would reign until a male ruler reached the age where they could actually assume power.
Beth: Those women were very powerful but Hatshepsut is unusual. She assumes the authority of king, of pharaoh. She created a whole mythology around her kingship that described her divine birth, the way that an oracle had predicted that she would become king. She ruled Egypt for more than two decades. She commissioned a remarkable number of temples, of sculptures. She was interested in the power of art to convey royal authority.
Steven: And no building speaks to the authority of the king more than the mortuary temple.
Beth: The sculpture that we’re looking at was actually made for this mortuary temple. There anywhere from six or eight or ten of these kneeling figures. There were also representations of Hatshepsut as a sphinx which lined the center of the lower courtyard of her mortuary temple (Figure \(\PageIndex{10}\)).
Steven: And that temple is an extraordinary place. It is built directly against this vast cliff face.
Beth: I can’t think of a more dramatic environment for architecture. Those cliff are towering and their organic qualities are in such contrast to the regular order and structure of the built environment.
Steven: This is hewn right from the living rock.
Beth: And that sense of permanence, that sense of stability that is expressed by that wall of living rock is a perfect expression of the very sense of stability that we think Hatshepsut and her dynasty were trying to reassert after a period of instability. This was the beginning of the New Kingdom.
Steven: In ancient Egyptian history, we talk about three major periods: the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom, and these periods are separated by periods we call Intermediate Periods.
Beth: These were periods of relative chaos, often when Egypt was divided in its rule or was ruled by external rulers.
Steven: The representations of kingship in ancient Egyptian art are almost two millennia old by the time we get to Hatshepsut and so what she can do is adopt those forms to show herself as king. These forms were easily recognizable. That is symmetry, its embeddedness in the stone, we see that there is no space between her arms and her torso or between her legs. There is a real sense of timelessness but there are also more specific symbols.Beth: The headcloth that she wears is a symbol of the king that would have originally been a cobra.Steven: We have the beard that we associate with kingship.
Beth: We’re talking about a visual language here. And this visual language of kingship was male. In fact, there is no word for queen in the Egyptian language. The term is king’s wife, or king’s mother.
Steven: Her body is represented in a relatively masculine way. Her breasts are de-emphasized, for example. She has broad shoulders.
Beth: The inscriptions that were on many of these sculptures use a feminine form and so the representation itself is masculine but the identifying words, the hieroglyphs identify her as female. About 20 years after Hatshepsut died, the pharaoh she had been co-ruler with systematically destroyed all images of Hatshepsut.
Steven: That would not have been an easy matter. You wouldn’t have simply toppled the sculpture. It would have shattered into so many pieces. This made of granite, incredibly hard stone. It would have been very difficult to produce and it would have been very difficult to destroy.
Beth: Well, and not only that but Hatshepsut had commissioned hundreds of images of herself. So it would have taken a long time to destroy these sculptures. This was an intentional act, but we’re not really sure why this happened.
Steven: We do know that the fragments were discovered in the early twentieth-century thanks to an excavation undertaken by the Metropolitan Museum of Art which is why they are here. And what we’re seeing is a series of monumental sculptures that have been put back together but some of this is guesswork. We don’t know if one particular fragment goes with one sculpture versus another.
Beth: So when we look at those sculptures, we see her in a range of positions. In some, she is kneeling. In some, she is standing. In some, she is seated. In some, she is represented as a sphinx. A king only would kneel of course to a god. That really helps us place this sculpture along the processional path.
Steven: So once a year, there was a ritual involving a sculpture of a god. Now we have to remember that for Egyptians, the sculpture of the god was the embodiment of the god and temples were houses for a god. So once a year the sculpture of the primary god, Amun-Re, was taken from the temple in Thebes on the eastern side of the Nile.
Beth: And carried across the river on a ceremonial barque, on a shrine that was shaped like a boat.
Steven: As though he were traveling literally across the Nile from the eastern side, the land of the living, toward the land of the dead, and he would be carried up this causeway toward the temple and his primary shrine in the mortuary temple at the very top center.
Beth: And that sculpture would have been spent one night in that shrine before it would have been returned across the river.
Steven: And so it makes sense then that you would have this representation of Hatshepsut on her knees making an offering, these two bowls or jars that she holds are an offering to the god because the god passed in front of these sculptures who are not just sculptures but embodiments of Hatshepsut (compare also Figure \(\PageIndex{13}\)).
Beth: It’s interesting how the scholarship that surrounds this ruler has changed. Early in the twentieth century, for example, the destruction of the images of this ruler was associated with the idea that she was out of place, that she was a usurper, and she was seen very much in a negative light. She is seen much more sympathetically now, in the early twenty-first century.
Steven: And there were women before Hatshepsut who asserted themselves as kings, and there were a few women after her, but Hatshepsut had enormous power, enormous influence, the sculptures, the architecture that she commissioned set an important standard and inspiration for all the later work of the New Kingdom. Imagine walking past these enormous sculptures of Hatshepsut.
Beth: This is all about the procession. This is all about pageantry. This is all about expressing power as the king.
Steven: Kneeling like this is not something you can do for more than a minute or two. It’s hard on the toes. It’s hard on the knees. So this is a position that someone would only take very temporarily and yet there is something very eternal about the sculpture, something very permanent. This is not a figure who engages us, who is in the world, but who lives in the eternal. This is an image of a king who is also a god.
Egypt’s pyramids and Hatshepsut’s grand mortuary temple are not the only monumental examples of grandiose mortuary complexes in the world. The word “mausoleum” derives from the grand tomb of the Hellenistic Greek king and Persian satrap, Mausolus, built between 335 and 350 BCE. In China c. 210 BCE, the First Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi commissioned a massive tomb which famously and most impressively included approximately 8,000 terracotta warriors to accompany and protect the emperor on his way to the afterlife.
In Mexico, the Mayan Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque (5th-8th centuries) is considered the greatest Mayan funerary pyramid and included the tomb of King Pakal. And in the United States, the Mississipiian people (among others) were famous for building burial mounds, which flourished between c. 900-1350 BCE. Monk’s Mound in the city of Cahokia, Illinois, is considered the largest indigenous earthen structure north of Mexico, measuring approximately 100 feet high and covering more than 16 acres at its base.
In India, much later from 1632-53 CE, Shah Jahan built the exquisite and exceptional Taj Mahal, also known as the “Luminous Tomb,” for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died from complications after delivering their fourteenth child.
And, in Rome today, pilgrims and tourists go under St. Peter's Basilica to visit a grave long believed to be that of the apostle Peter himself. The Roman Emperor Constantine had the altar of his fourth-century basilica placed directly over the grave, tying the building to the martyred saint. The 16th-century pope, Julius II, maintained that relationship, positioning the much larger basilica of St. Peter so that its main altar was still over the grave.
Paintings from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun
by The British Museum
The fragments from the wall painting in the tomb-chapel of Nebamun are keenly observed vignettes of Nebamun and his family enjoying both work and play. Some concern the provision of the funerary cult that was celebrated in the tomb-chapel, some show scenes of Nebamun’s life as an elite official, and others show him and his family enjoying life for all eternity, as in the famous scene of the family hunting in the marshes. Together they decorated the small tomb-chapel with vibrant and engaging images of an elite lifestyle that Nebamun hoped would continue in the afterlife.
Hunting in the marshes
Nebamun is shown hunting birds from a small boat in the marshes of the Nile with his wife Hatshepsut and their young daughter. Such scenes had already been traditional parts of tomb-chapel decoration for hundreds of years and show the dead tomb-owner “enjoying himself and seeing beauty,” as the hieroglyphic caption here says.
This is more than a simple image of recreation. Fertile marshes were seen as a place of rebirth and eroticism. Hunting animals could represent Nebamun’s triumph over the forces of nature as he was reborn. The huge striding figure of Nebamun dominates the scene, forever happy and forever young, surrounded by the rich and varied life of the marsh.
There was originally another half of the scene which showed Nebamun spearing fish. This half of the wall is lost, apart from two old photographs of small fragments of Nebamun and his young son. The painters have captured the scaly and shiny quality of the fish.
A tawny cat catches birds among the papyrus stems. Cats were family pets, but in artistic depictions like this they could also represent the Sun-god hunting the enemies of light and order. His unusual gilded eye hints at the religious meanings of this scene.
The artists have filled every space with lively details. The marsh is full of lotus flowers and Plain Tiger butterflies. They are freely and delicately painted, suggesting the pattern and texture of their wings.
Nebamun’s Garden
Nebamun’s garden in the afterlife is not unlike the earthly gardens of wealthy Egyptians. The pool is full of birds and fish, and surrounded by borders of flowers and shady rows of trees. The fruit trees include sycamore-figs, date-palms and dom-palms—the dates are shown with different degrees of ripeness.
On the right side of the pool a goddess leans out of a tree and offers fruit and drinks to Nebamun (now lost). The artists accidentally painted her skin red at first but then repainted it yellow, the correct color for a goddess’ skin. On the left, a sycamore-fig tree speaks and greets Nebamun as the owner of the garden; its words are recorded in the hieroglyphs.Here the pool is shown from above, with three rows of trees arranged around its edges. The waves of the pool were painted with a darker blue pigment; much of this has been lost, like the green on the trees and bushes.
Surveying the fields
Nebamun was the accountant in charge of grain at the great Temple of Amun at Karnak. This scene from his tomb-chapel shows officials inspecting fields. A farmer checks the boundary marker of the field.
Nearby, two chariots for the party of officials wait under the shade of a sycamore-fig tree. Other smaller fragments from this wall are now in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany and show the grain being harvested and processed.
The old farmer is shown balding, badly shaven, poorly dressed, and with a protruding navel. He is taking an oath saying: “As the Great God who is in the sky endures, the boundary-stone is exact!”
“The Chief of the Measurers of the Granary,” (mostly lost) holds a rope decorated with the head of Amun’s sacred ram for measuring the god’s fields. After Nebamun died, the rope’s head was hacked out, but later, perhaps in Tutankhamun’s reign, someone clumsily restored it with mud-plaster and redrew it.
Nebamun’s cattle
Figure \(\PageIndex{20}\) is a fragment of a wall that shows Nebamun inspecting flocks of geese and herds of cattle. Hieroglyphs describe the scene and record what the farmers say as they squabble in the queue. The alternating colors and patterns of cattle create a superb sense of animal movement.
The herdsman is telling the farmer in front of him in the queue:
Come on! Get away! Don’t speak in the presence of the praised one! He detests people talking… Pass on in quiet and in order… He knows all affairs, does the scribe and counter of grain of [Amun], Neb[amun].
The name of the god Amun has been hacked out in this caption where it appears in Nebamun’s name and title. Shortly after Nebamun died, King Akhenaten (1352–1336 BCE) had Amun’s name erased from monuments as part of his religious reforms.
Nebamun’s geese
Figure \(\PageIndex{22}\) is part of a wall showing Nebamun inspecting flocks of geese and herds of cattle. He watches as farmers drive the animals towards him; his scribes (secretaries) write down the number of animals for his records. Hieroglyphs describe the scene and record what the farmers say as they squabble in the queue.
This scribe holds a palette (pen-box) under his arm and presents a roll of papyrus to Nebamun. He is well dressed and has small rolls of fat on his stomach, indicating his superior position in life. Beside him are chests for his records and a bag containing his writing equipment.
Farmers bow down and make gestures of respect towards Nebamun. The man behind them holds a stick and tells them: “Sit down and don’t speak!” The farmers’ geese are painted as a huge and lively gaggle, some pecking the ground and some flapping their wings.
A feast for Nebamun (top half)
An entire wall of the tomb-chapel showed a feast in honor of Nebamun. Naked serving-girls and servants wait on his friends and relatives. Married guests sit in pairs on fine chairs, while the young women turn and talk to each other. This erotic scene of relaxation and wealth is something for Nebamun to enjoy for all eternity. The richly-dressed guests are entertained by dancers and musicians, who sit on the ground playing and clapping. The words of their song in honor of Nebamun are written above them:
The earth-god has caused
his beauty to grow in every body…
the channels are filled with water anew,
and the land is flooded with love of him.
Some of the musicians look out of the paintings, showing their faces frontally. This is very unusual in Egyptian art, and gives a sense of liveliness to these lower-class women, who are less formally drawn than the wealthy guests. The young dancers are sinuously drawn and are naked apart from their jewelry.
A rack of large wine jars is decorated with grapes, vines and garlands of flowers. Many of the guests also wear garlands and smell lotus flowers. All the guests wear elaborate linen clothes. The artists have painted the cloth as if it were transparent, to show that it is very fine. These elegant sensual dresses fall in loose folds around the guests’ bodies.
Men and women’s skins are painted in different colors: the men are tanned and the women are paler. In one place the artists altered the drawing of these wooden stools and corrected their first sketch with white paint.
Servants bringing offerings
A procession of simply-dressed servants (Figure \(\PageIndex{27}\)) bring offerings of food to Nebamun, including sheaves of grain and animals from the desert. Tomb-chapels were built so that people could come and make offerings in memory of the dead, and this a common scene on their walls. The border at the bottom shows that this scene was the lowest one on this wall.
One servant holds two desert hares by their ears. The animals have wonderfully textured fur and long whiskers. The superb draftsmanship and composition make this standard scene very fresh and lively.
The artists have even varied the servants’ simple clothes. The folds of each kilt are different. With one of these kilts, the artist changed his mind and painted a different set of folds over his first version, which is visible through the white paint.
Articles in this section:
- Dr. Elizabeth Cummins, "Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak," in Smarthistory, November 27, 2015 (CC BY-NC-SA)
- Lumen Learning, "The Valley of the Kings," in Boundless Art History (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- "Mortuary Temple and Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015 (CC BY-NC-SA)
- The British Museum, "Paintings from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun," in Smarthistory, August 29, 2016 (CC BY-NC-SA)