Egyptian Kindoms

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Egyptian art, works of art created in the geographic area constituting thenation
of Egypt. It is one of the world's oldest arts.The art of predynastic EGYPT (c.4000–3200
B.C.), known from funerary offerings, consisted largely of painted pottery and figurines,
ivory carvings,slate cosmetic palettes, and finely worked flint weapons. In painting,a
monumental treatment was given to designs like those drawn in red colored pottery from
Hieraconpolis, a palace city of upper Egypt.Toward the end of the predynastic period,
sculptors began to carve monolithic figures of the gods from limestone, such as the Min at
Coptos. In the protodynastic and early dynastic periods (3200–2780 B.C.) some
Mesopotamian motifs began to appear. The craftsmanship of the finely worked stone
bowls and vases of these periods is particularly remarkable.The Old Kingdom With the
beginning of the Old Kingdom, centered at Memphis (2680–2258 B.C.), there was a rapid
development of the stylistic conventions that characterized Egyptian art throughout its
history. In relief sculpture and painting, the human figure was usually represented with the
head in profile, the eye and shoulders in front view, and the pelvis, legs, and feet in profile
(the law of frontality). There was little attempt at plastic or spatial illusionism. The reliefs
were very low; relief and shallow intaglio are often found in the same piece. Color was
applied in flat tones, and there was no attempt at linear perspective. A relief masterpiece
from the I dynasty is the palette of Namer (Cairo). It represents animal and human forms
in scenes of battle with the ground divided into registers and with emphasis on
silhouettein the carving.

In statuary in the round various standing and seated types were developed, but
there was strict adherence to the law of frontality and a tendency to emphasize symmetry
and to minimize suggestion of movement. Outstanding Old Kin...