The Art of Ancient Egypt

(Paperback)

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Description

For some 3,000 years, the great civilization of the Nile Valley produced some of the finest works of art the world has ever known, whether exquisitely painted on tomb walls, carved in stone or wood, or cast in metal. Illustrated with over 250 remarkable objects from the British Museum and other collections in Egypt, the United States and Europe, this book traces the course of Egyptian art from its sudden initial flowering to its final resurgence during the rule of the Ptolemies. The author explains how the ancient artists developed a system that was perfectly adapted to expressing the Egyptians' world view, encapsulated in their religious and funerary beliefs. She explores the different functions of artistic products in temples, tombs and everyday life, and stresses the importance of understanding them within the context for which they were originally designed.

Reviews

delight anyone interested in the art and archaeology of the ancient world.
Robins has produced the first significant general survey of ancient Egyptian art in the English language since Cyril Aldred's "Egyptian Art in the Days of the Pharaohs, 3100-320 BC "and W. Stevenson Smith's "The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt"...Unique to this survey is the inclusion of Ptolemaic art and the attention paid to the decoration of sarcophagi, coffins, and mummy cartonages over three millennia. The text is authoritative and fully referenced with an excellent bibliography. This work will interest general readers as well as scholars and is recommended for all public and academic libraries.--Edward K. Werner "Library Journal "
Covering three millennia of Egyptian art, this beautifully illustrated volume presents and chronological survey of the monuments and art works of the ruling elite of ancient Egypt...This book is sure to delight anyone interested in the art and archaeology of the ancient world.--Rhonda Cooper "KLIATT "

Author Bio

Gay Robins is Associate Professor of Art History and Faculty Curator of Ancient Egyptian Art in the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. She is a former Lady Wallis Budge Research Fellow in Egyptology at Christ's College, Cambridge, and her numerous publications include Women in Ancient Egypt.