Art Eyewitness Review: Divine Egypt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Divine Egypt

Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 12, 2025 - January 19, 2026 

Reviewed by Ed Voves

Original photography by Anne Lloyd and Ed Voves

Visitors to the web site of the Metropolitan Museum of Art are greeted with the welcoming statement, "The Met presents 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy."

That's no idle remark. The Met does indeed share great works of art from across the centuries and spanning the entire human habitat. 

What is remarkable about this statement is that one of the star performers among the Met's nineteen curatorial departments presents works of art created in just one geographical location for a period of over 3000 years.

Where was this society of ancient over-achievers to be found? It was the extraordinary nation whose "lifeblood" was the Nile River. From the waters of the Nile arose the "black land." Carefully cultivated, this narrow ribbon of rich soil produced bountiful crops of wheat and barley, of temples and tombs.

This astonishing realm was, of course, Egypt.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 Triad of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, 872-837 B.C.

The Met's Department of Egyptian Art is mounting its most audacious enterprise since the opening of the Temple of Dendur in September 1978, which was followed a few months later by the fabled Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition at the Met.

Divine Egypt charts the entire course of ancient Egyptian history. This is a radical departure from earlier exhibitions focusing on a single era, like the Met's 2015 Ancient Egypt Transformed: The Middle Kingdom (2010 -1630 B.C.). From the pre-dynastic period (beginning around 3,800 B.C.) to the occupation of Egypt by the Greeks under Alexander the Great three millennia later, Divine Egypt emphasizes the centrality of religion in the lives of generation after generation of people living along the banks of the Nile.

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) 

   Gallery view  of Divine Egypt , showing, from left, Double Statue of King Haremhab and Horus, ca. 1323–1295 B.C. & Hathor seated between King Menkaure and a Personification of the Hare Nome, ca. 2490–2472 B.C.

Divine Egypt at the Met is not a "once in a lifetime" exhibition but, rather, one for the ages.

Max Hollein, the President/CEO of The Met, Diana Craig Patch, head of the Met's Egyptian art department, and the entire Divine Egypt team have achieved a level of curatorial excellence where even the remark, "only the Met could have done this", is not praise enough.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

Max Hollein, President/CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 

examining the statue of Wepwawet and Isis-Hathor, 1279-1213 B.C.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 Diana Craig Patch, head of the department of Egyptian Art at The Met

Two hundred works of art in a wide range of artistic media insure that Divine Egypt is a visually stunning exhibit, as well as an encyclopedic treatment of Egyptian culture. Most of these "beautiful things" proclaimed Egypt's inter-twined religious and political ideology, but quite a few served utilitarian purposes as well.

Anne Lloyd, Photos (2025)

At left, Water Lily Attachment (1070-664 B.C.), probably a processional ornament; Mirror Displaying a Bat-like Face, 1479-1425 B.C.

One hundred forty of these works of art come from the Met's own collection. Others have traveled from the Louvre, the Ny Carlsberg in Denmark, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the British Museum, which loaned its huge sculpture of a sacred scarab beetle. Easily, the most alarming object in the Met's exhibition (at least, to modern eyes), the scarab beetle was a more reassuring creature to ancient Egyptians. It symbolized creation and rebirth.

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) 

Gallery view of the Divine Egypt exhibit, showing a scarab sculpture,

 Ptolomaic era, 332-30 B.C. from the British Museum collection

From closer to home, comes one of the first highlights of Divine Egypt. This is the Triad Statue of Hathor, King Menhaure and a Personification of the Hare Nome. Excavated by the famous Harvard University–Museum of Fine Arts Boston Expedition in 1908–9, this Old Kingdom sculpture never loses its power.

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) 

 Hathor seated between King Menkaure and a Personification of the

 Hare Nome, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, ca. 2490–2472 B.C. 

The extraordinary masterpieces displayed in Divine Egypt illustrate five key themes of the Egyptian attitude to daily living and eternal life.

This topical approach stresses insight into fundamental ideals and a sense of continuity rather than a conventional historical narrative. Let's take a look at these themes.

The first theme, "Expressing the Divine", focuses on two of Egypt's oldest gods: Horus and Hathor. The falcon-headed Horus can be traced back to pre-dynastic times. Hathor, a shape-shifting, nurturing deity is first documented in 2,600 B.C., during the Old Kingdom. This goddess was certainly a potent spiritual figure far earlier.

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) 

Hathor Pendant, Napatan era, 747-713 B.C. 1665. 

Hathor is recognizable by her distinctive head-ornament composed of cattle horns and a sun disk. This regalia evoked the very distant past of the Egyptians when many of them were nomads with herds of cattle which grazed on the "Green" Sahara. Then a shift in weather patterns, from 4900 to 4400 B.C., scorched this verdant area, evaporating its lakes and rivers and turning the grasslands into the world's most formidable desert. With Hathor as their guide, these first Egyptians found refuge in the valley of the Nile.

According to a later Egyptian writing, the fearsome-visaged Horus battled Seth, the god of the desert and lord of chaos, in a cosmic struggle to determine who would rule Egypt. 

Horus emerged as victor in this mythological combat, earning a prominent place in both religious and political iconography. In Egypt, these were practically the same thing.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

Double Statue of King Haremhab and Horus, ca. 1323–1295 B.C.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 Serekh of King Raneb, Dynasty 2, ca. 2880 B.C.

So important was Horus to Egypt's identity, that all pharaohs took a "Horus name" as part of their title. The symbol of a falcon was placed on top of a rectangular emblem of a palace (above).This badge of authority was called a serekh, usually sculpted onto granite pillars called stelae.

Where Hathor changed her appearance in often bewildering ways, Horus the Falcon retained his original identity, century after century. This can be studied by examining one of the oldest, if rather mundane, artifacts on view in Divine Egypt. This, in turn, may be contrasted with one of the most striking works of art in the entire exhibition.

From left: Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Wine Jar with an early Serekh.  Predynastic Period, ca. 3300–2960 B.C; Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) 

Statue of Horus as a Falcon Protecting King Nectanebo II, 360 B.C.

The earthenware vessel, likely a wine jar, in the above illustration was produced at some point between 3300 to 2960 B.C. If the latter date is the correct one, then it was created 2,600 years before the Statue of Horus as a Falcon Protecting King Nectanebo II. But this staggering age differential is not the most significant feature of these contrasting artifacts. Both are dedicated to Horus.

Ed Voves, Photo (2025)

 Detail of Horus/Falcon Motif on a Wine Jar with an early Serekh.  Predynastic Period, ca. 3300–2960 B.C.

If you carefully examine the pitted surface of the wine jar, you will see a carefully inscribed symbol of a falcon, standing on top of a serekh. Its design is similar to a serekh associated with the first pharaoh, Narmer, who unified Egypt's two major regions.

The wine jar comes from the area of Naqada. Located in the bend of the Nile in Upper (southern) Egypt, Naqada was one of the first major cities on the banks of the Nile. This was the region ruled by Narmer before he subdued the northern, delta area of Egypt, where the Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

Since beer was the national drink of Egypt and wine was a rare, mostly imported, product, this raises a tantalizing speculation. Might this wine jar, marked with the Horus serekh, have been transported from the Mediterranean coast as a tribute gift for Narmer or another early Egyptian ruler of the unified kingdom?

We are never likely to answer this question for certain. But the representation of Horus on both of these remarkable works of art testifies to the astonishing longevity of Egyptian religious symbolism and the enduring faith experience which sustained it, century upon century.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 Gallery view of Divine Egypt showing an Obelisk from a cemetery for sacred mummified rams, Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.

The second theme, "Ruling the Cosmos", shifts our attention to Amun-Re, whose majestic countenance is revealed in the introductory image of this review. Sun God and supreme ruler of Egypt's numerous gods and goddesses, Amun-Re made a daily journey across the sky bringing light and life to the world. At night, he ventured to the underworld to preserve the cosmic order of "what was right."

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 Relief of Maat, New Kingdom, reign of Seti I, ca. 1294–1279 B.C.

While engaged in these tasks, Amun-Re could rely on the assistance of subordinates from the Egyptian pantheon. Especially important was Goddess Maat, who judged the souls of human beings by weighing them with the ostrich feather which adorned her wig.

In the third theme, the curators of Divine Egypt emphasize a truly distinctive attribute of Egyptian religion. There was not one creation myth to explain how world began. Instead, there were several origin stories. These complemented, rather than contradicted, each other.

Two of the "show-stopper" works of art help us grasp how the multiplicity of gods and goddesses, symbols and coded images worked to create an all-embracing Egyptian "world view." These are the Inner Coffin of Singer Nauny and the Coffin of Wedjarenes.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 Inner Coffin of Nauny, Third Intermediate period, ca. 1050 B.C.

Ed Voves, Photo (2025)

 Interior of the Coffin of Wedjarenes, Saite period, 600-575 B.C.

In the case of the Coffin of Wedjarenes, the really significant cosmological images are inside the coffin. Only Wedjarenes, the daughter of one of Egypt's priestly caste, can see them. And Wedjarenes will continue to see these for all time. Her body has been properly embalmed and treated with the all of the rituals and prayers which are due to individuals whose souls have been weighed on the ostrich feather of Maat and found worthy of eternal life.

Here we confront one of the central features of Egyptian art, especially the great treasures on view in museums around the world. 

The great mass of Egypt's people seldom glimpsed these works of art; in many cases, even priests like Wedjarenes' father, never saw them at all. 

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 An installation in the Divine Egypt exhibition evoking Egyptian religious processions. Sacred images of gods like the golden Amun-Re were carried in a shrine on a barque, or boat. 

However, on festival days, certain works of art were placed on movable shrines, shaped like the river boats which ferried the gods through the afterlife. These were carried through the streets of Egyptian cities like Thebes. 

The Met curators created a splendid tableau evoking these public celebrations, with a golden statuette of Amun positioned serenely at its helm. In the actual procession such a stature would have remained shrouded, unseen from the crowds of people, asking and petitioning for a blessing or cure from illness.

        

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)

 Statuette of Amun-Re, ca. 945-712 B.C.

No great religion can survive for long without offering outlets for widespread devotion or prayers for divine assistance. Ancient Egypt certain provided these, as shown by the Met's fourth theme, "Coping with Life." But a principal form of popular expression involved Bes-images. As I have had little opportunity to study these curious objects, I will defer commenting on them until I write a follow-up essay on Divine Egypt.

The fifth theme is "Overcoming Death." The Egyptian quest for immortality hardly needs elaboration here. But two points raised in this final exhibit gallery do call for comment.

The main mythological drama surveyed here is the epic tale of the death and rebirth of Osiris, the valiant role of Isis in reviving Osiris, and the procreation of the savior child, Horus. 

Anne Lloyd, Photos (2025)

  Details from statues (from left) of Osiris (664-332 B.C.) -

 Isis/Hathor (1779-1213 B.C.) - Horus the Child (332-30 B.C.)

All of the figures in this legendary story incorporated attributes of older gods and goddesses. Osiris wears a kingly crown and carries the scepters of rulership, like Amun-Re. Isis has become almost indistinguishable from Hathor. Horus, no longer falcon-headed, presents the appealing face of youth and hope for the future.

The second point is perhaps more significant. The Osiris-Isis-Horus myth was immensely appealing - and not just for Egyptians. It pointed the way to the mystery creeds of late-antiquity and the religious revolution of monotheism. 

Over time, Egypt's many gods and goddesses began to merge into an awesome spiritual unity, a divine presence which was no longer to be confined in the darkened recesses of temple and tomb.

***

Text: Copyright of Ed Voves, all rights reserved.

Original photgraphy, copyright of Anne Lloyd and Ed Voves

Introductory image: Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) A Statue of Amun-Re Presenting and Protecting King Tutankhamun. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Tutankhamun (ca. 1336–1327 BCE) From Egypt, Thebes, Karnak. Diorite. Musée du Louvre, Paris, Départment des Antiquités Egyptiennes (E11609)

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Triad of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Glass, Gold, Lapis Lazuli: 9 × 6.6 cm (3 9/16 × 2 5/8 in.) Pedestal: 5 × 10.3 × 15.2 cm (1 15/16 in. × 4 1/16 in. × 6 in.) Musée du Louvre DE.075

 Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Gallery view of the Divine Egypt Exhibition, showing, from left, Double statue of King Haremhab and Horus, ca. 1323–1295 B.C. and, on the right, Hathor seated between King Menkaure and a Personification of the Hare Nome, ,ca. 2490–2472 B.C. Full citations below.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Max Hollein, President/CEO of the Metropolitan Museum, examines a statue of Wepwawet and Isis/Hathor, 1279-1213 B.C.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Diana Craig Patch, head of the Department of Egyptian Art at The Met.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Water lily attachment, probably for a processional          barque. Bronze, gold foil over gesso; white, dark blue, and light blue glass inlays over light and dark blue grounds: H. 13.5 × W. 15.8 × D. 9.2 cm (5 5/16 × 6 1/4 × 3 5/8 in) The Metropolitan Museum of Art #30.8.232a

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025)Mirror with a papyrus-shaped handle displaying a Bat-like face. Silver disk with a wood (modern) handle sheathed in gold; the inlays are modern: H. 33.4 × W. 15.5 × D. 2 cm (13 1/8 × 6 1/8 × 13/16 in.) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. #26.8.98

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Gallery view of the Divine Egypt Exhibition, showing  a Monumental Scarab Stone, Diorite: 153 × 119 × 90 cm, 1600 kg (60 1/4 × 46 7/8 × 35 7/16 in., 3527.4 lb.) British Museum, # DE.097

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Hathor seated between King Menkaure and a Personification of the Hare Nome, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reign of Menkaure (ca. 2490–2472 B.C.) Graywacke: Stone – Greywacke: 84.5 × 43.5 × 49 cm, 187.8 kg (33 1/4 × 17 1/8 × 19 5/16 in., 414 lb. Harvard University–Museum of Fine Arts Expedition excavations, 1908–9 Museum of Fine Arts Boston. #09.200

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Hathor-Headed Pendent, Napatan era, 747-713 B.C. Gold and rock crystal: 5.3 x 3.3 cm. (2 1/16 x1 5/16 in.) Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Double statue of King Haremhab and Horus. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Haremhab (ca. 1323–1295 B.C.) Limestone: 53 × 73 × 77 cm, 942 kg (60 1/4 × 28 3/4 × 30 5/16 in., 2076.7 lb.) Pedestal: 40 × 87 × 91 cm (15 3/4 × 34 1/4 × 35 13/16 in.) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna #ÄS 8301

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Serekh of of King Raneb, Dynasty 2, ca. 2880 B.C.  Granite: 100 x 42.5 x 27 cm. (39 3/8 x16 3/4 x10 5/8 inches) Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Wine Jar with an early Serekh, Predynastic Period, Naqada III–Early Dynastic Period, Dynasty 1 (ca. 3300–2960 B.C.). Pottery. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, #61.122

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Statue of Horus as a Falcon Protecting King Nectanebo II, 360 B.C. Stone - Metagraywacke:H. 72 × W. 20 × D. 46.5 cm, 55.3 kg (28 3/8 × 7 7/8 × 18 5/16 in., 122 lb.)

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Detail of Horus/Falcon motif on a Wine Jar with an early Serekh, ca. 3300–2960 B.C.) Citation above.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Gallery view of Divine Egypt showing an Obelisk from a cemetery for sacred mummified rams, Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Relief of Maat, New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, reign of Seti I (ca. 1294–1279 B.C.). From Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, tomb of Seti I (KV 17) Limestone painted with pigments. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence (2469)

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Inner Coffin of the Singer of Amun and Royal Daughter Nauny, Third Intermediate period, ca. 1050. Coniferous wood, Sycomore wood, mud, glue, paste paint, varnish, linen: L. 193 × W. 61 × D. 65.1 cm, 76.2 kg (76 × 24 × 25 5/8 in., 168 lb.) The Metropolitan Museum of Art 30.3.24a, b 

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Inner Coffin of Nauny (detail). See citation, above.

Ed Voves, Photo (2025) Interior of the Coffin of Wedjarenes, Saite period, 600-575 B.C. Wood (tamarisk and sycomore fig), paste, paint: Base (a): H. 190.1 × W. 58.8 × D. 21.7 cm (74 13/16 × 23 1/8 × 8 9/16 in.);Lid (b): H. 191.3 × W. 58.8 × D. 37 cm (75 5/16 × 23 1/8 × 14 9/16 in.) Metropolitan Museum of Art #O.C.22a, b

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) An installation in the Divine Egypt exhibition evoking Egyptian religious processions. Sacred images of gods like the golden Amun-Re were carried in a shrine on a barque, or boat. 

Anne Lloyd, Photo (2025) Statuette of Amun, Gold H. 17.5 × W. 4.7 × D. 5.8 cm, 0.9 kg (6 7/8 × 1 7/8 × 2 1/4 in, 2 lbs). The Metropolitan Museum of Art #26.7.1412

Anne Lloyd, Photos (2025) Photo of details of statues of Osiris (664-332 B.C.) - Isis/Hathor (1779-1213 B.C.) - Horus the Child (332-30 B.C.). All three statues are from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Art Eyewitness Book Review: Egyptian Art by Bill Manley & Ancient Egypt by Campbell Price

                                                                                                                                 

Egyptian Art

By Bill Manley

Thames & Hudson/320 pages/$23.95

Ancient Egypt

By Campbell Price

Thames & Hudson/268 pages/$17.95

Reviewed by Ed Voves

Egypt has been known as the "gift of the Nile" ever since Herodotus described it so memorably around the year 450 BC.  Creative, industrious and disciplined, the Egyptians of antiquity shared the gifts of the Nile with the peoples and cultures around them and with us today  - many, many centuries later.

The astonishing range of Egypt's gifts is the subject of two new books from Thames & Hudson: Egyptian Art by Bill Manley (World of Art series) and Ancient Egypt by Campbell Price (Pocket Museum series). 

Egyptian Art by Bill Manley (Thames & Hudson, 2018)

The two authors are British specialists in Egyptology, Manley at the University of Glasgow, Price at the University of Manchester. They incorporate evidence from the latest archaeological studies into engagingly written narratives.

Ancient Egypt by Campbell Price (Thames & Hudson, 2018)

Both books investigate the objects of everyday life in Egypt, as well as what we would consider as "fine art." That distinction did not exist in ancient Egypt. Indeed, the modern idea of art as an aesthetic ideal, divorced from the dictates of daily reality and the hope of eternal life, would have been difficult for the Egyptians to grasp.

A significant factor why the Egyptians did not treat art as a separate entity is that their creative lives were inseparably  bound to the toil of human existence and their overwhelming concern for the destiny of the human soul. 

Cartonnage mummy-mask of Satdjehuty (c.1500 B.C.)

Nothing came easily to the Egyptians, despite the talent and energy they displayed throughout ancient times.The full quote from Herodotus - and one that is rarely given in full - is worth considering.

Egypt, Herodotus declared is "a land won by the Egyptians and given them by the Nile."

The Egyptians "won" by fighting a never-ending battle against the most formidable opponent imaginable: the "red land." This was the desert that surrounded the fertile "black land" of the Nile Valley on both sides. The desert threatened Egypt with desolation should the Akhet, the annual overflow of silt-bearing river water between June and September, fail to come in sufficient volume.

If you want to gain insight into the struggle for survival of the Egyptians, a good place to start is study of two remarkable statues from the Old Kingdom. These sculptures are analyzed in Manley's Egyptian Art. The subjects of both statues were real men, high-ranking officials yet neither a pharaoh. Their portraits bring us closer to the reality of Egyptian life than the celebrated golden mask of Tutankhamun.

Bust of Prince (Vizier) Ankhhaf (2520–2494 B.C.)

The first is Vizier Ankhhaf, an overseer of the construction of the Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx, 2589–2566 BC. Ankhhaf's portrait "bust" was created in painted limestone and probably had arms which did not survive. The natural effect is quite stunning, very different from the impersonal or stylized portraits of many pharaohs. Ankhhaf has the weary, if determined, expression of a battle-tested commander.

The second statue is of a less-exalted figure, a regional supervisor of farm labor named Meryrahashtef. A  vigorous, self-confident man of action, Meryrahashtef bears one of the most expressive faces in all of ancient art.

Striding Figure of Meryrahashtef (detail) 

Amazingly, Meryrahashtef is shown without a kilt or loin cloth. Male nudity was never part of the Egyptian art canon, except for propaganda depictions of war captives. 

Meryrahashtef's statue, carved from rare ebony, would never have been displayed in such a manner in his tomb chapel. Rather, it would have been ritually garbed for ceremonies honoring his "immortal presence."

Striding Figure of Meryrahashtef (c. 2345-2181 B.C.) 

Meryrahashtef certainly deserved to be honored. He had a tough job, getting the harvest collected during years of drought. Living three centuries after Ankhhaf, he had to confront Egypt's worst nightmare. 

Around 2200 BC, the yearly inundation dramatically diminished. The overflow from the Nile proved to be "too little, too late." Crop yields declined and the population of Egypt faced starvation. The once centralized sovereignty of the Old Kingdom unraveled. Anarchy prevailed.  
                                                                                                         
As if to confirm the collapse of authority at the end of the Old Kingdom, Meryrahashtef's skull was discovered. Scientific analysis revealed that he had sustained a very serious, most likely fatal, skull fracture. Meryrahashtef may have been struck during a protest by angry farm workers or killed in battle. The collapse of the authority of Pharaoh Pepi II around this time resulted in the rise of regional power brokers called nomarchs. The shattered cohesion of Egypt lasted for 150 years until national unity was restored by the powerful Middle Kingdom dynasties in 2020 BC.                                                                                                                                                         
We don't like to think about ancient Egypt in terms of the grim circumstances of Meryrahashtef's death. The received wisdom about Egypt, especially under the Old Kingdom, was that the surrounding deserts protected this African nation from invasion. The Nile flooded, just enough and on time, to insure the provision of ample food supplies. With these basic needs provided for, Egypt's people were able to devote themselves to all the best that human beings are capable of. 

Pectoral of Sithathoryunet with the name of Senwosret II (c. 1887–1878 B.C.)

The work ethic, skill and dedication of Egypt's people are reflected in this pectoral from a necklace worn by a Middle Kingdom princess. At the base of this pectoral is a symbol for "millions of years." This is an invocation of the perpetual power of the reigning pharaoh, mighty Senwosret II. But this sense of divine favor, harmony, and elan vital was maintained throughout Egyptian society over the course of nearly three thousand years. 

Mesopotamian civilization, rising at the same time, was not so lucky. Devastating floods, recalled in the biblical story of Noah, and constant raids by nomadic tribes, made life in Sumer and Babylon much more of trial than on the banks of the Nile.

This rose-tinted view of Egyptian civilization is exemplified by the famous painting of Nebamun and his family on a hunting trip. Dating to the 18th Dynasty, ca. 1350 B.C., this scene is one of eleven wall-paintings from Nebamun's tomb-chapel which the British Museum purchased back in the 1820's.

Nebamun with his wife and daughter capturing water-fowl (c.1350 B.C.)

Nebamun and his family are having a great time on their "camping" trip. Nebamun even brought his brown-tabby cat along to join in the festivities. We see the cat, with perfectly articulated fur and claws,  picking-off water fowl with the precision of a modern fighter ace. 

Nebamun with his wife and daughter capturing water-fowl (detail)

However, this is no holiday excursion, as Bill Manley perceptively notes in Egyptian Art. There are details of human mastery and divine favor at work here that make this painting an affirmation of  the "winning" of Egypt. 

Nebamun and his family are not dressed for hunting and fishing in the Nile marshes. They wear their "Sunday-best," including the lump of scented wax atop his wife's wig. Nebamun's throw-stick is a snake and the fragile boat, made from papyrus, seems to be steered as if by magic.

Magic of a sort is indeed at work. Manley writes that these details "guide us away from the initial, literal interpretation of the scene towards a deeper meaning."

This remarkable painting depicts a virtuous Egyptian, Nebamun, in control of his earthly environment. This scene also prefigures the abode of eternal bliss, Aaru, the divine field of reeds. Here Nebamun will reside if his heart is judged favorably on the scale of justice by the goddess, Maat.

Since so much of Egyptian art evoked harmony on earth and the hope of heavenly reward, it is natural that we project a favorable assessment on Egyptian civilization. Thanks to the "gift of the Sahara," an abundance of everyday artifacts from Egypt has been preserved by the arid climate of the surrounding desert. 

Ancient Egypt by Campbell Price is particularly well-stocked with such "grave goods."  

Especially noteworthy is the Tarkhan Dress. The world's oldest known woven garment, this pleated linen dress or shirt dates to the First Dynasty of Egypt, 5,000 years ago. It was excavated in 1913 by the renowned archaeologist, Flinders Petrie, at the ancient cemetery of Tarkhan, south of Cairo. 

Tarkhan Dress (c. 3482 and 3102 B.C.)

Ironically, it had to be rediscovered in 1977, as the garment was mixed with other textiles and was not recognized as an actual dress or shirt. (Lacking a hem at the bottom, it could be either.) Only in Egypt, could this remarkable survivor from remote antiquity have survived.

Wooden objects seldom stand the test of time better than textiles. But this small,piano-shaped game board is another "gift of the desert." Egyptians played a number of different board games, according to Campbell Price. This one pitted carved-ivory hounds versus jackals to see which player could reach the goal point in the middle of the board. The drawer is thought to have been used to hold the dice or knuckle bones used in the game.

Game of Hounds and Jackals, (c.1814–1805 B.C.) 

The Hounds and Jackals game, from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a favored art work of mine.  A replica of the game (considerably enlarged) was used in a key scene of the 1956 Hollywood epic, The Ten Commandments. I was startled one day at the Met by the exultant remark of another museum visitor who was transfixed before the case where this game board was displayed. After four thousand years, this object from antiquity can still cause delight and wonder.

These objects are confirmation of the "good life" in ancient Egypt. But other artifacts have been unearthed that put ancient Egypt in a less reassuring  light. 

Despite the protective deserts, Egypt's rulers fought violent, bloody wars of aggression. Floor tiles, modeled after Nubian and Syrian war prisoners were placed in the palace of Medinet Habu, near Thebes, so that the glory-mad Ramesses III (1187-1156 BC) could enjoy the pleasure of walking on the prostrate bodies of his enemies, even in rare moments of peace. 

Egypt's New Kingdom empire did not outlast Ramesses III for very long. However, the quest for meaning in life and in life hereafter among Egypt's people did persist. 

Indeed, the number of people devoting themselves to the mystery cult of Isis and Osiris grew in number with the passage of centuries. And the process of preparing one's body and soul for the afterlife continued into the era of the Roman occupation of Egypt.

Mummy-portrait of anonymous woman (110-30 A.D.)

Mummy images might only be painted, using the encaustic paint technique, rather than encased in gold. Yet the centuries-long devotion of the people of Egypt to achieving eternal happiness opened the gates of heaven to all whose deeds in life outweighed their faults and failings.
                                                                                                                                        In the final analysis, the greatest achievement of ancient Egypt was the promotion of the ideal of the ka. The ka was the spirit or life-force of each human being. 

Bill Manley comments movingly on the philosopher, Ptahhatp, who declared that the "wise man is the one who nurtures his soul by realizing on earth the perfection within him."

Manley notes that Ptahhap's concept of perfection is not our "phantasmic 'ideal' of beauty" such as we project on film stars or "super" models. Egyptian statues, such as that of Pharaoh Menkaura, which introduces this review, may emphasize the perfection of face, torso, arms and legs. But these statues were more the symbols of the virtuous soul than the body beautiful. Manley writes:

Far from eternal youth, this is the radical opposite - spiritual growth. Of course, a statue is a physical object because it cannot be otherwise, but a sculpture in a tomb chapel illustrates the authority of the spirit. Hence these statues defy modern expectations of physical perfection and 'self-preservation', which may demand cosmetic surgery and denial of mortality. But then what do we know of the meaning of life, if our only purpose is just to stay alive.

The Egyptians of ancient times certainly devoted themselves to staying alive. Century upon century, they resisted the encroaching "red land" and used the life-restoring "gift of the Nile" to sustain body and soul. Ultimately, it was the soul - the ka - that really counted. 

It was the ideal of the ka which made Eternal Egypt - eternal.

***
Text: Copyright of Ed Voves, all rights reserved 

Images Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the British Museum and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London, and the National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh. Book cover illustrations, courtesy of Thames & Hudson.

Introductory Image:                                                                                                          Statue of King Menkaura and queen. Greywacke. Height: 142.2 Width: 57.1 Depth  55.2 cm, Weight: 676.8 kg (56 x 22 1/2 x 21 3/4 in., 1492.1 lb). Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty, reign of Menkaura  2490–2472 B.C. Boston Museum of Fine Arts # 11.1738

Cartonnage mummy-mask of Satdjehuty.  Plaster, linen, gold - gilded. Height: 45.5 centimetres Width: 32.5 centimetres Depth: 19 centimetres. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1500 B.C. British Museum,  purchased 1880, from the sale of the collection of Samuel Hall. #  EA29770 ©Trustees of The British Museum

Bust of Prince (Vizier) Ankhhaf. Painted limestone. Height: 50.48 cm (19 7/8 in.) Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty, reign of Khafra (Chephren), 2520–2494 B.C. From Giza, tomb G 7510. 1925: excavated 1927. Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, # 27.442.

Striding Figure of Meryrahashtef. Ebony and sycamore, Height 22-7/8 in. Old Kingdom, Sixth Dynasty (about 2345-2181 B.C.) British Museum, acquired in 1923, purchased with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund, # EA 55722,  ©Trustees of The British Museum

Pectoral of Sithathoryunet with the name of Senwosret II. Gold, carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise, garnet. H. of pectoral (a): 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.); W. 8.2 cm (3 1/4 in.) Middle Kingdom, Twelth Dynasty, reign of Senwosret II, c. 1887–1878 B.C. Metropolitan Museum of Art, purchased with Rogers Fund and Henry Walters Gift, 1916. # 16.1.3b. 

Nebamun with his wife and daughter capturing water-fowl (detail). Plaster - painted. Height: 98 centimetres Width: 115 centimetres Thickness: 22 centimetres Width: New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. British Museum, acquired in 1821. # EA37977, ©Trustees of The British Museum

Nebamun with his wife and daughter capturing water-fowl (detail). (See above) ©Trustees of The British Museum

Tarkhan Dress, Linen. Woven, pleated dress or shirt. Old Kingdom, First Dynasty. Discovered in 1913. Radio carbon dated in 2015 to c. 3482 and 3102 B.C. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. UC28614B Photograph courtesy Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London

Game of Hounds and Jackals. Ebony, ivory. Board: H. 6.8 cm (2 11/16 in.); W. 10.1 cm (4 in.); D. 15.6 cm (6 1/8 in.); Average height with pins: H. 14 cm (5 1/2 in.) Middle Kingdom, Twelfth Dynasty,reign of Amenemhat IV, c. 1814–1805 B.C.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926 (26.7.1287a-k); Gift of Lord Carnarvon, 2012 (2012.508) #26.7.1287a–k

Mummy-portrait of anonymous woman. Encaustic waxes on wooden panel. Height. 44 cm (1 ft. 5 1/2 in.) Middle Egypt, Hawara, Roman Period, 110-30 A.D. National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh #A.1951.160