CHAPTER V.

ARCHITECTURE, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, ETC.

=Architecture.=—The history of the earliest form of Egyptian architecture cannot be written because, with the exception of the ruined tombs of the Archaïc Period, all the remains of the earliest temples have been destroyed or have perished. The oldest form of the =house= was, no doubt, a hut built of reeds, the roof of which was supported by a pole, _i.e._, a tree trunk, or poles; its shape was round or oblong. The cold winds of winter prompted the Egyptian to make the walls of his abode of Nile mud; this he mixed with water until it acquired the consistence of stiff paste, and then piled it up with his hands until the walls were as thick and high as he wanted them to be. All the walls inclined inwards, and so each helped to support the other; the roof was made of a layer of mud which rested on a number of pieces of palm trunks or small trees. The door probably faced the south, and an aperture, which served as a window, was cut high up in the north wall. (See the model of an early house, No. 174, North-West Staircase Landing.) Before the house was a small yard enclosed by thick walls made of mud, which inclined inwards, and a flight of solid mud steps led up to the roof. (See the =models of early houses= in Wall-cases Nos. 105-108 in the Third Egyptian Room.) Walls made of mud in this way are unsatisfactory, for they sag or bulge, and soon fall down. The invention of the =brick= marked a great improvement in the stability of buildings; and its use in the construction of houses, granaries, government buildings, forts, etc., became universal. A theory has been recently put forward that brickmaking was introduced into Egypt from Mesopotamia, but there is no reason why, in a land where all the soil is mud, which when well sun-dried becomes exceedingly hard, the idea of making bricks should not have been indigenous. Few things in the East last as long as a well-made brick, especially if it has been carefully baked; and buildings, even when made of crude bricks, last for several hundreds of years, unless they are destroyed by the hand of man. The invention of the brick permitted the Egyptians to build the elliptical =arch=, which is frequently found in brick-built buildings; the knowledge of the arch is of ancient standing in Egypt. The early mud or brick house of the man of means was provided with a =portico= (the modern _rakûbah_), which was supported on palm trunks; this portico suggested the colonnade of later days, and the palm trunks the stone pillars with palm-leaf capitals.

[Illustration: Pylon and court of the Temple of Edfû.

Ptolemaïc Period.]

The “house of the god,” or =temple=, was at first built of mud, but what such a building was like is not known. Under the Ancient Empire the Egyptians built their temples of stone, and the oldest known example is that called the “Temple of the Sphinx” at Gîzah. It is built on a simple plan, and consists practically of a large hall, in the form 𓽉, containing 16 pillars, each about 16 feet high; the materials used were granite and limestone. It had neither formal door, nor windows, and such light as entered must have made its way in through oblique slits in the roof. It has no inscriptions, or bas-reliefs, or paintings, and even in its present state its massiveness, dignity, and solidity greatly impress the beholder.

[Illustration: Gateway in the Temple of Rameses III, at Madînat Habû, in Western Thebes.

About B.C. 1200.]

Of the temples of the XIIth dynasty nothing is known, but of the New Empire several temples exist, and their general characteristics may be thus summarized. A broad path brought the worshipper to the gateway in the wall which enclosed the temple precincts; on each side of the path was a row of sphinxes, or rams, which symbolized the guardian spirits of the place. Passing through the gateway he soon reached the =main pylon=, which consisted of a massive doorway and two towers. During festivals long painted poles, flying coloured streamers, were attached to the face of the pylon at regular intervals. On each side of the gateway was a =colossal statue= of the king, and statues of the king were often arranged at intervals along the front of the pylon. Before the pylon stood a =pair of obelisks=, and sometimes a =pair of sphinxes=, or sacred animals. The original signification of the obelisks is unknown; it is probable that they were connected with a solar, or even phallic cult, but as the texts afford no explanation of their meaning it is useless to theorize. Beyond the great pylon was an =open court=, with a colonnade, which was used as a sort of bazaar where holy objects, amulets, and things for offerings could be bought by the public. Here, too, the sick were laid that alms might be given to them, and here beggars of all kinds congregated, as they do in a modern mosque. Passing through a =second pylon=, the hypostyle hall, or =hall of columns=, was entered, and here the priests made their processions, and received the offerings of the faithful. Beyond the hall, or halls of columns, the laity were not permitted to penetrate. The other chambers of the temple formed the sanctuary of the god, and contained his =shrine=. The little rooms round about the shrine contained the temple library, and the dresses, jewellery, and other sacred properties of the god, or gods, worshipped in the temple. At the extreme end of the temple was the shrine of the god, which was entered by no one except the king and the priests; in it were kept a sacred boat, or ark, and a figure, or symbol, of the god, or animal sacred to him.

[Illustration: Gateway of Ptolemy IX at Karnak.]

[Illustration: PLATE XI.

Columns in the Temple of Seti I, B.C. 1370, at Abydos.]

[Illustration: Granite obelisks at Karnak. That on the right bears the name of Queen Ḥātshepset, and that on the left the name of Thothmes I.

XVIIIth dynasty, B.C. 1550.]

[Illustration: Pillars with ornamental capitals in the Temple of Isis at Philae.

Ptolemaïc Period.]

The temples of Egypt from the XVIIIth dynasty to the Roman Period vary greatly in detail, but the general plan is always the same. The great temples of Karnak (see =Plate XXX=), Luxor, Abydos (see =Plate XI=), etc., awe the spectator by their size and majestic dignity; the smaller temples of the Ptolemaïc and Roman Periods are less grand, but are much more graceful buildings. The severity of the interiors of the older buildings is moderated by the reliefs and inscriptions with which walls, pillars, pilasters, architraves, etc., are covered profusely, and the bright colours, reds, blues, greens, and yellows, in which many of the painted scenes were executed, added greatly to their general effect. The massive =square pillars= were replaced in later times by pillars with eight sides, and the whole character of the simple round column was changed when its shaft was made to resemble a =papyrus= or =lotus stalk=, and its upper part was sculptured in the form of the flower of either plant. Both pillars and =pilasters= were sometimes decorated with figures of Osiris, cut on the front face in high relief, as at Abû-Simbel, and the capitals were often sculptured in the form of the head of Hathor (the Cow-goddess), surmounted by a sistrum. The pillar with the Hathor-headed capital was suggested by the pole, or small tree trunk, surmounted by the head of a bull, ox, or cow, which the primitive Egyptians set up over the graves of their chiefs, a custom which survives to the present day among certain of the tribes of Central Africa. Every temple had a =sacred lake= within its precincts, just as every large house possessed a garden with an ornamental lake in it. Each temple also was surrounded by a =girdle wall=, which was usually made exceedingly strong and was provided with fortified gateways. The space between the temple buildings and this wall was occupied by gardens and storehouses for the property of the priests, and also by the dwellings of private folk. Thus the girdle wall of the temple actually enclosed a small city, which in cases of popular panic or invasion became a city of refuge.

[Illustration: Painted portrait statue of Ȧn-kheft-ka, a royal kinsman.

IVth dynasty, about B.C. 3700.

[Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 1, No. 33.]]

=Painting and sculpture.=—The Egyptians, from the IVth dynasty downwards, were in the habit of painting the bas-reliefs in their temples and tombs, and also their statues, and they seemed to have relied greatly upon paintings in bright colours to enhance the effect of the work of the sculptor. The earliest wall decoration consists of series of figures of men, animals, etc., traced or cut in outline, or sculptured in low relief, on tolerably smooth slabs of limestone; sometimes the surfaces of the slabs were prepared with a sort of limewash, and the paintings painted upon it. The skill of the painter, even in the remote period of the IVth dynasty, is marvellous, and the accuracy with which he represented every detail and characteristic of animate and inanimate objects is beyond praise. At all periods, however, general scenes are more or less hard, a fact due to want of perspective. The Egyptians loved colour, and they used it wherever it could possibly be employed. A striking instance of this is afforded by the elaborately painted papyri of the Book of the Dead, which when once buried in the tomb were intended to be seen by no other eye than that of the spirit of the deceased!

[Illustration: Alabaster figure of a priest seated on a throne with steps.

IVth-VIth dynasty.

[No. 156, Wall-case 99, Third Egyptian Room.]]

[Illustration: Head of a painted statue of Neb-ḥap-Rā Men-thu-ḥetep.

XIth dynasty.

[Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 3, No. 104.]]

[Illustration: Diorite statue of Sebek-nekht.

XIIth dynasty.

[No. 164, Wall-case 100, Third Egyptian Room.]]

The wall sculptures were of two kinds, the =bas-relief= and the =sunk relief=. In the bas-relief the sculpture is raised a little above the surface of the slab, and in the sunk relief it is a little below. The sunk relief is one of the most characteristic features of Egyptian sculpture. Of the first kind there are many examples in the Egyptian Galleries of the British Museum, especially in the Vestibule at the north end of the Northern Gallery, where the slab from the tomb of Rā-ḥetep at Mêdûm (Egyptian Vestibule, No. 40), of the IVth dynasty may be specially noted. Several portions of fine and delicately painted bas-reliefs from the temple of Neb-ḥap-Rā; Menthu-ḥetep, of the XIth dynasty, at Dêr al-Baḥarî, which are exhibited in Bay 2 of the Northern Gallery, are worthy of careful study. The sepulchral tablet of Sebek-āa, of the XIth dynasty, should be noted (Bay 4, No. 120; see =Plate XXIII=). Examples of the sunk relief will be found in the Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 1. Both paintings and reliefs, however, are unsatisfactory from the modern point of view, for while the head is given in profile, the eye is represented as if the figure were in a full-faced position. A front view is given of the shoulders, but the view of the other portions of the body is a mixture of profile and full face. These facts are calculated to give a false impression of the skill of the painter and sculptor, which, as is admitted on all hands, was very great.

[Illustration: Figure of a king.

XIIIth dynasty.

[No. 178, Wall-case 102, Third Egyptian Room.]]

The artist was at a very early period fettered by tradition and conventionality, but sufficient proofs have survived to show that when free to give rein to his fancy he could produce even =caricatures= and comic pictures of the most amusing character. Thus, in Papyrus No. 10,016, we see the lion and the unicorn playing a game of draughts, a fox playing a double pipe while animals of the gazelle class strut in front of him, a cat driving geese, and a cat presenting a palm branch to a mouse which is seated on a chair and holding a lotus. Behind the chair is another mouse bearing a fan and a bag with toilet requisites (see pages 27-30). In the reign of Ȧmen-ḥetep IV, about B.C. 1420, there was a revolt against the conventional forms of painting and sculpture approved by the priests. For about twenty-five years, new designs and new colours were introduced, but they did not find favour among the people generally, and, when the king died, traditionalism promptly re-asserted itself, and the new capital which he founded near the modern village of Tell al-Amarna fell into ruin, and its splendours were forgotten.

[Illustration: Queen Tetȧ-Kharṭ, about B.C. 1600.

[No. 187, Wall-case 102, Third Egyptian Room.]]

The sculptured reliefs of the IVth and Vth dynasties, and the =statues= and =portrait figures= were in beauty and fidelity rarely equalled in later times, and certainly never surpassed. The chief employers of both painter and sculptor in the later dynasties were the priests, who required statues of gods and kings for the temples; massive strength, an expression of impassibility, and close adherence to existing models were the traditional characteristics of such works. With private employers the case was different, for they demanded of the sculptor portrait figures which should be representations of their friends at once faithful and pleasing. Among early portrait figures of fine work in the British Museum may be mentioned the =ivory figure of a king=, wearing a robe of elaborate pattern (Table-case No. 197, in the Third Egyptian Room; see page 24, No. 7); the statue of the official =Nefer-hi= of the IIIrd dynasty (No. 150, Wall-case 99, Third Egyptian Room); the statue of =Betchmes=, of the IIIrd dynasty (No. 3, in the Egyptian Vestibule, see page 110), and the statue of =Ȧn-kheft-ka=, of the IVth dynasty, (Bay 1, No. 33, in the Northern Egyptian Gallery, see page 109).

[Illustration: Head of a colossal statue of Ȧmen-ḥetep III, B.C. 1450.

[Northern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 4, No. 416.]]

[Illustration: PLATE XII.

Head of a stone figure of a priestess of the XVIIIth dynasty.

[From the cast, No. 38,430, Wall-case 102, Third Egyptian Room.]]

[Illustration: PLATE XIII.

Limestone seated figures of Khā-em-Uast and his wife.

XIXth dynasty.

[No. 41,603, Wall-case 105, Third Egyptian Room.]]

On the second shelf of Wall-cases 99-109 in the Third Egyptian Room is exhibited a typical series of =portrait figures= in stone which illustrate the work of the period between the IIIrd dynasty and the Roman Period. Special attention may be given to the =head of an official= (No. 186) in crystalline limestone; the figure of =Queen Tetȧ-Kharṭ=, a wife of Ȧāḥmes I, B.C. 1600 (No. 187, see page 113); the portion of the head of a figure, the “heretic king,” =Ȧmen-ḥetep IV=, or Khu-en-Ȧten, B.C. 1420 (No. 212); the figure of =Queen Ȧmenȧrṭās=, of the XXVth dynasty, B.C. 700 (No. 232); the seated figures of Khā-em-Uast and his wife (Wall-case 105, Third Egyptian Room; see =Plate XIII=); the seated figure of Ḥarua, one of the officials of Ȧmenȧrṭās (No. 234); the two figures of officials of the Roman Period (Nos. 269 and 270); and the head of a priestess (see =Plate XII=).

[Illustration: Statue of Isis, holding a figure of Osiris. Dedicated by Shashanq, a high official.

Ptolemaïc Period.

[Southern Egyptian Gallery, Bay 28, No. 964.]]

In the Northern and Southern Egyptian Galleries among the finest examples of large statues may be mentioned the three grey granite =statues of Usertsen III=, B.C. 2330, each of which represents the king at a different period of his life (Nos. 158, 159, 160; see =Plate XXV=); the dark granite =head of Ȧmen-em-ḥāt III=, of the XIIth dynasty (No. 774; see =Plate XXVI=); the red granite statue of =Sekhem-uatch-taui-Rā=, a king of the XIIIth dynasty (No. 276, =Plate XXVII=); the =head of Thothmes III=, B.C. 1550 (No. 360; =Plate XXXI=); the heads of =Ȧmen-ḥetep III=, B.C. 1450 (Nos. 416, 417); the white limestone statues of an official and his wife, of very fine work (No. 565); and the granite statue of Isis holding a figure of Osiris between her wings (No. 964). The statues and portrait figures of the latter part of the XVIIIth, XIXth and XXth dynasties lack the fidelity to nature of those of the Ancient and Middle Empires, and it is clear that about B.C. 1200 both statues and figures were kept in stock by funerary masons, who merely added the names of deceased persons to them after they were sold.

Under the Saïte kings of the XXVIth dynasty a =Renaissance= took place, and for a short time painters, sculptors, and scribes modelled their works on examples drawn chiefly from the monuments of the Ancient Empire.