Egyptian Art and Writing

Grade level: Middle school and high school

Objectives for students:
· to understand that peoples past and present have developed many different forms of writing

· to realize the importance of having a writing system to circulate and record a culture's ideas, beliefs, and history

· to begin to understand that most of the figures of humans and animals in Egyptian art are actually larger forms of those in hieroglyphic writing

· to learn that in the ancient Egyptian language the same word is used for writing, drawing, and painting, and that the images created in these three disciplines were thought to possess magical powers

Visual materials:
The visual materials listed below are in an order that develops the progression of the lesson.

Comb
Sphinx of Senwosret III
Stela of a Middle Kingdom official
Section from a Book of the Dead
Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet
Magical stela

Advance preparation:
Read about hieroglyphs and art and the descriptions for the images.

Class discussion:
Have a discussion about writing. Is it important? Why? What do we learn from writing? What can we learn without it? What would our lives be like without it? What can writing tell us about past civilizations?

Ask the students to try to recall picture books they had before they learned to read. How were they able to follow the story? Can you think of important civilizations that did not develop written communication? Can we learn about their beliefs and lifestyles even though they left no written records? Explain.

What does the term prehistoric mean?

Begin the discussion of the visual materials by asking the group to describe what they see.

Comb: Talk about the way the animals are arranged. Where is the beginning and where is the end of the procession? Notice that the figures appear in rows similar to hieroglyphic writing. In which direction are hieroglyphs read? Some people think the comb might show an early attempt to record a story or myth before hieroglyphic writing was developed.

Sphinx of Senwosret III: Talk about the face of the king. (The careworn features are as close to real portraiture as one finds in Egyptian art. Usually the faces are young and idealized.) According to Egyptian beliefs, what identifies the statue or painting of an individual is not a physical likeness but the person's name written or inscribed on the surface. Locate Senwosret's name (beneath the royal beard).

Stela of a Middle Kingdom official: Look closely at the hieroglyphs. In which direction (or directions) should they be read? Can you make out animal and bird forms? Do any of the human forms resemble the poses of the official's family? Knowing something about Egyptian afterlife beliefs, what do you think the function of this relief was and what is the text about?

Section from a Book of the Dead: Talk about the hieroglyphs above the figures' heads. What could they be? (Like balloons in a cartoon, they are the words of Osiris, Nany, and Anubis and explain in detail what is happening.)

Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet: Here it is very clear that the writing is art and the art is writing. Explain the meaning of each figure. (Together they form a magic wish that the princess's father will have eternal life.)

Magical stela: Both word and image had magic powers according to Egyptian beliefs. Describe the function of the stone carving. (As water was poured over the surface, which is inscribed with magic spells and the images of gods, it was believed to absorb their curative powers and become transformed into a powerful medicine.)

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