Egyptian Art

World of Art

by Bill Manley

An insightful volume delving into the enduringly compelling art of ancient Egypt, from a new historical perspective The art and architecture of Egypt during the age of the pharaohs continue to capture the imagination of the modern world. Among the great creative achievements of ancient Egypt are a set of constant archetypes in art and architecture in which the origins of concepts such as authority, divinity, beauty, and meaning are readily discernible. Whether adapted to fine, delicate jewelry or colossal statues, these forms maintain a human face―with human ideas and emotions. These artistic templates, and the ideas they articulated, were refined and reinvented through dozens of centuries, until scenes first created for the earliest kings, around 3000 BCE, were eventually used to represent Roman emperors and the last officials of pre-Christian Egypt. Bill Manley’s account of the art of ancient Egypt draws on the finest works through more than 3,000 years and places celebrated masterpieces, from the Narmer palette to Tutankhamun’s gold mask, in their original contexts in the tombs, temples, and palaces of the pharaohs and their citizens. 300+ illustrations

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Art History

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Bill Manley is Honorary President of Egyptology Scotland. He was appointed Research Associate at the National Museum in Edinburgh in 1995, and Senior Curator of Egyptian Scripts in 2006. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Liverpool, at which he has taught Egyptology. He spent many years shaping and developing the Egyptology program offered by DACE at the University of Glasgow. Bill has been involved with archaeological work in Palestine and Egypt, most recently at Mo’alla, and his publications include three best-selling books, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt (1996), How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs (1998, with Mark Collier) and The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (2003).



http://www.egyptologyscotland.com/EgS...

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"To the ancients we walk in the glory of god-given meaning, though the patterns and shapes we discern in our lives and in the world around seem distorted and obscure."

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

--- "it was not so much the case that native art was evolving but that the urban demography of the Eastern Mediterranen was morphing." (Manley: 292)
--- "in discussing specific differences from one sculpted face to another, without careful study we can rarely be sure how far they are affected by matters such as the choice of material, or the work of a single workshop, or an artist of exceptional skill (or the reverse). In truth, even the specific lighting of a museum display or an influential photograph of a single statue may become part of telling the story of an artwork." (Manley: 164)

This book describes ancient Egyptian art. It does so in a non-chronological order and by focusing on the less well-known artworks and periods. This adds some sort of originality to the book. The book puts forward interesting theories, which I suppose the author owns. This also adds originality.

In my opinion some key ideas were missing here, including that of damnatio memoriae, which affects the way in which we now see some of the artworks. Photographs are of a really good quality and they are normally located close to the text that refers to them. This is nice. Even if the description is not always a chronological one, the book makes you love and understand ancient Egyptian art much better.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to Egyptian art history. Just enough detail to be scholarly, but well-written enough to satisfy a more general audience.

Recommended for those interested in Egyptian Art, and Art history in general.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent overview of ancient Egyptian art from the early dynasties until the Roman period. My only gripe with this book is the chronology of the artefacts covered jumps around in a somewhat arbitrary fashion and a lot Manley's prose is dry and redundant.