Everyone remembers the treasures Howard Carter brought out of King Tut's Tomb. The solid gold mask golden shrines, but what do we really know about these treasures? Most likely the gold is what we remember, but to an artist or historian there is much more. What you see when you look beyond the gold is something amazing. the artistry and craftsmanship that set the ancient Egyptians apart from the rest. The Greeks and Romans who were also great artist usually get the credit but remember, Egyptian art out-dates both the Greeks and romans by at least two thousand years. Some of the greatest works of art of the ancient world came from the Egyptians around the 18th to the 20th Dynasty's. Just look at some of this art from the golden mask of King Tut (Cairo Museum in Egypt) to the beautiful bust of Queen Nefertiti (Dahlem Museum in Berlin Germany) wich is concidered one of the greatest works of art of all time. More of this artwork can still be seen today on the walls of the pharaohs tombs and the walls of the great temples that still stand today. One of these temples is Abu Simbol where Pharaoh Ramses II had four large stone statues of himself built. How such large stone figures could be built with the detail they possess is beyond words. Even as the paint fades away from a stone relief of an ancient god on a temple wall, one can only imagin what it looked like thousands of years ago with it's bright colors. One has to give respect where it is due, to these skilled artist whose work has stood the test of time and can be seen to this day. |
