Furniture from this period shows the same remark-
able craftsmanship and fine details, as evidenced by the
funerary objects of Queen HETEPHERES(1), the mother of
KHUFU(Cheops, r. 2551–2528 B.C.E.). Wooden furniture
inlaid with semiprecious stones graced the palaces of that
era and Hetepheres was buried with chairs, beds, a
canopy, and gold-covered boxes. She had silver bracelets
and other jewelry pieces of turquoise, lapis lazuli, and
carnelian. CROWNSand necklaces, all of great beauty,
adorned the royal mother while she lived and were
placed in her tomb to adorn her throughout eternity.
ArchitectureBy the time the Early Dynastic Period was established in
MEMPHIS, experimentation and the demands of the mor-
tuary rituals challenged the architects of Egypt to provide
suitable places for the dead. The MASTABA, the rectangular
building erected with battered walls and subterranean
chambers and shafts, became more and more elaborate.
Small temples were fashioned out of stone, and one such
place of worship, constructed at the end of the Second
Dynasty (2649 B.C.E.) was composed of granite. Stelae
began to appear. They were round-topped stone slabs
designed to hold inscriptions commemorating great
events and personages, religious and secular. SAQQARA
became an elaborate necropolis for MEMPHIS, and other
mortuary complexes were erected in ABYDOS, the city ded-
icated to the god OSIRIS.
The turning point in such complexes came in the
reign of DJOSER(2630–2611 B.C.E.) when IMHOTEP, his
vizier, fashioned the STEP PYRAMID, on the Saqqara plain.
This structure, composed of mastabas placed one on top
of the other, became the link between the original tomb
designs and the true pyramids of the next dynasty. The
PYRAMIDcomplexes that emerged in the Fifth Dynasty
(2465–2323 B.C.E.) consisted of VALLEY TEMPLES, cause-
ways, MORTUARY TEMPLES, and accompanying subsidiary
buildings. In time, they became the eternal symbol of
Egypt itself and were included in the Seven Wonders of
the World.
These pyramids reflected not only mathematical and
construction skills but other aspects of Egyptian civiliza-
tion. Rising from the plain of GIZAand at other locations,
the structures were no longer simple tombs but stages for
elaborate ceremonies where priests offered continual
prayers and gifts as part of an ongoing mortuary cult.
Later pharaohs were forced to reduce the size of their
pyramids, eventually abandoning the form entirely
because of a lack of resources, but the Giza monuments
remained vivid examples of Egypt’s architectural glories.
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
(2040–1640 B.C.E.)
ArtAt the close of the Old Kingdom, the authority of Egypt’s
rulers had eroded, bringing about severe civil unrest. One
of the consequences was a decline in both art and archi-
tecture. The Eleventh Dynasty (2040–1991 B.C.E.) re-
united Upper and Lower Egypt and resumed patronage of
the arts and the building of monuments. The art of this
new age was marked by realism and by a new degree of
classical motifs that were revived from the Old Kingdom.
An elegant and elaborate style was popular and detail
became paramount, as evidenced in the head of SENWOS-
RET III(r. 1878–1841 B.C.E.) of the Twelfth Dynasty, in
which a portrait of his age and weariness are frankly
depicted.
The jewelry of this period is famous in modern times
because of a cache of necklaces, bracelets, and pectorals
discovered in DASHUR, the mortuary site of the Twelfth
Dynasty. Beautifully crafted of enameled gold and semi-
precious stones, it attests to the artistic skill of the era.
Another treasure found at el-LAHUNyielded golden wire
diadems with jeweled flowers, as well as a dazzling vari-
ety of bracelets, collars, and pectorals of semiprecious
stones set in gold.Architecture
Under the nomarchs, the rulers of the nomes or
provinces in outlying districts who were able to maintain
their authority amid general unrest, architecture survived
the fall of the Old Kingdom, resulting in such sites as
BENI HASAN, with its rock-carved tombs and large chapels,
complete with porticoes and painted walls. The Eleventh
Dynasty, however, resumed royal sponsorship of architec-
tural projects, symbolized by the mortuary complex of
MONTUHOTEP II(r. 2061–2010 B.C.E.), at DEIR EL-BAHRIon
the western shore of THEBES. The temple there influenced
later architects and was the first complex set on terraces
of varying height with a columned portico at the rear,
forming a facade of the tomb. The tomb area was recessed
into a cliff.
During the Middle Kingdom most of the temples
were built with columned courts, halls, and chambers
for rituals. The sanctuaries of these shrines were elabo-
rate, and most had small lakes within the precincts.
KARNAKwas begun in this era, and in time the temple
would become the largest religious complex in the his-
tory of the world. The famed temple of LUXORwould be
linked to Karnak with an avenue of ram-headed
SPHINXES.
Residences of the upper classes and some of the
common abodes began to assume architectural distinc-
tion as well. Made of sun-dried brick and wood, most
villas or mansions had two or three floors, connected by
staircases. Storehouses, a separate kitchen area, high ceil-
ings, and vast gardens were parts of the residential
designs. Some had air vents for circulation, and all of
these houses, whether owned by aristocrats or common-
ers, had gently sloping roofs on which Egyptian families
slept in warm weather. Made of vulnerable materials, no50 art and architecture