The Colossal Head Essay, Research Paper

When we think of ancient Egyptian

art, we think of deteriorating stone statues, bits and pieces of old architecture,

and faded paintings of animals in dark caves and caverns. All of

these ancient ruins are part of what shaped Egyptian culture back in the

times of Dynasties. Their artwork not only revealed so much of their

religion, rituals, and culture, but it also served as a basis for developing

and advancing art.

The Colossal Head, found in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art, was one of the many early sculptures of Egypt.

It came from the late Third or early Fourth Dynasty (2600-2530 B.C.E.).

It’s no more than two feet high and is made of Red Granite stone.

The face of the sculpture has a fleshy, full look to it and most of the

features are very blunt, giving it a very healthy, powerful appearance.

The eyes are empty as are the eyes of most ancient sculptures so as not

to give them any particular focus or expression, and they are styled with

regular upper and lower curves, making them semicircular. The mouth

is long and fine-lipped which is typical of Fourth Dynasty kings.

It curves neither up nor down, showing no emotion whatsoever, creating

a very vacant, placid stare. The Seated Statue of Gudea and The Female

Head from Uruk are just a couple of other statues with the same empty,

expressionless stare. However, the rest of the features of the sculpture

and the thick neck are more like images from the Third Dynasty. The

tops of the ears and the tip of the nose have been broken off either with

carelessness or with time, both of which cause the damage of many ancient

sculptures. The statue of Senmut with Princess Nefrua is another

of the many sculptures that had been broken over time. Although it

has not been proven, the sculpture has been identified as King Huni who

best fits the style of this image of an early Old Kingdom Pharaoh.

This particular sculpture matches the description of so many others, almost

like a generic pattern. Nearly every sculpture from the Third and

Fourth Dynasties has the bold facial features, the vacant eyes, and the

emotionless face. They were never intended to impress, but to simply

be a devotion to a higher power or ruler. While each statue is always

slightly different than the next, they seem to all fall into the same category

and have the same style, always very modest and usually religious.

Egypt is a land of dazzling buried

treasure and quiet tomb secrets. Only the dead can experience these

treasures however, for they were gifts from the living for the afterlife.

The Egyptians, like so many other cultures, were polytheistic and firmly

believed in life after death. To make the transition from life to

death, the Egyptians would bury their dead with some of their favorite

items to take with them to the afterlife. Some of these treasures

were very extravagant and valuable. It seemed almost as if the afterlife

was more important than actually living. They spent their existence

preparing for what came next. Whole temples and enormous statues

were constructed as dedication to the deceased. The Stepped

Pyramid of King Zozer, measuring three hundred ninety-four feet by three

hundred sixty feet, was just one of the many pyramids built in honor of

a pharaoh or ruler. The term “Pharaoh” comes from the bible.

When we hear this word we think of government, religion, and a way of life.

The scriptures used this name to designate rulers in Egypt. It was

also used to describe the “Great House”, the royal palace where all orders

affecting the civil and religious life of the Egyptians were issued.

Eventually, the king began being referred to as the “Great House” or Pharaoh

and it soon became customary to combine this name with the king’s personal

name. From then on, Egypt always had a pharaoh ruling over them.

By doing this, Egypt had developed one of the first great civilizations

that was literate, bureaucratic, and technologically advanced. It

centered all it’s power and aspirations around a single divine pharaoh

who was the master of ceremonies and who made all decisions for Egypt.

Egyptian culture was very similar

to Greek culture throughout the Third and Fourth Dynasties (the Third Dynasty

was also known as the Memphite Dynasty because while some areas of Egypt

began to lose their importance, Memphis secured its position as the capital).

They influenced and contributed to each others civilizations by means of

architectural advancements, religious beliefs, and technological and scholastic

advancements. The relationship between the two civilizations has

been proven by the revealing of Egyptian artifacts in Greek palaces as

well as Cretian objects discovered in Egyptian tombs and other structures.

Not only were their cultures similar, their art was also very much the

same. Stylistically, Greek and Egyptian sculptures were nearly identical;

they had the blank expressions with the modest, rigid poses. However,

the Egyptians were the first to break away from the usual style of sculpture.

Up to that point, statues had always been in basically one position; with

their arms rigid against their sides and their legs tight together.

This was also a sure pose against damage, with the legs and arms as part

of the large piece of rock, they could not be broken as easily as if they

were separate from the body. However, Egyptians began to take a different

approach to this pose. They didn’t change it completely, they simply

altered it. Instead of the legs being firmly pressed together, they

made one leg stand out a bit as if the sculpture was taking a step forward.

It seems as though no matter what position the sculptures were in, they

were always naturalistic. The artists stylized, and simplified natural

forms, but they never distorted them in any unnatural way.

They seemed to have a real appreciation for true, natural beauty.

Part of what allowed the artists to create

the natural beauty of a sculpture was the tools they used. For a

long time, artists used copper chisels which had cutting edges that were

easy to hammer out. The chisels facilitated the shaping and styling

of soft stone such as limestone, calcite, and sandstone. It’s quite

amazing, however, that even without steel tools and special technologies,

the Egyptians and the Greeks could carve and polish extremely hard substances.

When creating weapons and tools, bowls and vases, and statues and sculptures,

the artists first roughed out by hammering causing an impact of stone on

stone. Then details were shaped and given a smooth finish by rubbing

rock on rock, an abrasive. For gouging and digging, artists used

a drill tipped with extremely hard stone and a mounted by a rod weighted

down with bags of small stones and rotated by a handle. This method

required immense amounts of dexterity and patience.

Egyptian art came an incredibly

long way throughout time and revealed much of its culture through artistic

expression. When we look at a statue, we can conclude so much about

the culture. We can see the way they dressed, or the way they held

themselves, or the way they depicted their rulers. The ancient statues

of Egypt seemed to set an example of power and dictation. Most sculptures

were dedications to pharaohs and rulers and religious symbols of the civilization.

They were created to look powerful, stern, and severe. Some were

even intimidating, like the statue of Kafre, who looks extremely focused

and fierce. These examples of artwork set the stage for so many new

artists and so many new advancements. Egyptian artists created a

basis of art that inspired the works and creations of thousands of artists

after them, and it will inspire thousands of artists yet to come.