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Egyptian Art

The art of ancient Egypt is one of the most recognizable and iconic styles in human history. The ancient Egyptians were skilled artists, creating works of art that were not only beautiful, but also had powerful symbolic meanings and spiritual significance.

Ancient Egyptian art was closely tied to their religious beliefs and practices, with gods and goddesses, pharaohs and queens, and scenes of daily life all depicted  in intricate detail. The Egyptians used a variety of materials to create their art, including stone, wood, gold, and even glass. They also developed advanced techniques for working with these materials, such as carving, casting, and  inlaying, although some of their techniques remain a mystery.

A large collection of gold foil objects retrieved at the Tel Al-Deir cemetery.
25 July, 2024 - 17:40 Sahir

Tombs and Gold Foils from the Ptolemaic Era Unearthed in Egypt’s Damietta

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered 63 mudbrick tombs and several simple burials containing a collection of gold foils from the 26th Dynasty of the Late Period. This correlates with the Ptolemaic...
Photo of the Nefertiti bust in Neues Museum, Berlin. Source: Smalljim/CC BY-SA 3.0
16 July, 2024 - 19:48 Robbie Mitchell

Nefertiti is Still in Germany and Hasn’t Been Returned (Video)

The bust of Nefertiti, a 3,400-year-old artifact valued at around 400 million euros, has been in Germany for over a century, displayed at the Neues Museum Berlin . The artifact's continued presence...
Lapis lazuli cult image of the God Ptah. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public Domain.
2 October, 2023 - 16:57 Robbie Mitchell

This Egyptian Statue Was Created to Hold the Spirit of a God (Video)

In ancient Egypt, amid the grandeur of pyramids , obelisks, and temples , there exists a small yet captivating marvel—an exquisite lapis lazuli statue designed not for burial but for divine...
Egyptian statue of two men and a boy that served as a domestic icon. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public Domain.
19 September, 2023 - 21:00 Robbie Mitchell

This Egyptian Statue Is Reminiscent of a Family Photo (Video)

This Egyptian statue , an exhibit at the New York MET, hails from around 1340 BC during the Amarna period and exudes a magnetic charm. These three male figures capture a profound naturalism, evident...
Imagery obtained from the scans of Egyptian painting of Ramesses II. Source: Martinez et al./CC-BY 4.0
13 July, 2023 - 18:52 Sahir

New X-Ray Scanning Method Reveals Pharaoh’s Hidden Mysteries in Egyptian Paintings

Ancient photoshopping? Hidden details of ancient Egyptian paintings, along with artistic processes and alterations made to historical masterpieces over 3,000 years ago, have been uncovered by...
Left is the original photo of the Khafre statue; right is the photo cut in half and flipped. Source: Author provided.
28 June, 2023 - 18:51 Cliff Dunning

The Brilliance of ‘Pre-diluvian’ Sculpture - Cannot Be Hand Made!

I'm still digesting our recent tour to Egypt; the temple and the pyramids - just the atmosphere of the ancients was a lot to take in. Each time I visit, I’m stunned at the beauty, sophistication, and...
Bottom, a Hetepheres bracelet in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MFA 47.1700. Top, an electrotype reproduction made in 1947, MFA 52.1837 (Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition) Source: © April 2023 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/ Journal of Archaeological Science
30 May, 2023 - 18:31 Sahir

Stunning Silver Bracelet of Egyptian Queen Hetepheres Reveals Trade Secrets

In a remarkable revelation from a recent study, ancient Egypt has once again defied expectations, showcasing its globalized nature even in the early Bronze Age. The study, centered around a...
The statue of pharaoh Senwosret III, who ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC, is another in a long line of missing Egyptian noses. Source: Public domain
6 May, 2023 - 23:01 Theodoros Karasavvas

Why Are So Many Ancient Egyptian Statues Missing Their Noses?

The missing noses on ancient Egyptian statues have been a topic of discussion and curiosity within art history circles for many years. It is a common question that many people ask: why are the noses...
Tattoo on the left femur of a mummified Egyptian woman buried at Deir el-Medina. Source: Anne Austin/University of Missouri-St. Louis
9 November, 2022 - 21:58 Sahir

Not A Tramp Stamp: Thigh and Hip Tattoos Found on Female Egyptian Mummies

Ancient burial sites in Egypt have yielded tattooed mummies, that are predominantly female rather than male. Over time, various debates have arisen about who these mummies were, in terms of their...
The Weighing of the Heart ritual, shown in the Book of the Dead of Sesostris. Source: Manfred Werner - Tsui / CC BY-SA 3.0
28 July, 2022 - 22:59 Jessica Nadeau

Did the Ancient Egyptians Create Art as a Way to Manifest Reality?

Among the extravagantly decorated tombs and temples that made Egyptian art immortal, there is something obscure. It could even be considered supernatural or otherworldly. Telling the stories of what...
“Litany of Ra” scene in the tomb of King Merenptah (KV8), Valley of the Kings, Luxor; design by Anand Balaji
10 November, 2021 - 00:59 anand balaji

Echoes of Eternal Egyptian Art: Masters of Form and Finesse—Part I

The ancient Egyptians were pioneers of various forms of art and architecture. Down the millennia, the world has been left awestruck by the design and purpose of their grandiose monuments, their...
Virtual rendition of the painting of the leopard face found on the ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. Source: University of Milan
3 March, 2020 - 19:02 Ed Whelan

Rare Masterpiece Uncovered on Ancient Egyptian Sarcophagus

An Italian-Egyptian team have reconstructed a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art. They have been able to virtually recreate the face of a leopard that was found on a sarcophagus lid in a necropolis...
One of the Amarna graves found with a head cone. Source: Courtesy of the Amarna Project via Antiquity Publications Ltd
10 December, 2019 - 16:04 ancient-origins

First Examples of Ancient Egyptian Head Cones Found at Amarna

Ancient Egyptian art frequently depicted people wearing cone-shaped headgear, but for a long time no physical examples were found. Now, an international team of archaeologists report the discovery of...
Detail of two dancers from the Tomb of the Triclinium in the Necropolis of Monterozzi.
24 March, 2018 - 09:36 anya leonard

Do not Underestimate the Etruscans: Art and Culture of their Own

Many folks see the Etruscan civilization as merely a segue, a follow up to the Greeks and a foreshadowing to the Romans. But casting this ancient society as a sideline character might not do them...
Foreigners accompany a triumphal procession of the King; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); Deriv.
16 March, 2018 - 12:58 anand balaji

Echoes of Eternal Egyptian Art: Effulgence and Beyond at Amarna—Part II

Egypt witnessed religious and cultural upheaval on an unimaginable scale when Pharaoh Akhenaten assumed the reins of power and declared the Aten as the supreme god. One of the noteworthy...
The ancient and mysterious Sphinx, Giza, Egypt.
15 October, 2017 - 18:43 Cliff Dunning

Mystery of the Sphinx: An Ancient Message of Ethnic Diversity in Dynastic Egypt

In 1995, NBC televised a prime-time documentary hosted by actor Charlton Heston and directed by Bill Cote, called Mystery of the Sphinx . The program centered on the research and writings of John...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Heidi Kontkanen, Oliviero Piccinali, and Julian Tuffs); Deriv.
7 July, 2017 - 22:30 anand balaji

Akhenaten: Imperishable Art of an Iconoclast: Age of Extravagance in Amarna—Part II

The monuments Akhenaten constructed were no less impressive than those of his father, Amenhotep III. But all his buildings were dismantled and destroyed during the Amarna backlash—including the city...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
5 July, 2017 - 15:34 anand balaji

Akhenaten: Imperishable Art of an Iconoclast: Creativity Blossoms in the Desert—Part I

Never before had a pharaoh ushered daring, almost bizarre and inconceivable transformations in religion and statecraft as Akhenaten did. Not only did he oust the pantheon of traditional gods and...
Researchers traced around the edges of the figures to reveal a hunter, a possible shaman (medicine man) and an ostrich, which are still hunted today by San people of Africa. If you look underneath the image, you can see some faint pecking in the rock that clearly show the prehistoric human and ostrich images.
28 March, 2017 - 22:59 Mark Miller

Ancient Egyptian Ritual Image Predates the Rise of the Pharaohs

The ancient Egyptians built their first great monuments in stone beginning with the step pyramid of Djoser about 4,650 years ago. Well before that, around 6,000 years ago, a fine artist working in...
The statue of a pharaoh found in a Cairo mud pit. It is believed to depict Ramesses II.
10 March, 2017 - 22:56 Theodoros Karasavvas

How Did an Enormous Statue of an Egyptian Pharaoh End Up Fragmented in a Mud Pit?

A team of archaeologists have unearthed fragments of a gigantic statue, possibly portraying Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, in a muddy pit at the ancient Heliopolis archaeological site in Cairo, as...
A pecked petroglyph of a reed boat I the Nag el-Hamdulab cycle in Egypt.
13 November, 2015 - 14:35 lizleafloor

Ancient Symbols of Power: Royal Egyptian Rock Art of Nag el-Hamdulab Depict Rule of State and Military Might

An ancient king—heralded by standard bearers and trailing a retinue of soldiers, fan bearers, powerful beasts and deities—projects power and military might in elaborate scenes carved into the very...
Akhenaten depicted as a sphinx at Amarna, solar rays bathing him.
20 January, 2015 - 12:04 Riley Winters

The Art of Amarna: Akhenaten and his life under the Sun

The Amarna period, roughly 1353-1336 BCE, introduced a new form of art that completely contradicted what was known and revered in the Egyptian culture. The pharaoh Amenhotep IV not only changed his...