Through the Eras

Visual ArtsSAITE PERIOD. The Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664–525 B.C.E.), called the Saite Period because of its king’sorigins in the town of Sais in the Delta, looked for inspirationin the New Kingdom once again. A remarkabletomb belonging to the governor of Upper Egypt,Montuemhet, spans both the end of the Kushite Periodand the beginning of the Saite Period. This tomb containselements from the Kushite Period imitating the OldKingdom as well as Saite Period work imitating the NewKingdom. The Theban tomb of a man named Ibi thatdates to this period was highly influenced by the Memphitetomb of a man with the same name who lived inthe Old Kingdom. Later in the Twenty-sixth Dynasty,artists drew on New Kingdom models for inspiration.PERSIAN PERIOD AND THIRTIETH DYNASTY. ThePersians conquered Egypt in 525 B.C.E. Artists blendedPersian artistic traditions with traditional Egyptian art.A statue of the Treasurer of the god Ptah, Ptahhotep,blends typical Egyptian elements with Persian details.The frontality, back pillar, and stance that Ptahhotepassumes in the statue all date back thousands of yearsin Egyptian history. Yet Ptahhotep wears a Near Easterncostume consisting of a shawl and high-waisted kiltthat would be more at home in Persia than Egypt. Healso wears a Persian necklace ending in typically Persianmountain-goat shaped forms. Under the necklace, hewears a typical Egyptian chest ornament. In statues suchas this, artists were able to accommodate foreign tastesbut also rely on Egyptian models. The Thirtieth Dynasty(381–343 B.C.E.) was the last period of native Egyptianrule in antiquity. Artists of this period relied on NewKingdom models. The tomb of the official Zanofer incorporatesa blind harpist and female offering bearersthat would be at home in the Eighteenth Dynasty.DISPUTES. This brief survey of Late Period art onlyscratches the surface of the complications that remain tobe studied. Scholars still dispute many of the details,sometimes unable to agree on whether key works belongto the earlier or later periods. In spite of considerableprogress in the last forty years, much work remains tobe done to provide an understanding of this period.SOURCESCyril Aldred, “The Carnarvon Statuette of Amun,” in Journalof Egyptian Archaeology 46 (1960): 3–7.Bernard Bothmer, Egyptian Sculture of the Late Period: 700 B.C.to A.D. 100 (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn Museum, 1960).Richard Fazzini, Egypt Dynasty XXII–XXV (Leiden, Netherlands:Brill, 1988).J. A. Josephson, Egyptian Royal Sculpture of the Late Period,400–246 B.C. (Mainz, Germany: Verlag Philipp vonZabern, 1997).NEFERTITISIGNIFICANTPEOPLEin Visual ArtsUnknown–Unknown near the end of the reign ofAkhenaten (1352–1336 B.C.E.)QueenCHIEF QUEEN. Nefertiti’s parents are not known.Scholars assume she was born to a high-ranking family.She first appears in history already the wife of Akhenatenand with him worshipping the Aten. By the fourthyear of Akhenaten’s reign about 1348, Nefertiti was thesubject of a series of extraordinary reliefs in the newtemples that the king built in Karnak. Here Nefertiti behaveslike a king, smiting Egypt’s enemies with a mace.Nefertiti’s face in representations of her worshippingwith the king and their six daughters is indistinguishablefrom the king’s face. Nefertiti also wore other kinglysymbols in art depicting her. She wore the Uraeus snakeover her forehead and also wore several different crowns.In one relief she wore the Nubian hairstyle usually wornby male soldiers. Artists also depicted Nefertiti receivinglife with an ankh sign from the god Aten. The only otherperson who held this honor was the king. All of theseroyal representations provide the only evidence for understandingher role in history.SOURCESDorothea Arnold, The Royal Women of Amarna (New York:Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996).Ray W. Smith and Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten TempleProject I: Initial Discoveries (Warminster, England: Arisand Philips, 1976).SENENMUTUnknown–1466 B.C.E.Chief Steward of the god AmunHIGH RANKING COMMONER. Senenmut was theson of Ramose and Hatnofer, who were commoners.Several of his earliest titles link him to the town of Armant,perhaps his birthplace. His career probably beganin the reign of Thutmose II (1481–1479 B.C.E.) whenhe became the tutor of Princess Neferure, daughter ofthe king and his chief wife, Hatshepsut. When ThutmoseII died, he was succeeded by his son Thutmose III,Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 309