We buy art and art pieces because it moves us or as some people might say, “it spoke to us.” Generally this means that there was something about that particular piece of art that touched you and that you instinctively knew would bring you a sense of joy whenever you looked at it. When we enjoy a piece of art, naturally we want to know more about it and as your art collection grows, so does the knowledge of how the pieces are similar or different. This paper compares the similarities and differences two pieces of art as well as describes the influences it had on the society.
Most of the time, when I have seen Egyptian it focused on hieroglyphics, the pyramids, and statues or tombs of kings. However, there are two forms of Egyptian art that is not often talked about and that I chose to compare because of their colorful and life-like characteristics. The first piece is called, “Seated Scribe” and I chose it not only for its beauty but for its depiction of what ancient Egyptians looked liked and some of the daily activities that they did.
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The original “Seated Scribe” sits in the Musée du Louvre, Paris but was “found near the tomb of Kai,Saqqara.” (Stokstad & Collins, 60) The statue was created by Old Kingdom sculptors around the Fifth Dynasty that also “produced statues of less prominent people, rendered in a more relaxed, life-like fashion.” (Stokstad & Collins, 60) Scribes had several roles during the Fifth Dynasty that would allow them to work on priceless inspirational and technological writings.
You can tell if the statue that you are looking at is the “Seated Scribe” by the way it sits. The head is round and has a closed-cropped hairstyle. The body expresses the lifestyle of someone that does little or no work, based on saggy and flabby image portrayed by the statue. However the face of the “Seated Scribe” reveals “a sense of individual likeness and human presence” (Stokstad & Collins) that reveals a look of intelligence as you gaze at the vigilant expression on the statue’s face. This may be caused by the statue’s use of some of the Greek’s philosophy of statue making in the area around the eyes. The Greeks created an image of motion by giving the statue eyes that have pupils with off-centered irises. By making the eyes in this fashion the artist makes the statue look as if it is moving with you or looking at you.
The “Seated Scribe” was one a beautiful piece of sculpture made of “painted limestone with some other materials added, like pieces of wood for the nipples and magnesite and polished crystal for the life-like eyes.” (Levendig) Another form of art that is generally not associated with Egypt is glassware. Unlike the statues, glassmaking origins are unknown and are made of a combination of sand, lime, and sodium bicarbonate that are heated at a high temperature. Glass can be made in a variety of colors and textures by adding additional materials. One such piece is called the “Fish-Shaped perfume bottle” and is the second piece of art I chose.
Just as the “Seated Scribe”, the “Fish-Shaped perfume bottle” is a life-like piece created in Egypt. The piece can be found in the British Museum in London and was created around the Eighteenth Dynasty during and in the reign of Akhenate. The “Fish-Shaped perfume bottle” was created by a glassmaking technique created by the Egyptians’ called core-formed glass. Core-formed glassmaking uses a clump sandy clay that is molded into the desired shape. The shape is then wrapped in pieces of cloth that is “skewed onto a fireproof rod.” (Levendig) The rod is then inserted into a pot of melted glass which fills the mold. Once cooled, “the clay core is removed through the opening left by the skewer” (Levendig) and the newly created glass shape can be decorated by fusing other pieces of heated glass, such as rods onto its surface.
Having these two unique pieces of art are a great addition to any art collection of Egyptian art however, in ancient Egypt having a statue of a “Seated Scribe” [have been assumed to represent the deceased’s servants, it has recently been proposed that instead they depict relatives and friends of the deceased in the role of servants, allowing these loved ones to accompany the deceased into the next life.] (Stokstad & Collins, 60) Unlike a “Fish-Shaped perfume bottle” that was more likely used to hold oils and perfumes.
