Ancient Art Is Filled With Fabulous Examples

Ancient art is filled with fabulous examples of various media and unique depictions of historical and cultural events. Much ancient art is symbolic, and much is literal. Some ancient art serves both a literal and a symbolic function. This is true for much in the Egyptian art canon. It is impossible to generalize about Egyptian art because of the great span of time the various empires straddled. However, there are many similarities in Egyptian style, media, and content. In New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art alone, there are several examples of two works of Egyptian art that are directly comparable. For example, "Yuny and His Wife Renenutet" is a 19th Dynasty New Kingdom sculpture. It depicts the titular figures seated together on their throne. It is made of limestone, and the dimensions are about 33 inches high and 21 inches wide. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has a New Kingdom sculpture from the 19th Dynasty depicting Isis and Wepawet, god of Asyut. Also executed in limestone, this sculpture is about 50 inches high and 24 inches wide. Although both "Yuny and His Wife Renenutet" and "Isis and Wepawet, god of Asyut" have similar form, subject, and content, they are strikingly different in their depiction of Egyptian royalty.

These two sculptures epitomize Egyptian sculpture, and New Kingdom art, in particular. Neither of these works of art has an artist's name attached to them, which is fitting for the time period and culture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art attributes the two sculptures to their respective workshops, based on their unique styles. Both sculptures show the male and female gods according to their mythological attributes, which is common throughout ancient Egyptian art.

However, there are some notable differences between these otherwise similar works of art. These differences show the diversity of Egyptian sculpture. The sculpture of Isis and Wepawet more clearly shows the male god in his animal manifestation. In the sculpture of Yuny and his wife Renenutet, both the male and female are depicted as human beings. They do not have animal heads, as Wepawet does. This is in large part due to the fact that Yuny and his wife Renenutet are not shown to be divine or even semi-divine. This is a human royal couple, not a god couple as Isis and Wepawet are. The difference between the human and divine subjects is noticeable to the viewer. In the sculpture of Isis and Wepawet, the eyes are cold and distant, as the two gods are on a different spiritual plane from human beings. In the sculpture of Yuny and his wife Renenutet, the king and queen are humans and therefore their eyes are filled with the compassion and earthiness of human beings.