Egyptian art: history, characteristics, and cultural significance

Ancient Egypt featured a wide variety of different pharaohs's. It is often a less well-known fact that these on occasion included a female pharaoh, such as Nefertari or Hatshepsut. The 18th Dynasty is no exception to this rule. It is interesting to see the extent of the importance of religion in lives of the kings and the people of the time. Often this is indicated by the art created to honor the rulers of the time. Below then is a comparison of the statue of Hatshepsut with the Sphinx of Senwosret III.

There are many different possibilities regarding Hatshepsut's reign and the way in which this female pharaoh validated her rulership. Some argue for example that she saw herself as Thutmose I's heir. Another argument is that she could have capitalized on her role as the "wife" of the god Amun, which phrase was commonly used for royalty at the time. This was also connected to Hatshepsut's family links on the side of her mother, Ahmose. She thus tended to emphasize her blood line to benefit her rulership (Bryan 238). Hatshepsut's reign, ranging from about 1473-1458 BC, included several ambitious building projects, including temples, built in her name. Because the rulers of Egypt were traditionally male, Hatshepsut's statue includes several elements of the male ruler's appearance. These elements are mainly symbolic, to portray Hatshepsut as a ruler, rather than to indicate how she appeared in reality. The sculpture portrays the queen on a throne, with a royal kilt, striped nemes headdress and uraeus. The statue is bare chested, like the male pharaohs. Female elements in the statue include the fact that the queen is not wearing the royal beard, and that her body is delicate and feminine. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on the statue identify the queen as "the good goddess," "lady of the Two Lands," and "daughter of Re." The sculpture was placed at the location of the queen's personal funerary cult, which was in the chamber on the south side of the temple. The facial expression, static pose and rectangular throne combine to provide a sense of royal dignity, composure and permanence in the same way as the queen's building projects did during her long reign.

Senwosret III was the 5th pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt, and he reigned for 37 years. His naturalistic statues, with its heavy eye lids and lined face also makes him one of the best know pharaohs to the public. Furthermore the increased naturalism of art shows a change form earlier times in terms of the function of art and the ideology of the king. The king as god has become a king as leader, while not relinquishing the power denoted by the sphinx. Senwosret means "man of Goddess Wosret." He was the son of Senwosret II, indicating a further change in the paradigm of the time, as usually pharaohs were chosen interchangeably to be Senwosret and Amenemhet. The king's military and other accomplishments were significant, including the fact that he expanded the borders of Egypt the further south than anyone before him. The Sphinx of Senwosret III was created around 1878-1841 B.C. The symbolism connected with the lion indicates kingship, as the lion is symbolic of power and divine guardianship against evil. In the cosmic Egyptian myths, the lion is also associated with the daily reborn sun. The lion, combined with the human face of a king then reinforces both the royal aspect and the power of the king, in his divine guardianship. The sculpture of the sphinx with the head of Senwosret III is naturalistic, while being simplified. The head of the king is covered with a lion's mane and striped nemes headdress. The traditional cobra is at the front of the headdress, and the king is wearing the traditional royal beard. There is unusual detail of character in the king's face, which appears careworn. The lion's body is smooth, contrasting with the detail of the head.

In comparison, the statues of Hatshepsut and Senwosret III both display a singular power and dignity in the kingship held by the two pharaohs. Both reigned for a long period of time, during which significant progress was made in terms of culture, kingship and buildings. Hatshepsut for example was one of the few female pharaohs, depicted with the traditional male attributes in sculpture, but also with non-traditional female features. Her contribution to building was significant, in that she created a large amount of magnificent temples and other buildings to commemorate her. Senwosret again is depicted with non-traditional naturalism, showing him as a care-worn and human leader, rather than just a divine king. His greatest accomplishment was the significant expansion of the borders of the country.

In contrast, there is the obvious male and female contrasts between the leaders. A further obvious contrast is the fact that Hatshepsut is depicted entirely as human, while Senwosret III is depicted as a lion with a human head. Furthermore the smoothness of the lion's body contrasts with the uniformly detailed statue of Hatshepsut. There is also a significant time difference between the leaders, Hatshepsut reigning during the 18th dynasty and Senwosret during the 12th.