DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0040
EGYPTIAN PERIOD
16
goldsmiths hammer the metal and with their long blowpipes
keep the furnaces hot and fashion collar-necklaces such as Nof-
retete wears (Color Pl. i). Others carve ivory feet for the noble’s
chairs and beds while the women weave the linen for his kilt.
Fig. 19. Herd of Cattle Fording a Canal. From the mastaba of Ti, Saqquara.
All these pictures of Egyptian life come from the tombs; for,
as we have said, the provision for life hereafter was one of the
chief concerns of existence in this world. The Egyptian believed
that there was a force called the Ka which was the counterpart
of the body. It came into being with the body, continued through
life with it, was in all fea-
tures like it, though invisi-
ble, and at death accompa-
nied it into the next world.
As the Ka and the body were
coexistent, the body must
be carefully preserved
through mummification, and
the Ka, through offerings of
all kinds. Thus to secure for
the spirit land, which was
but a reflection of this world,
both necessities and luxuries,
it was necessary to paint or carve all these scenes upon the tomb
walls or to place small models in the burial chambers each of
which, with the proper incantation, would function normally
in the hereafter.
For building these enduring monuments, for carving reliefs
and statues and for his handicraft, the natural resources of
Egypt greatly aided the artist by providing an abundance
of excellent material. Great quarries of limestone, sandstone,
Fig. 10. Drilling Stone Vases. One
worker remarks, “This is a beautiful vase
that I am making”; the other replies,
"Indeed it is.”
16
goldsmiths hammer the metal and with their long blowpipes
keep the furnaces hot and fashion collar-necklaces such as Nof-
retete wears (Color Pl. i). Others carve ivory feet for the noble’s
chairs and beds while the women weave the linen for his kilt.
Fig. 19. Herd of Cattle Fording a Canal. From the mastaba of Ti, Saqquara.
All these pictures of Egyptian life come from the tombs; for,
as we have said, the provision for life hereafter was one of the
chief concerns of existence in this world. The Egyptian believed
that there was a force called the Ka which was the counterpart
of the body. It came into being with the body, continued through
life with it, was in all fea-
tures like it, though invisi-
ble, and at death accompa-
nied it into the next world.
As the Ka and the body were
coexistent, the body must
be carefully preserved
through mummification, and
the Ka, through offerings of
all kinds. Thus to secure for
the spirit land, which was
but a reflection of this world,
both necessities and luxuries,
it was necessary to paint or carve all these scenes upon the tomb
walls or to place small models in the burial chambers each of
which, with the proper incantation, would function normally
in the hereafter.
For building these enduring monuments, for carving reliefs
and statues and for his handicraft, the natural resources of
Egypt greatly aided the artist by providing an abundance
of excellent material. Great quarries of limestone, sandstone,
Fig. 10. Drilling Stone Vases. One
worker remarks, “This is a beautiful vase
that I am making”; the other replies,
"Indeed it is.”