DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4640#0009
EGYPT. —AN INTRODUCTION. 7
the devotees, in their processions, passed along a dromos, or paved avenue, often bordered by ranges
of sphinxes, to a lofty propylon, through which they entered an hypaethral quadrangle, in which
obelisks were raised and colossal statues placed, thence through a grand pronaos or hall, enriched
with sculptured reliefs, and filled with columns, and painted and decorated with hieroglyphics, that
recorded the conquests of their Pharaohs, the ordinances of their priests, or the oracles of their gods,
all these tended to excite and increase the impression of solemnity, to its termination in the sanctity
of the adytum.
The temples of the Greeks were, on the contrary, externally objects of striking beauty. Within,
the statue of the god alone was seen; but without, the elevated portico with its sculptured pediment,
the columns surrounding the cella, the entablature enriched with reliefs which represented the
history of the hero, or the worship of the god, were all before the eyes of the people : the beauty of
such a temple was ever open to their gaze and contemplation, and tended to purify their taste, and
excite their patriotism.
In sculpture, the same regard was paid by the Egyptians to the solid and enduring, which
governed their style in architecture. Colossal in scale, hard and indestructible in material, and
compact in design, nothing is presented that can be broken without great effort and violence. No
limb is separated, and the action which would require this is never represented. The dignity of
repose in the figure which is so impressive, was not the object sought by the sculptor but the
condition attached to the style of art which he knew to be the most endurable. That the Egyptian
sculptors were capable of higher execution is shown in numerous examples, but in none is it more
striking than in the admired delineation of character in the head of the Memnon brought to England
by Belzoni, and now in the British Museum.
But we are even more indebted to their painting than their sculpture for the actual knowledge
we possess of the manners and customs, the habits and pursuits, the civil and religious processions
and ceremonies, the costumes, arms, arts, and occupations of the ancient Egyptians.
On the walls and propylons of their temples, and especially in the tombs of their Pharaohs, and
priests, what they did, what they taught, or what knowledge was familiar to them, has been repre-
sented. The nations they conquered and kept in slavery, the punishments inflicted, and the tasks
imposed upon them, are vividly represented by an art, that has vindicated its power to preserve
such records for three thousand years. Often the figures painted are slightly cut in the stone, or
plaister, and the design, in incised relief, painted. This guarded, in exposed situations, the paintings
from the injuries of time, but against violence there is no protection. These arts were known
before the time of the erection of any existing temple, and we have remarkable evidence of their
durability, in some fragments of such sculptured and painted stones, the relics of former structures,
that were used as materials, which have been found built into the walls of the great temple of
Karnak.
That the decorative and constructive arts were carried to high perfection among the ancient
Egyptians, is abundantly shown in the articles which have been found in their tombs, and, after so
great a lapse of time, preserved to us in their furniture, utensils, instruments, and ornaments; in
wood, and bronze, and gold; in glass and in gems. Of their working in tissues and fabrics, their
painting, enamelling, and chasing, many examples in exquisite ornaments remain to us, and shew how
the devotees, in their processions, passed along a dromos, or paved avenue, often bordered by ranges
of sphinxes, to a lofty propylon, through which they entered an hypaethral quadrangle, in which
obelisks were raised and colossal statues placed, thence through a grand pronaos or hall, enriched
with sculptured reliefs, and filled with columns, and painted and decorated with hieroglyphics, that
recorded the conquests of their Pharaohs, the ordinances of their priests, or the oracles of their gods,
all these tended to excite and increase the impression of solemnity, to its termination in the sanctity
of the adytum.
The temples of the Greeks were, on the contrary, externally objects of striking beauty. Within,
the statue of the god alone was seen; but without, the elevated portico with its sculptured pediment,
the columns surrounding the cella, the entablature enriched with reliefs which represented the
history of the hero, or the worship of the god, were all before the eyes of the people : the beauty of
such a temple was ever open to their gaze and contemplation, and tended to purify their taste, and
excite their patriotism.
In sculpture, the same regard was paid by the Egyptians to the solid and enduring, which
governed their style in architecture. Colossal in scale, hard and indestructible in material, and
compact in design, nothing is presented that can be broken without great effort and violence. No
limb is separated, and the action which would require this is never represented. The dignity of
repose in the figure which is so impressive, was not the object sought by the sculptor but the
condition attached to the style of art which he knew to be the most endurable. That the Egyptian
sculptors were capable of higher execution is shown in numerous examples, but in none is it more
striking than in the admired delineation of character in the head of the Memnon brought to England
by Belzoni, and now in the British Museum.
But we are even more indebted to their painting than their sculpture for the actual knowledge
we possess of the manners and customs, the habits and pursuits, the civil and religious processions
and ceremonies, the costumes, arms, arts, and occupations of the ancient Egyptians.
On the walls and propylons of their temples, and especially in the tombs of their Pharaohs, and
priests, what they did, what they taught, or what knowledge was familiar to them, has been repre-
sented. The nations they conquered and kept in slavery, the punishments inflicted, and the tasks
imposed upon them, are vividly represented by an art, that has vindicated its power to preserve
such records for three thousand years. Often the figures painted are slightly cut in the stone, or
plaister, and the design, in incised relief, painted. This guarded, in exposed situations, the paintings
from the injuries of time, but against violence there is no protection. These arts were known
before the time of the erection of any existing temple, and we have remarkable evidence of their
durability, in some fragments of such sculptured and painted stones, the relics of former structures,
that were used as materials, which have been found built into the walls of the great temple of
Karnak.
That the decorative and constructive arts were carried to high perfection among the ancient
Egyptians, is abundantly shown in the articles which have been found in their tombs, and, after so
great a lapse of time, preserved to us in their furniture, utensils, instruments, and ornaments; in
wood, and bronze, and gold; in glass and in gems. Of their working in tissues and fabrics, their
painting, enamelling, and chasing, many examples in exquisite ornaments remain to us, and shew how