The Dawn of Egyptian Art

Tuesday, 10 April 2012 - Sunday, 05 August 2012

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
During the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods (ca. 4000–2650 B.C.), people in the Nile Valley began recording their beliefs through paintings, sculptures and reliefs made for their shrines and tombs. These works of art capture the evolving world view of these early Egyptians, and include forms and iconography that remained in use throughout the Pharaonic period. This exhibition brings together objects gathered from the Metropolitan's collection and from the collections of twelve other museums to illustrate the origins and early development of ancient Egyptian art.

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More about the exhibition catalogue

Egyptian art from the Pharaonic era is characterized by colossal sphinxes, elaborately decorated coffins, hieroglyphs, and beautifully modeled reliefs. Less well-known, but equally impressive, are the rare and ancient images of people, animals, and landscapes from the pre-Pharaonic era, the period that preceded and directly influenced these iconic forms of artistic expression.

With lavish illustrations of more than 170 fascinating objects created from about 4000 to 2650 BC, Dawn of Egyptian Art presents the origins of these art forms and iconography that remained in use for centuries. Comprehensive texts explore the origins and early development of the culture of ancient Egypt while discussing the representation of the self and the universe, the relationship between image and writing, and the early Egyptians' evolving view of how the world worked.