This Element offers a new approach to ancient Egyptian images informed by interdisciplinary work in archaeology, anthropology, and art history. Sidestepping traditional perspectives on Egyptian art, the Element focuses squarely on the ontological status of the image in ancient thought and experience. To accomplish this, section 2 takes up a number of central Egyptian terms for images, showing that a close examination of their etymology and usage can help resolve long-standing question on Egyptian imaging practices. Section 3 discusses ancient Egyptian experiences of materials and manufacturing processes, while section 4 categorizes and discusses the different purposes and functions for which images were created. The Element as a whole thus offers a concise introduction to ancient Egyptian imaging practices for an interdisciplinary readership, while at the same introducing new ways of thinking about familiar material for the Egyptological reader.

A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art. • Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award for Single Volume Reference in the Humanities & Social Sciences • Features contributions from top scholars in their respective fields of expertise relating to ancient Egyptian art • Provides overviews of past and present scholarship and suggests new avenues to stimulate debate and allow for critical readings of individual art works • Explores themes and topics such as methodological approaches, transmission of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, ancient reception, technology and interpretation, • Provides a comprehensive synthesis on a discipline that has diversified to the extent that it now incorporates subjects ranging from gender theory to ‘X-ray fluorescence’ and ‘image-based interpretations systems’

A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art. • Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award for Single Volume Reference in the Humanities & Social Sciences • Features contributions from top scholars in their respective fields of expertise relating to ancient Egyptian art • Provides overviews of past and present scholarship and suggests new avenues to stimulate debate and allow for critical readings of individual art works • Explores themes and topics such as methodological approaches, transmission of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, ancient reception, technology and interpretation, • Provides a comprehensive synthesis on a discipline that has diversified to the extent that it now incorporates subjects ranging from gender theory to ‘X-ray fluorescence’ and ‘image-based interpretations systems’

An insightful volume delving into the enduringly compelling art of ancient Egypt, from a new historical perspective The art and architecture of Egypt during the age of the pharaohs continue to capture the imagination of the modern world. Among the great creative achievements of ancient Egypt are a set of constant forms: archetypes in art and architecture in which the origins of concepts such as authority, divinity, beauty, and meaning are readily discernible. Whether adapted to fine, delicate jewelry or colossal statues, these forms maintain a human face—with human ideas and emotions. These artistic templates, and the ideas they articulated, were refined and reinvented through dozens of centuries, until scenes first created for the earliest kings, around 3000 BCE, were eventually used to represent Roman emperors and the last officials of pre-Christian Egypt. Bill Manley’s account of the art of ancient Egypt draws on the finest works through more than 3,000 years and places celebrated masterpieces, from the Narmer palette to Tutankhamun’s gold mask, in their original contexts in the tombs, temples, and palaces of the pharaohs and their citizens.

Selected photographs arranged as rational history.