Egyptian Artifact

Characteristics of Egyptian Art

What we now consider Ancient Egyptian art was originally designed for religious purposes rather than aesthetic ones. People and objects were depicted as idealized symbols rather than as they really were. The driving force behind the creation of the statues, masks, and monuments of Ancient Egypt was to ensure continuity of the order of the universe, and to do so, the artists blended reality with a romanticized vision of perfection.

Types of Egyptian Artifacts

The Golden Death Mask of King Tutankhamen is among the most widely recognized Egyptian artifact examples. Such images of the dead were believed to ensure the survival of the deceased into the next world while maintaining a point of contact with the living. Other recognizable symbols of Ancient Egyptian culture include the Sphinx, the Pyramids, and mummies. There are, however, many different types of Egyptian artifacts.

Glass beads and ornaments made from a variety of organic materials were produced and used by the Ancient Egyptians. These baubles can be very valuable, and are treasured by Egyptian art collectors. Those who collect such items may be interested in Ancient Beads and Artifacts, an online retailer specializing in collectibles from the Ancient Egyptian period.

Other collectible trinkets from this period include coins, pottery, glassware, and metal work. The Ancient Egyptians frequently used gold, silver, and bronze to produce statues, temple decorations, funerary pieces, and jewelry. The lost wax casting process was often used to create metalwork. Many of the metal pieces were inlaid with precious stones.

Stone statues carved from materials such as basalt, calcite, granite, graywackle, limestone, and sandstone are among the most valuable and sought after Egyptian artifacts. Less frequently, some statues were also carved from wood. Ancient Egyptians believed that such statues made in the images of their gods were a means for the gods to manifest themselves in the world.

Ancient Egyptian Artifact Museum Exhibits

There is widespread interest in Ancient Egyptian culture, and many of the most famous and highly regarded works of art from this time are on display in museum collections worldwide.

• The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh has an enormous collection of Egyptian art. The museum’s holdings include approximately 2,500 pieces, several hundred of which are displayed in the facility’s Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt.

• The Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California has been open for more than 75 years and is home to more than 2,000 Egyptian artifacts. This museum periodically stages traveling exhibits. Parts of the its collection have been displayed in numerous locations, including Rome, London, Chicago, and various additional locations throughout the United States and Canada

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is home to a permanent collection of Egyptian antiquities, covering the period from 3200 BC through 15 BC.

• The University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology holds a collection of more than 1,100 artifacts, approximately 150 of which are on display in the school’s on-campus art museum.

Additional Exhibits

• Detroit Institute of Arts
• George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum’s Ancient Treasures Gallery in Springfield, MA
• The Kelsy Museum’s Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Gallery at the University of Michigan
• The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo

Museum Quality Replicas

As artifacts from Ancient Egyptian times are discovered, the most significant pieces are generally added to museum collections. It can be difficult for antiquarians to find or afford significant Egyptian collectibles for their personal collections. However, it is possible to obtain very fine, museum-quality replicas.

Time Machine Products, for example, carries a comprehensive line of museum quality reproductions. Time Machine Products prides itself on providing collectors with high-quality, handmade, and highly detailed reproductions of the most valuable and treasured pieces represented in museum collections around the world. Online Relics is another resource for high quality Egyptian replicas, and carries a wide variety of items imported from Egypt.

Egyptian Art Auction

Auctions are an excellent resource for those who wish to collect high quality Ancient Egyptian artifacts. Dr. W. Benson Harer, a collector of Egyptian art for more than 50 years, amassed one of most impressive private collections of Egyptian art. A number of pieces from the Harer Family Trust collection were sold in a 2005 Christie’s auction, where a 37 inch black granite statue of Queen Nefertari, dating to the dynasty of Ramses II, sold for more than $2.25 million.

Additional Items from the Harer Family Trust Auction

• Black basalt block statue of Wahibre, priest of Amen during the Ptolemaic Period ($240,000)
• Lot of 37 Egyptian glass amuletic inlays from the Late Period ($66,000)
• Green greywacke torso of Osiris from the Late Period ($54,000)
• Bronze statue of Osiris from the Late Period ($42,000)
• Wooden fertility figure from the Middle Kingdom ($42,000)
• Many other significant pieces

Appreciating Ancient Egyptian Collectibles

Whether you are a collector, or you simply enjoy viewing museum exhibits from this period, it is easy to see why people of today are so fascinated with this period in history. The Ancient Egyptians were a people ahead of their times, and the lessons we can learn from developing a deeper understanding of their culture can help us grow as individuals and as a society.