Egyptian Art History

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The woman’s body has her clothes and jewelry painted on it. There is no separation between her body and clothes, which make the curves of her body well defined.

Lines: The lines and curves of the young woman’s body are natural. She is tall and slender. She has long legs, arms and a long torso, depicting an ideal body. Her arms are placed in a very natural way. Her hips, chest and stomach are made of very ordinary horizontal curves. The young woman’s body as a whole predominantly composed of vertical lines. Her torso, right arm and leg are strong vertical lines. Her left leg is stepping forwards and is made of a vertical line on a slight angle. The woman’s left arm is bent upwards and it is composed of diagonal lines.

The woman’s dress and jewelry is comprised of horizontal and vertical patterns. Her headpiece is created using curved vertical lines. The lines the artist used to create this statue add meaning and depth to this piece. They add life and movement tot the statue. All of these lines draw attention to the natural build of the woman’s body. The natural lines that her body is composed of gives a sense on movement to the statue. Movement is also seen in the stance of the woman. It is as if she is stepping of forward, a moment has been captured. Offering bearer statues in ancient Egypt were used to represent different estates from which sustenance was brought to the deceased. Knowing the background of these statues it looks like this young lady is representing and estate that has produced sustenance and is on her way to present it to the deceased.

Light: The artist considered the effect of light while creating this work. The box that is balanced on the young woman’s head casts a shadow on her head. This shadow enhances the light that is directed at the woman’s face. The formal device of light enhances the young woman’s face making it the focal point of the piece. Her face is lit up and her expression, emotion and natural beauty are able to shine through. Her eyes are open wide and looking off into the distance yet at the same time focused. She is focused on her ‘task’ head, bringing substance to the spirits. on what she is doing. Her Additionally, a shadow is seen on the basket from the way the light hits the woman’s hand. Another shadow is obvious by where the woman is holding the duck. The shadow of the duck is found on her leg. This creates a sense of depth and movement for the woman.

Color and Texture: The wood carving of the statue is covered in gesso and paint. The woman’s face and skin that is not clothed was left with the natural color of the wood. The young woman is wearing traditional Egyptian clothes and jewelry yet they are very elaborate and detailed which indicates high status. The colors of the woman’s clothing and jewelry are yellow, green, blue and orange. These are all warm, bright, lively and beautiful colors. The duck in the woman’s right hand is painted in warm colors as well. The basket of the finest meat on top of the woman’s head is painted in darker colors. These darker color the lifelessness of the meat. The unpolished finish look of the wood shows the naturalness of this statue.

Dark colors= the harvest

Movement: The formal elements of lines, composition and light contribute to a sense of movement in this statue.

Volume: The volumetric forms that are present in the statue are square and oval. The box on the woman’s head is a box and the duck has an oval shape. These shapes have smooth edges. The statue as a whole is not assembled in shapes, it is carved out of would in a subtractive matter.

Space: This is a freestanding statue and therefore it can be looked at from 360-degree angel. From each angel it is clear what the statue is depicting. The composition of the piece can be understood from any of the angel of the viewer.

This version of an offering bearer is larger than most offering bears. The reason for this is because she embodies the products of an entire estate that is the source of offerings.

The colours and patterns, as well as the figure's large eyes and slender, subtly naturalistic form, are arresting.

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