Guide to Ancient Egyptian Art

Reviewed by Rosina Catalan, Adjunct Professor, Butler University on 3/14/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This guide is a serves as a good reference or introduction for Ancient Egyptian Art - it covers all of the most well-known works of art. Most of the main time periods (Pre-Dynastic/Old Kingdom and New Kingdom) are represented with one or two works of art from each main time period. However, only a few dynasties are represented overall. This guide could be more comprehensive by using more examples of art from a variety of time periods. The introduction is superb. This book could use a closing chapter with a mention of Late Period Egyptian Art to make the guide more comprehensive.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The guide is accurate. The prose is unbiased in its presentation and form. The authors do a good job of introducing concepts and explaining them for a reader that is not familiar with Ancient Egyptian motifs.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is reliable and relevant. If any updates were necessary they would be easy to implement.

Clarity rating: 5

This guide is very clear. The text is written in an accessible prose - friendly and still academic.

Consistency rating: 5

The terms used to reference the art remain consistent throughout the guide. The framework alternates between standard academic prose and transcripts of conversations between the authors. At first this could be distracting but in the end it creates a variety of text that is interesting.

Modularity rating: 4

This book relies on several transcripts of conversations between the authors while looking at art in museums. For some this format is helpful and for others it can be distracting. Instructors should be aware and guide students accordingly.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is well-organized and easy to follow. The chapters are set up by time period (Introduction, Pre-Dynastic/Old Kingdom, etc.) and are easy to access.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is straightforward and easy to navigate within a pdf format.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The guide is free from grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The authors do a good job of acknowledging the longevity and consistency of imagery in Ancient Egyptian Art. Several examples of art are housed in collections outside of Egypt - in countries which could remind the reader of the colonial contexts of some archaeology. The text could use more examples of art housed in Egyptian museums.

Comments

This guide is a great introduction to Ancient Egyptian Art. It is well-used in the context of other art (a course in Mediterranean Art for example).

Reviewed by Leah McCurdy, Senior Lecturer, University of Texas at Arlington on 10/5/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The introductory material is nicely presented and informative but the artworks included are sparse, focusing primarily on only two (4th and 18th) of the 33 dynasties recognized in Egyptian history. This perpetuates the popular version of Egyptian art history that it is either pyramids or King Tut (and his relatives). This text falls short in offering a picture of the diversity and variation in Egyptian (and surrounding) art history. It would be better called a "brief guide."

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I see no issues with the accuracy of the information, except that the overall presentation is overly generally and thus lacking specifics that bolster accuracy.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The information is up-to-date and can be updated easily. The format of individual chapters primary focused on single objects also allows for more objects to be added easily in the future.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is approachable and appropriate for an undergraduate audience.

Consistency rating: 5

The introductory information offers a good starting point for terminology, chronological frameworks, and key research themes.

Modularity rating: 5

The object-based chapter approach allow for this.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

What is presented is logical but (as noted in a previous comment) the objects chosen are sparse and not fully representative of Egyptian art history.

Interface rating: 5

I found no such issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar was appropriate.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

I did not encounter any feeling of prejudice or bias in the text. Given that the subject matter is focused on one culture in history, it makes sense that the point of view is primarily limited to their belief and cultural systems. There is some mention of other parallel and geographically related traditions. However, it is important that texts focused on Egyptian art do not perpetuate the falsehood that Egyptian culture was "white" (and continually linked with western traditions because it became influential on Greek and Roman traditions). There is not a recognition here of the participation and contribution of black African populations, such as Nubians and those of the Sudan region of the Nile. The chapter on Queen Tiye does not mention that many scholars believe she was black. There is no mention of the Kingdom of Kush, the Nubian takeovers, or the potential for "Black Pharaohs" in Egyptian history. This is a big shortcoming of this text.

Comments

It is important that options like this are provided for students to reduce costs of higher education. I am happy to see that Smart History is offering flexibility for their content. With this product, students can download a pdf and not have to rely entirely on internet access to engage with reading material.