Egypt
Cyril Aldred
Charles Scribner's Sons
New York
1972
ISBN 0-684-15795-0
Looking for the next volume from my collection to read I found three books I have not reviewed by the late Cyril Aldred and realized it was Christmas 2012 that I last reviewed the great mans work in his 'Jewels of the Pharaohs'.
You have to love a brief introduction and chronology with events of interest which occurred during Egypt's many dynasties including the Ptolemaic Dynasty who's pharaohs were responsible for the great temples at Dendera, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Esna, and Philae. The author begins with the Egyptian people and their lives in chapters that are short and filled with black and white pictures which often dominate the texts on many of the pages.
It amazes me how much information is crammed into the tomb paintings of the Egyptian nobles which by the Eighteenth Dynasty reveals the various trades and even how those trades were carried out. Inevitably the tomb paintings would always show the bountiful life with tomb owners sitting in front of tables overflowing with the produce of the land which made Egypt into a food exporter to her neighbors in hard times. The Kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty brought to the nobility of generations the sweet life.
In the pyramidion of the fallen obelisk from Karnak created by Hatschepsut it can be clearly seen that Amun has been attacked with a chisel and then re-carved at a later date. The same can be said for Amun's name on the obelisk leaving Hatschepsut and her throne name Maat-Ka-Ra untouched. A series of coloured images pass by including the launching of the night barque in the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of Kings. A statue of Amun bares the face of Tutankhamun representing likely the restorations carried out of Amun's statues and reliefs after the heresy created by the boy kings predecessor.
In the next chapter we find here the King is depicted as an inspirational warrior hero and protector to his people. The great King Amenophis II is shown on a granite stela found at Karnak riding his chariot while shooting his arrows through a copper ingot. The reader is presented with the tombs of the Kings beginning with the Eighteenth Dynasty King Thutmosis I who created his tomb likely in the Valley of Kings. The reader is also presented the three best surviving mortuary temples of the New Kingdom rulers a mile away along the Nile.
The peoples looked to the King to bring Maat to their world but without the effective governance of the Kings affairs by his officials harmony could easily be lost. Mr. Aldred puts forward a number of line drawings from the various officials tombs with my favorite being King Amenophis II on the lap of his wet nurse Amen-em-ipet. The Egyptian scribe was the fabric that held the monarchy and its bureaucracies together for thousands of years in records trivial and important.
Being a scribe there was plenty of room for advancement as was true of the military where a successful career could take a soldier to the top as in the case of Haremhab the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The army was made up of soldiers of many nationalities as in the case of King Akhenaten who's bodyguard contained Asiatic, Lybian and Nubian soldiers. Again I am impressed by the tomb representations of various trade workshops with just about every step represented in a small vignette.
Here the artist raises a pot from a piece of metal or fashions leather sandals, guilds a statue or creates a box through generations of artisans in reserved jobs past from father to son. These artworks for the most part exist as anonymous creations by an unrecognized craftsman with few pieces able to attribute to a specific artist. The technologies such as working and transporting stone and the creation of papyrus paper still present fantastic achievements to us today. The hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts could be written on papyrus to form libraries and archives of governorship of the resources including taxation and distribution.
The late Mr. Aldred ends his book with death and a goodly burial which often ignored the historical lessons that some day you may see someone wearing your dead mothers jewelry. I have to say that I figured it would be a fine read designed for the younger reader and to my delight it was rather lite on King Tutankhamun's treasure. The books concentration was less about Tutankhamun than the times he lived and the laws which governed Tutankhamun's Egypt .
'Well tended are men, the cattle of god. He created heaven and earth according to their desire. He made the breath of life for their nostrils. They are his images that have come forth from his body.'
Note:
Jewels of the Pharaohs
Quote pg. 82
- Six Books For Every Egyptian Collection
On this beautiful day here in Vancouver, I am reminded that winter has arrived, and that I have not put together in a while a collection of must have reads suitable as gifts for loved ones. These books included for the first time three exhibition catalogs...
- Egypt Under The Pharaohs
Barbara Sewell G. P. Putnam's Sons New York 1968 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-25454 The book opens with the usual rundown of the environment along the Nile, and the divisions into which ancient Egyptian history is partitioned. This...
- All Color Book Of Egyptian Mythology
Richard Patrick Octopus Books London !972 ISBN: 7064 0128 x It is not often that one finds a forty year old book meant for those younger readers in as nice a shape as I have found this copy even though yes it also happens to not be my favorite subject...
- Pharaoh's People
T. G. H. James Oxford University Press Great Britain 1985 ISBN 0-19-281883-X The late great T. G. H. James was, among other things, a Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities for the British Museum for many years. Mr. James opens his book with a break down of...
- Ten Books +1 For Summer Or Winter Days
As usual I find myself in the middle of a hot summer with little energy to do much except read and would suggest these eleven books are likely to not only pass time but to inspire the thoughts of the reader back into days of drifting sand and elegance...
Egypt
Tutankhamun's Egypt
Charles Scribner's Sons
New York
1972
ISBN 0-684-15795-0
Looking for the next volume from my collection to read I found three books I have not reviewed by the late Cyril Aldred and realized it was Christmas 2012 that I last reviewed the great mans work in his 'Jewels of the Pharaohs'.
You have to love a brief introduction and chronology with events of interest which occurred during Egypt's many dynasties including the Ptolemaic Dynasty who's pharaohs were responsible for the great temples at Dendera, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Esna, and Philae. The author begins with the Egyptian people and their lives in chapters that are short and filled with black and white pictures which often dominate the texts on many of the pages.
It amazes me how much information is crammed into the tomb paintings of the Egyptian nobles which by the Eighteenth Dynasty reveals the various trades and even how those trades were carried out. Inevitably the tomb paintings would always show the bountiful life with tomb owners sitting in front of tables overflowing with the produce of the land which made Egypt into a food exporter to her neighbors in hard times. The Kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty brought to the nobility of generations the sweet life.
In the pyramidion of the fallen obelisk from Karnak created by Hatschepsut it can be clearly seen that Amun has been attacked with a chisel and then re-carved at a later date. The same can be said for Amun's name on the obelisk leaving Hatschepsut and her throne name Maat-Ka-Ra untouched. A series of coloured images pass by including the launching of the night barque in the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of Kings. A statue of Amun bares the face of Tutankhamun representing likely the restorations carried out of Amun's statues and reliefs after the heresy created by the boy kings predecessor.
In the next chapter we find here the King is depicted as an inspirational warrior hero and protector to his people. The great King Amenophis II is shown on a granite stela found at Karnak riding his chariot while shooting his arrows through a copper ingot. The reader is presented with the tombs of the Kings beginning with the Eighteenth Dynasty King Thutmosis I who created his tomb likely in the Valley of Kings. The reader is also presented the three best surviving mortuary temples of the New Kingdom rulers a mile away along the Nile.
The peoples looked to the King to bring Maat to their world but without the effective governance of the Kings affairs by his officials harmony could easily be lost. Mr. Aldred puts forward a number of line drawings from the various officials tombs with my favorite being King Amenophis II on the lap of his wet nurse Amen-em-ipet. The Egyptian scribe was the fabric that held the monarchy and its bureaucracies together for thousands of years in records trivial and important.
Being a scribe there was plenty of room for advancement as was true of the military where a successful career could take a soldier to the top as in the case of Haremhab the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The army was made up of soldiers of many nationalities as in the case of King Akhenaten who's bodyguard contained Asiatic, Lybian and Nubian soldiers. Again I am impressed by the tomb representations of various trade workshops with just about every step represented in a small vignette.
Here the artist raises a pot from a piece of metal or fashions leather sandals, guilds a statue or creates a box through generations of artisans in reserved jobs past from father to son. These artworks for the most part exist as anonymous creations by an unrecognized craftsman with few pieces able to attribute to a specific artist. The technologies such as working and transporting stone and the creation of papyrus paper still present fantastic achievements to us today. The hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts could be written on papyrus to form libraries and archives of governorship of the resources including taxation and distribution.
The late Mr. Aldred ends his book with death and a goodly burial which often ignored the historical lessons that some day you may see someone wearing your dead mothers jewelry. I have to say that I figured it would be a fine read designed for the younger reader and to my delight it was rather lite on King Tutankhamun's treasure. The books concentration was less about Tutankhamun than the times he lived and the laws which governed Tutankhamun's Egypt .
'Well tended are men, the cattle of god. He created heaven and earth according to their desire. He made the breath of life for their nostrils. They are his images that have come forth from his body.'
Note:
Jewels of the Pharaohs
Quote pg. 82
- Six Books For Every Egyptian Collection
On this beautiful day here in Vancouver, I am reminded that winter has arrived, and that I have not put together in a while a collection of must have reads suitable as gifts for loved ones. These books included for the first time three exhibition catalogs...
- Egypt Under The Pharaohs
Barbara Sewell G. P. Putnam's Sons New York 1968 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-25454 The book opens with the usual rundown of the environment along the Nile, and the divisions into which ancient Egyptian history is partitioned. This...
- All Color Book Of Egyptian Mythology
Richard Patrick Octopus Books London !972 ISBN: 7064 0128 x It is not often that one finds a forty year old book meant for those younger readers in as nice a shape as I have found this copy even though yes it also happens to not be my favorite subject...
- Pharaoh's People
T. G. H. James Oxford University Press Great Britain 1985 ISBN 0-19-281883-X The late great T. G. H. James was, among other things, a Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities for the British Museum for many years. Mr. James opens his book with a break down of...
- Ten Books +1 For Summer Or Winter Days
As usual I find myself in the middle of a hot summer with little energy to do much except read and would suggest these eleven books are likely to not only pass time but to inspire the thoughts of the reader back into days of drifting sand and elegance...