Reference no: EM133476450

Problem

Ancient Egyptian culture was predicated in large part on a very close relationship to death, and to understand much of the material culture from this era, we need to understand that Ancient Egyptians thought about death and what happened after death in a radically different way than we do today. Death was always immanent for the peoples of the Ancient Near East, as there was so much civil unrest. It was quite the opposite in Ancient Egypt, where the ruling dynasties of kings and pharaohs created a stable atmosphere where people could plan for the end of their lives and their afterlife, much the same way some people have 401Ks and retirement plans today. The Egyptian's obsession with death, dying, and the afterlife is evident in each of the works of art we've examined this week. And while today many of these objects can be found in some of the best museums around the world, most of them were never intended to be viewed by anyone at all. Instead, they were created for the dead and meant to be seen only by those who had passed on to the afterlife. Instructions In your discussion choose two specific works of art from chapter 3 that relate to the theme of death, dying, and the afterlife. How does each work relate to the funerary function and significance of Egyptian art?

Question I. In your examination, describe and compare the formal and stylistic features of each work. How does the visual presentation of the work to relate to its funerary function?

Question II. Also consider the cultural and historical context of your work. Critically analyze how these works reflect their cultural contexts - why were they made? Where would they have been seen? What function did they serve? How do these contextual components augment and relate to the artworks' funerary purposes?