Alexander 'Greek' Thomson and Glasgow's Egyptian Halls

Doors Open Day allows access to places that are normally not open for public viewing, in this case Glasgow's Egyptian Halls, designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson. From the article at scotland.stv.tv

A Brief History of Ancient Egyptian Art

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Egyptians loved life on earth so much that they desired to take its pleasures into the after-world. They believed that the rich and powerful (at least) were able to take life's pleasures with them via placement in royal tombs, the Pyramids. Throughout the dynasties of Ancient Egypt, the role of the tomb and accompanying architecture, sculpture, and painting all worked to ensure that Egyptians would enter the afterlife prepared with all the worldly goods they needed.

Role of Art
Most Egyptian art and painting was done for the sake of the dead. At first items like jewelry, animals (cats, for example), food, and other essential tools and treasures were stockpiled within the tombs. The discovery of King Tut's cache brought the issue to prominence for those in the Western world thousands of years later, but this practice had been in effect for much of ancient Egyptian history.

For Egyptians who didn't want to stockpile actual items, yet still wanted to ensure a happy afterlife, many chose painting as a labor-saving and cost-cutting measure, replacing expensive treasures, sculpture, or stone carvings. Painting was not limited to tombs. Many wealthy Egyptians often had murals in their homes, done in richly textured, painterly styles. Yet most of the finest examples of Ancient Egyptian art that remains are remnants from tombs.

Examples of Ancient Art
One of the most important tomb paintings is "Geese of Medum" (2530 BC), which showcases three majestic birds from the tomb of Nefermaat, son of Sneferu, the first pharaoh of the 4th dynasty. It is only a frieze detail, but it already hints at the vitality and power of Ancient Egyptian art.

"Lamenting Women" (1370 BC) on the tomb of Ramose (a minister who lived under 2 pharaohs of the 18th dynasty) depicts the scene of a funderal procession. Although the women in the painting appear flat, their expressions of anguish fairly vibrate with emotion.

"Fowling Scene" (1400 BC) from a nobleman's tomb in Thebes is a good example of fresco secco, a technique that applies tempera paint to dry plaster, and echoes once again the importance of nature.

Importance of Art
For Ancient Egyptians, it was the "eternal essence" that mattered, the constant, unchanging reality that they sought to convey with their art. Art was not meant to reflect the changing nature of the external world. Even though the artists of Ancient Egypt were keen observers of nature, their art and its subjects were created according to a rigid standardization of forms and symbols.

This is not the reflection of "Primativism," as it is clear from Egyptian art that their technical skill was advanced and their understanding of natural form was astute. Instead Egyptian art was a direct consequence of intellectual decisions that were geared toward the presentation of an ideal.

For example, in Ancient Egyptian art, every subject is shown from an angle that would make it most clearly identifiable, according to a rank-based scale (small to large) based on social hierarchy. The result is a highly patterned almost diagram-like appearance.

This overriding focus on clarity applied to all subjects. In humans, for example, the human head is always shown in profile, yet both eyes are always drawn in front. Figures are portrayed in the same manner, from small to large, based on their ranking in society. Children are merely small adults. As a result, Ancient Egyptian art appears to have a flat appearance without a hint of perspective, but this was a conscious artistic choice.

Rules of Representation
Full-length Egyptian figures in Ancient Egyptian art are organized by the "rule of proportion," a strict geometric grid system that ensured accurate repetition of the artistic ideal. This was a foolproof system that regulated the exact distances between parts of the body (divided into 18 equal units) and placed in relation to points on a grid.

Before beginning to draw a figure, the Ancient Egyptian artist would create a grid. This can be seen in the Egyptian painting "Pharaoh Tuthmose III" (1450 BC), where the grid still remains.

Breaking with Tradition
Not only did Egyptians paint tombs, they also painted sculpture, and one outstanding example is "Head of Nefertitti" (1360 BC), which was a portrait of the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. This example of Ancient Egyptian art is very unusual, however, because it shows a loosening of the rigid conventions that prevailed for centuries. It shows a wistfulness, a grace and originality rarely seen.

This break with traditional Ancient Egyptian art did not last. Naturalism and subtleness had no role in Ancient Egyptian art, and realism was not important. Instead, this mysterious time in history would remain fixated on creating an art that strived for the ideal.

Christine Zibas is a veteran of the think tank world, having worked in both Washington, DC, and London. She is a former travel writer, specializing in educational travel. Her last job before becoming a freelance writer was as director of publications for a nonprofit organization, based in Chicago, Illinois.

Egyptian Revival Architecture

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Egyptian Revival is an architectural style which makes use of the motifs and imagery of Ancient Egypt. The ancient Greek architecture used the pyramid shape and required huge rocks in order to build the building. If you will look at the pyramid which is among the Seven Wonders of the World then you will find out that the Egyptians were really rich and they used to build the buildings which looked like being a huge luxurious place for living.

Egyptian Architecture before Napoleon

One of the most important examples which your will find related to the Egyptian revival architecture is probably Bernini's obelisk in the Piazza Bavona at Rome. Others may be found at Belan, County Kildare and Dangan, County Meath. The Casteltown Folly in County Kildare is among the best known master piece related to the Egyptian revival architecture.

You can say that the Egyptian buildings have been used for different purposes Egyptian buildings had also appeared as garden follies. The most complicated was perhaps the one built by the Duke of Württemberg in the estate of the Château de Montbéliard. In this you will find an Egyptian bridge across which guests walked to reach an island with an Egyptian swing and an elaborate Egyptian "bath house". The building featured a billiards room and a "bagnio". It was premeditated by the duke's court architect, Jean Baptiste Kleber.

Some of the important buildings which were built with the help of the Egyptian revival architecture are as follows:

1.1820 pyramid, memorial to Elizabeth, Lady Rufane on Donkin Hill at Old Portuguese Algoa Bay in what is now South Africa.

2.The 1833 First Presbyterian Church (Sag Harbor) by Minard Lafever, a rare example of an Egyptian revival church.

3.The 1835 Philadelphia County Prison (demolished in 1968), design by architect Thomas U Walter.

4.The Tombs and 1838 prison and court complex in New York City.

5.The 1845 Hobart Synagogue, Tasmania, Australia.

6.The 1840 railroad station in New Bedford, Massachusetts was done in Egyptian Revival style.

7.1840 gates of the Granary Burying Ground in Boston by Isaiah Rogers.

8.College of Cape Town, South Africa, now the University of Cape Town.

9.The 1843 gates and gatehouses of Mount Auburn Cemetery by Jacob Bigelow.

10.The 1845 massive brownstone entry gates of the Grove Street Cemetery at Yale by architect Henry Austin.

11.1845, the Egyptian Building of the Medical College of Virginia.

12.The 1846 First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut.

13.The 1846-8 Old Synagogue at Canterbury, England.

14.The 1848 Washington Monument is an obelisk. It originally featured doors with cavetto cornices and winged sun disks, later removed.

I really feel that these are some of the examples of the buildings which used the Egyptian revival but I would definitely say that you will find all the buildings which have been built in this style to be gorgeous.

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Ancient Egyptian Pyramidolgraphia

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Khufu (Cheops), the second king of the IVth Dynasty, was the son and successor of Sneferu by Queen Hetepheres I, daughter and heiress of King Huni (Hu), the last King of the IIIrd Dynasty. This Greek name Cheops is the one by which Khufu is popularly know today. According to the ancient records he reigned for 23 years. Concerning his character, the eminent Egyptian Egyptologist, Professor Ahmed Fakhry, states "Some of the classical authors wrote that Khufu was a great tyrant and was hated by his subjects; unfortunately, such ideas are still repeated. But ancient Egyptian history provides no such evidence at all to support these stories. Khufu's reign fostered Egyptian architecture and art. Had he really been an oppressive tyrant he could never have left the land in such a stable economic position. If the stories of the later authors had an element of truth it would have been impossible to preserve the cult of Khufu for so many centuries after his death. Monuments of Khufu date for several periods of Egyptian history down to Ptolemaic times, more than two thousand years after his death".

Pyramidographia or Pyramidography deals with the writings pertaining to the Pyramids. The earliest of these would be the plans for the construction of the Great Pyramid. These plans were delivered even before the first of all Pyramids began. They were given to Imhotep, the architect and vizier of King Zoser, the second King of the IIIrd Dynasty of Egyptian monarchs and were stated to have been "let down from Heaven", or, in present-day language "divinely inspired", which modern research has proved to be true.

The building of at least seven practice Pyramids--the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the Bent Pyramid and the Northern Stone Pyramid both at Dahsur--and the Pyramidization of the Mastaba at Meidum all took place between the delivery of the plans for the Great Pyramid and its actual erection on the Giza Plateau. These practice or experimental Pyramids, in preparation for the building of the Great Pyramid, were the first Pyramids ever to be built. The Step Pyramid at Saqqara is thus the oldest large stone building existing in the World today--the World's oldest "skyscraper" still standing. The Great Pyramid was the 3rd geometrically true pyramid built.

No trace of the plans for the World's premier monument, the Great Pyramid, has ever been found however. The Hieroglyphic dating, with Khufu's cartouche, on the walls of the relieving compartments (sometimes called the Chambers of Construction) above the roof of the King's Chamber, identifies the time of the erection of the Great Pyramid with the reign of King Khufu (Cheops), of the IVth Dynasty of Egypt.

Michael Starkford is an independent researcher, historian, and writer who is a major contributor the ongoing work at Ken Klein Productions. http://www.kenkleinproductions.net

If you have not had a chance to view the Virtual Tour of the Great Pyramid or the "Prelude to the Pyramids" (30 min video) free at Ken Klein Productions, please visit the site today.