Egyptian Antiquities

From King Tutankhamen's iconic gilded mask to the elaborate stone carvings and wall paintings of ancient structures, Egyptian antiquities and artifacts are some of the most coveted by fans of ancient history. With a history that spans several thousand years, ancient Egyptian art and decorative objects reflect the ideal integration of aesthetic and functional elements to encapsulate both cultural and artistic expression.

Ancient Egypt as it is known today began with the establishment of the Old Kingdom in the 27th century B.C., when dynastic rule brought peace and prosperity to the cultures of the Nile River Valley. This peace meant more energy could be devoted to architectural and artistic expression, and so it is from this early era that Egyptian artists established the conventions for figural representation. These rules became standard across visual imagery, from colorful wall painting to miniature ushabti figures to monumental royal portraits.

As the dynasties progressed and as art became a means of reflecting status, decorative objects became more diverse and more ornate. Greater amounts of gold and precious gemstones were incorporated into jewels and ceremonial objects, and artists also experimented within the fields of glass blowing and an early variation of faience ceramics to conjure luminous finishes. While many of Egypt's surviving artifacts are housed within the world's greatest museums, smaller Egyptian antiquities are still available on the open auction market for the avid Egyptophile.

Quick Facts

• The conventions for ancient Egyptian representation of the figure remained remarkably consistent over the thousands of years of dynastic rule. An exception is the 14th century B.C. pharaoh Akhenaten, who established a new body type as the standard
• The prominent kohl-based eyeliner seen on Egyptian figural renderings was considered a reflection of beauty. But it also served practical purposes: the kohl soot helped eliminate the glare of the sun, while the lead elements inherent in kohl helped stave off eye infections
• One of the names synonymous with ancient Egypt was the famed queen Cleopatra who ruled from 69 to 30 B.C. Though she was born in Egypt, Cleopatra was not Egyptian but rather Greek: she was a descendant of Ptolemy I, who once served under Alexander the Great