This is a detailed description of a piece of ancient egyptian artwork.

Essay by tdesando86University, Bachelor'sA+, February 2006

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The piece of artwork that I wish to discuss is a ceremonial figure statue from ancient Egypt. This piece of artwork was created between the years 1929 and 1878 B.C.E. This particular piece of artwork happens to be in the form of a statue. It is a statue of a man, in traditional ancient Egyptian clothing, head dress and loin cloth; the man is also carrying the traditional shepherd's crook. The figure wears the red crown of Lower Egypt, and the face is thought to reflect the features of the reigning king at the time. The statue stands at a whopping 22 and 7/8 inches tall. It was discovered on an archaeological dig at the royal cemetery of Lisht in the year 1914, by Mr. Edward S. Harkness, and donated as a gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

From the information that was available with this picture, I discovered that this piece of artwork was completed at some stage of the 12th Dynasty; sometime during the reigns of Amenemhat II-Senwosret II, which would put this art creations completion date during the Middle Kingdom.

This statue carving was made out of a piece of cedar wood, and the surfaces of the crown and kilt were built up with a layer of plaster before paint was applied. Craftsmen and artisans used saws, wooden mallets, chisels and a tool called an adze for carving the wood. This tool was used by standing with a leg on each side of a board or log and while swinging the adze downwards towards the feet, chipping off a piece of wood, and walking backwards as you went, leaving a relatively smooth surface behind. However, the adze could also be used for other cutting purposes.

Even though this piece of artwork is of a smaller...