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CHAPTER V.

ARCHITECTURE, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, ETC.

Architecture. The history of the earliest form of Egyptian architecture cannot be written because, with the exception of the ruined tombs of the Archaïc Period, all the remains of the earliest temples have been destroyed or have perished. The oldest form of the house was, no doubt, a hut built of reeds, the roof of which was supported by a pole, i.e., a tree trunk, or poles; its shape was round or oblong. The cold winds of winter prompted the Egyptian to make the walls of his abode of Nile mud; this he mixed with water until it acquired the consistence of stiff paste, and then piled it up with his hands until the walls were as thick and high as he wanted them to be. All the walls inclined inwards, and so each helped to support the other; the roof was made of a layer of mud which rested on a number of pieces of palm trunks or small trees. The door probably faced the south, and an aperture, which served as a window, was cut high up in the north wall. (See the model of an early house, No. 174, NorthWest Staircase Landing.) Before the house was a small yard enclosed by thick walls made of mud, which inclined inwards, and a flight of solid mud steps led up to the roof. (See the models of early houses in Wall-cases Nos. 105-108 in the Third Egyptian Room.) Walls made of mud in this way are unsatisfactory, for they sag or bulge, and soon fall down. The invention of the brick marked a great improvement in the stability of buildings; and its use in the construction of houses, granaries, government buildings, forts, etc., became universal. A theory has been recently put forward that brickmaking was introduced into Egypt from Mesopotamia, but there is no reason why, in a land where all the soil is mud, which when well sun-dried becomes exceedingly hard, the idea of making bricks should not have been indigenous. Few things in the East last as long as a well-made brick, especially if it has been carefully baked; and buildings, even when made of crude bricks, last for several hundreds of years, unless they are destroyed by the hand of man. The invention of the brick permitted the Egyptians to build the elliptical arch,

which is frequently found in brick-built buildings; the knowledge of the arch is of ancient standing in Egypt. The early mud or brick house of the man of means was provided with a portico (the modern rakubah), which was supported on palm trunks; this portico suggested the colonnade of later days, and the palm trunks the stone pillars with palm-leaf capitals.

The "house of the god," or temple, was at first built of mud, but what such a building was like is not known. Under the Ancient Empire the Egyptians built their temples of stone, and the oldest known example is that called the "Temple of the Sphinx" at Gîzah. It is built on a simple plan, and con

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sists practically of a large hall, in the form T, containing 16 pillars, each about 16 feet high; the materials used were granite and limestone. It had neither formal door, nor windows, and such light as entered must have made its way in through oblique slits in the roof. It has no inscriptions, or bas-reliefs, or paintings, and even in its present state its massiveness, dignity, and solidity greatly impress the beholder.

Of the temples of the XIIth dynasty nothing is known, but of the New Empire several temples exist, and their general characteristics may be thus summarized. A broad path brought the worshipper to the gateway in the wall which

enclosed the temple precincts; on each side of the path was a row of sphinxes, or rams, which symbolized the guardian spirits of the place. Passing through the gateway he soon reached the main pylon, which consisted of a massive doorway and two towers. During festivals long painted poles, flying coloured streamers, were attached to the face of the pylon at regular intervals. On each side of the gateway was a colossal statue of the king, and statues of the king were

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Gateway in the Temple of Rameses III, at
Madinat Habû, in Western Thebes.
About B.C. 1200.

often arranged at intervals along the front of the pylon. Before the pylon stood a pair of obelisks, and sometimes a pair of sphinxes, or sacred animals. The original signification of the obelisks is unknown; it is probable that they were connected with a solar, or even phallic cult, but as the texts afford no explanation of their meaning it is useless to theorize. Beyond the great pylon was an open court, with a colonnade,

which was used as a sort of bazaar where holy objects, amulets, and things for offerings could be bought by the public. Here, too, the sick were laid that alms might be given to them, and here beggars of all kinds congregated, as they do in a modern mosque. Passing through a second pylon, the hypostyle hall, or hall of columns, was entered, and here the priests made their processions, and received the offerings of the faithful. Beyond the hall, or halls of columns, the laity were not per

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mitted to penetrate. The other chambers of the temple formed the sanctuary of the god, and contained his shrine. The little rooms round about the shrine contained the temple library, and the dresses, jewellery, and other sacred properties of the god, or gods, worshipped in the temple. At the extreme end of the temple was the shrine of the god, which was entered by no one except the king and the priests; in it were kept a sacred boat, or ark, and a figure, or symbol, of the god, or animal sacred to him.

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