Influence Of Funerary Art And Architecture

Ancient Egyptian Influence of Funerary Art and Architecture Since the beginning of time civilizations have evolved in numerous ways. One of the earliest civilizations to evolve quickly in a great number of ways was the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians had some of the most advanced forms of writing, metalworking, sculptures, and architecture for its time. As time passed, the Egyptian culture grew and matured. They began to be increasingly wealthy and subsequently started to spend more time on the aesthetic portions of life. It was this progression of their culture that influenced their funerary architectures and art. There is a direct correlation between progression of Egyptian culture from the Early Dynastic Period to the Old Kingdom, and the evolution
From their funerary masks to the sarcophaguses, Egyptians have continued to amaze the modern world with their artworks. The last line of defense in funerary architectures is often the sarcophagus, commonly made out of stone. These stone coffins were stacked in each other repeatedly until the last coffin where the body would be placed (Sirry). Sometimes the last coffin would have metal designs, or it could be decorated using paint and inlaid stones in a mosaic pattern (Sirry). Gold working during Ancient Egypt developed and became increasingly pure (Troalen, Tate, and Frilomena).The gold mask of Tutankhamun is not only a functional funerary headdress, but also is a beautiful piece of art (SEE FIG. 4). Tutankhamun’s mask is the evolutionary peak of Ancient Egyptian funerary artwork, and without the advancement of Egyptian culture, never would have been as grand. At this time, Egyptian culture had grown to the point where they were no longer concerned about the necessities of life, and could concentrate on the extravagances of life, art. Without the stability of their economy, there would never have been such elaborate