The Narmer Palette: The Art Of Ancient Egypt

There are many items in Egypt that were created for different purposes. These works are considered functional but this also constitutes these works as art. Egyptian art was not purely used for only an aesthetic purpose. Many of the items or objects created by the Egyptians were things used for rituals, ceremonies, were articles of clothing, for decoration, or had another specific functional value. A few various commodities are palettes, statues, and even amulets or jewelry. All of these things are art because of the time it took to create these things. These functional items were crafted by hand and by Egyptian artisans. These people constructed designs for these works and spent time to make them beautiful. Besides their alluring qualities, they actually housed a specific
The Narmer Palette is a palette made out of schist. This palette contains decorative drawings on both sides. Usually objects like this served functional for the crushing of paint and eye makeup. However this specific palette actually served functional for rituals. The Narmer Palette was from Naqada III and was found in the temple of Hierakonpolis (Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt). This palette was beautifully rendered and carved in a low raised relief, showing multiple depictions of figures and creatures. Even though this item served a purpose it was indeed art because of the multiple details expressed within the figures. Simple actions of each character on the palette can be clearly identified and there is a nice composition composed on the palette as well. There are multiple levels of elaborate designs on the palette that show how the artist planned out the space and design of the work. Many other objects and art from Egypt were statues. For example, the statue of Nenkheftha was a piece carved from limestone in the Fifth Dynasty (Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt). This statue like many others from Egypt, were meant to house the ka,