Paperweight "Scarab", cast

Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom (3000 - 2160 B.C.)
Already in the early period, around 3000 B.C., Egyptian art found its distinctive style. Rules for representation were established, lasting 3,000 years. Writing and imagery were a single unit. The beginning of the Old Kingdom, around 2600 B.C., is marked by the emergence of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, the first royal tomb in the shape of a pyramid, a sculpture entirely made of stone measuring 545 x 280 meters. At that time, reliefs and paintings served almost exclusively to the people in the afterlife.

Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom (2155 - 1650 B.C.)
New art form, building on the art rich in highlights from the Old Kingdom, emerged after the reunification of the land under King Mentuhotep I around 2040 B.C. The art of this period reached its peak with the royal portraits of the late 12th, including Dynasty Kings Sesostris II and Amenemhet III. During the 13th Dynasty and the subsequent domination by Asian invaders (Hyksos Period), monumental art declined. Small sculptures such as hippos and glazed animal figures made of fired clay embodied the hope for regeneration in the afterlife. Scarabs, often adorned with the deceased's name, were preferred grave goods to secure their continuation after death.

New Kingdom (1550 - 1070 B.C.)
After the expulsion of “Hyksos“, a renewal of the spiritual life and visual arts occurred. The Temple of Amun in Karnak and the impressive Avenue of the Sphinxes were built. The terraced temple of Hatshepsut initiated a series of royal mortuary temples on the west bank of the Nile near Thebes. At the beginning of the Amarna Period and the reign of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), colossal statues were replaced by more „human-scale“ measures. The king was no longer depicted in his exalted divinity but within the circle of his family under the symbol of sun rays. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and the treasures it contained, provided profound insight into the art, culture, and daily life of an 18th Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh.

Under the successor kings Seti I and Ramses II, Egypt experienced building operations with the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak, The Abu Simbel rock temple and others, which did not allow any further increase. In the field of sculpture, stones were replaced by metals. The large bronze sculptures of the 22nd Dynasty eventually led to the proliferation of god and animal bronzes in the Late Period.

Late Period (712 - 332 B.C.)
In the Late Period of ancient Egyptian history, the tendency to imitate older works of art increased to such an extent that distinguishing between an original, e.g., from the Middle Kingdom, and a later "repetition" remains challenging today. The return to origins was also sought in the multispace tombs that emerged during the 26th Dynasty in Thebes. Here, all major religious scriptures of the past have been passed down to posterity.

Graeco-Roman Period (332 B.C. - 395 A.D.)
When in 332 B.C. Alexander the Great succeeded to expel the Persians from Egypt, he was celebrated as a liberator and was crowned as pharaoh in Memphis. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C., the empire disintegrated due to ongoing succession disputes, until finally Alexander's general Ptolemy secured his dominion over Egypt in 305 B. C., establishing a dynasty that lasted 300 years.

After the assassination of Ptolemy XIII in 48-47 B.C., his sister Cleopatra VII assumed sole power. The Roman general Julius Caesar  unsuccessfully attempted to mediate between Cleopatra and her brother, eventually found himself compelled to burn the Egyptian fleet anchored near Alexandria. Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar's son and tried to secure his claim to the throne. After Caesar's death, she aligned with Mark Antony, whose victories brought Egypt dominion over the Middle East for the last time. The conflict with Octavian, later Emperor Augustus, ended in defeat for Mark Antony in 31 A.D. He returned to Cleopatra, and they both committed suicide. Egypt thus became a province of Rome.

> Objects of Egyptian art