Colour in Egyptian Art
Sept 12, 2016 10:20:58 GMT -6
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Post by chimera on Sept 12, 2016 10:20:58 GMT -6
Okay, in ancient Egypt, colour was an integral part of the substance and being of everything in life.
In Egyptian art, colours were clues to the nature of the beings depicted in the work. For instance, when Amon was portrayed with blue skin it alluded to his cosmic aspect. When Osiris was portrayed with green skin it was a reference to his power over vegetation and to his own resurrection but when he was portrayed with black skin it showed his connection to the underworld….same with the God Anubis.
Red was the colour of life and of victory. During celebrations, ancient Egyptians would paint their bodies with red ochre and would wear amulets made of carnelian, a deep red stone. Red was also a symbol of anger and fire…The God Seth had red eyes and hair. However, the normal skin tone of Egyptian men was depicted as red, without any negative connotation.
White suggested omnipotence and purity. Due to its “lack” of colour white was also used to depict simple and sacred things. White sandals were worn at holy ceremonies and the material most commonly used for ritual objects such as small ceremonial bowls were white alabaster.
Even though black was a symbol of death and of the night it also symbolized resurrection, fertility and even life! The association of black with life and fertility is due to the abundance provided by the dark, black silt of the annually flooding Nile. The colour of the silt became emblematic of Egypt itself and the country was called "keh MET" (the Black Land).
Yellow alludes to being imperishable, eternal and indestructible. So anything portrayed as yellow in Egyptian art generally carried this connotation. The skin and bones of the gods were believed to be made of gold and so statues of gods were often made of, or plated with gold as were mummy masks.
The colour blue was symbolic of the sky and of water, ”the heavens” and “the floods”. It was also a symbol of the Nile and its associated crops, offerings and fertility. Amon was often shown with a blue face to symbolize his role in the creation of the world. By extension, the pharoahs were sometimes shown with blue faces as well when they became identified with Amon....even Baboons and the ibis were coloured blue to emphasize their connection to the god Thoth.
I personally love the colour associations in ancient Egyptian art...and I love how even in this day and age we still adhere to some of those associations....
In Egyptian art, colours were clues to the nature of the beings depicted in the work. For instance, when Amon was portrayed with blue skin it alluded to his cosmic aspect. When Osiris was portrayed with green skin it was a reference to his power over vegetation and to his own resurrection but when he was portrayed with black skin it showed his connection to the underworld….same with the God Anubis.
Red was the colour of life and of victory. During celebrations, ancient Egyptians would paint their bodies with red ochre and would wear amulets made of carnelian, a deep red stone. Red was also a symbol of anger and fire…The God Seth had red eyes and hair. However, the normal skin tone of Egyptian men was depicted as red, without any negative connotation.
White suggested omnipotence and purity. Due to its “lack” of colour white was also used to depict simple and sacred things. White sandals were worn at holy ceremonies and the material most commonly used for ritual objects such as small ceremonial bowls were white alabaster.
Even though black was a symbol of death and of the night it also symbolized resurrection, fertility and even life! The association of black with life and fertility is due to the abundance provided by the dark, black silt of the annually flooding Nile. The colour of the silt became emblematic of Egypt itself and the country was called "keh MET" (the Black Land).
Yellow alludes to being imperishable, eternal and indestructible. So anything portrayed as yellow in Egyptian art generally carried this connotation. The skin and bones of the gods were believed to be made of gold and so statues of gods were often made of, or plated with gold as were mummy masks.
The colour blue was symbolic of the sky and of water, ”the heavens” and “the floods”. It was also a symbol of the Nile and its associated crops, offerings and fertility. Amon was often shown with a blue face to symbolize his role in the creation of the world. By extension, the pharoahs were sometimes shown with blue faces as well when they became identified with Amon....even Baboons and the ibis were coloured blue to emphasize their connection to the god Thoth.
I personally love the colour associations in ancient Egyptian art...and I love how even in this day and age we still adhere to some of those associations....
