Editing Middle Kingdom of Egypt (section)

==Art==
[[File:Статуя фараона Аменемхета III.jpg|alt=|thumb|Seated Statue of Amenemhat III, around 19th century BC. [[Hermitage Museum|The State Hermitage Museum]]]]

After the reunification of Egypt in the Middle Kingdom, the kings of the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties were able to turn their focus back to art. In the Eleventh Dynasty, the kings had their monuments made in a style influenced by the Memphite models of the Fifth and early Sixth Dynasties. During this time, the pre-unification Theban relief style all but disappeared. These changes had an ideological purpose, as the Eleventh Dynasty kings were establishing a centralized state after the First Intermediate Period, and returning to the political ideals of the Old Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Art of Ancient Egypt|first=Gay|last=Robins|year=2008|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674030657|edition= Rev.|location=Cambridge, Mass.|page=90|oclc=191732570}}</ref> In the early Twelfth Dynasty, the artwork had a uniformity of style due to the influence of the royal workshops. It was at this point that the quality of artistic production for the elite members of society reached a high point that was never surpassed, although it was equaled in other periods.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=109}} Egypt prospered in the late Twelfth Dynasty, and this was reflected in the quality of the materials used for royal and private monuments.

The kings of the Twelfth Dynasty were buried in [[pyramid]] complexes based on those of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=96}} In the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]], these were made of stone bricks, but the Middle Kingdom kings chose to have theirs made of mud bricks and finished with a casing of Tura limestone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000070190|title=Pyramid {{!}} Grove Art|year=2003|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t070190|isbn=978-1-884446-05-4|access-date=2018-12-03|last1=Watson|first1=Philip J.|last2=Gendrop|first2=Paul|last3=Stillman|first3=Damie}}</ref> Private tombs, such as those found in Thebes, usually consisted of a long passage cut into rock, with a small chamber at the end. These tended to have little or no decoration.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000084413|title=Thebes (i) {{!}} Grove Art|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t084413|isbn=978-1-884446-05-4|access-date=2018-12-03}}</ref> Stone box [[Sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] with both flat and vaulted lids were manufactured in the Middle Kingdom, as a continuation of the Old Kingdom tradition. The motifs on these were more varied and of higher artistic quality than that of any sarcophagi produced before and after the Middle Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000075996|title=Sarcophagus {{!}} Grove Art|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t075996|isbn=978-1-884446-05-4|access-date=2018-12-03}}</ref> Additionally, funerary [[Stele|stelae]] developed in regard to images and iconography. They continued to show the deceased seated in front of a table of offerings, and began to include the deceased's wife and other family members.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=102}}

Towards the end of the Middle Kingdom, there was a change to the art pieces placed in non-royal tombs. The amount of [[wooden tomb model]]s decreased drastically, and they were replaced by small faience models of food. Magic wands and rods, models of protective animals, and fertility figures began to be buried with the dead.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=114}} Additionally, the number of statues and funerary stelae increased, but their quality decreased. In the late Twelfth Dynasty, coffins with interior decorations became rare, and the decorations on the outside became more elaborate. The [[Rishi coffin|''rishi''-coffin]] made its first appearance during this time. Made of wood or [[cartonnage]], the coffin was in the shape of a body wrapped in linen, wearing a beaded collar and a funerary mask.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=115}}

There were also changes to the art form of stelae in the Middle Kingdom. During this time, round-topped stelae developed out of the rectangular form of previous periods. Many examples of both of these types come from this period;<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000081249|title=Stele {{!}} Grove Art|year=2003|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t081249|isbn=978-1-884446-05-4|access-date=2018-12-03|last1=Collon|first1=Dominique|last2=Strudwick|first2=Nigel|last3=Lyttleton|first3=Margaret|last4=Wiedehage|first4=Peter|last5=Blair|first5=Sheila S.|last6=Benson|first6=Elizabeth P.}}</ref> excavation at Abydos yielded over 2000 private stelae, ranging from excellent works to crude objects, although very few belonged to the elite.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000000298|title=Abydos {{!}} Grove Art|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t000298|isbn=978-1-884446-05-4|access-date=2018-12-03}}</ref> Additionally, classic royal commemorative stelae were first found in this period. These took the form of round-topped stelae, and they were used to mark boundaries. For example, Senusret III used them to mark the boundary between Egypt and Nubia.<ref name=":1" /> Because of the prosperity of this period, the lower elite were able to commission statues and stelae for themselves, although these were of poorer artistic quality.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=110}} Those who commissioned non-royal stelae had the ultimate goal of eternal existence. This goal was communicated with the specific placement of information on the stone slabs similar to royal stelae (the owner's image, offering formula, inscriptions of names, lineage and titles).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ancient Egypt transformed: the Middle Kingdom |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |last1=Oppenheim |first1=Adela |last2=Arnold |first2=Dorothea |last3=Arnold |first3=Dieter |last4=Yamamoto |first4=Kei |year=2015|isbn=9781588395641|location=New York|pages=36|oclc=909251373}}</ref>

=== Statuary ===
[[File:Head and Torso of a Noblewoman, ca. 1844-1837 B.C.E. 59.1.jpg|upright|thumbnail|Head and Torso of a Noblewoman, around 1844–1837 BC. 59.1. [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]

In the first half of the Twelfth Dynasty, proportions of the human figure returned to the traditional Memphite style of the Fifth and early Sixth Dynasties.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|pp=106, 107}} Male figures had broad shoulders, a low small of the back, and thick muscular limbs. Females had slender figures, a higher small of the back and no musculature.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|pp=106, 107}} In this period, sketches for the production of statues and reliefs were laid out on a squared grid, a new guide system. Since this system contained a greater number of lines, it allowed more body parts to be marked. Standing figures were composed of eighteen squares from the feet to the hairline. Seated figures were made of fourteen squares between their feet and hairline, accounting for the horizontal thigh and knee.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|pp=107, 108}} The black granite seated statue of the king [[Amenemhat III]] to the right, above is a perfect example of male proportions and the squared grid system of this period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/06.+Sculpture/83612/?lng|title=Statue of Amenemhat III|website=hermitagemuseum|access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> Most royal statues, such as this one, would serve as representations of the king's power.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|pp=112, 113}}

The quality of Egyptian statuary reached its peak in the Middle Kingdom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000080560|title=Sphinx {{!}} Grove Art|year=2003|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t080560|isbn=978-1-884446-05-4|access-date=2018-12-03|last1=Boddens-Hosang|first1=F. J. E.|last2=d'Albiac|first2=Carole}}</ref> Royal statues combined both elegance and strength in a manner that was seldom seen after this period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000083009|title=Taharqa {{!}} Grove Art|year=2003|language=en|doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t083009|isbn=978-1-884446-05-4|access-date=2018-12-03|last1=Russmann|first1=Edna R.}}</ref> A popular form of statuary during this time was that of the [[sphinx]]. During this period, sphinxes appeared in pairs, and were recumbent, with human faces, and a lion's mane and ears. An example would be the diorite sphinx of [[Senusret III]].<ref name=":0" />

One of the innovations in [[sculpture]] that occurred during the Middle Kingdom was the [[Block statue (Egyptian)|block statue]], which would continue to be popular through to the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]] almost 2,000 years later.<ref name="Teeter 27">[[#Teeter1994|Teeter. (1994)]] p. 27</ref> Block statues consist of a man [[Squatting position|squatting]] with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms folded on top of his knees. Often, these men are wearing a "wide cloak" that reduces the body of the figure to a simple block-like shape.<ref>Bothmer, 94.</ref> The surface of the garment or "wide cloak" allowed space for inscriptions.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=109}} Most of the detail is reserved for the head of the individual being depicted. In some instances, the modeling of the limbs has been retained by the sculptor.<ref>Shaw, "Block Statue".</ref> There are two basic types of block statues: ones with the feet completely covered by the cloak and ones with the feet uncovered.<ref>''Late Period'', 4–5.</ref>

This statue to the right represents a woman from the top echelon of society and demonstrates characteristics of Middle Kingdom art. The heavy tripartite wig frames the broad face and passes behind the ears, thus giving the impression of forcing them forward. They are large in keeping with the ancient Egyptian ideal of beauty; the same ideal required small breasts, and also in this respect the sculpture is no exception. Whereas the natural curve of the eyebrows dips towards the root of the nose, the artificial eyebrows in low [[relief]] are absolutely straight above the inner corners of the eyes, a feature which places the bust early in the Twelfth Dynasty. Around 1900 BC these artificial eyebrows began to follow the natural curve and dip toward the nose.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bothmer|first1=Bernard|title=Brief Guide to the Department of Egyptian and Classical Art|date=1974|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|location=Brooklyn, NY|page=36}}</ref>

In the later Twelfth Dynasty, the proportions of the human figure changed. These changes survived through the Thirteenth to Seventeenth Dynasties. Male figures had smaller heads in proportion to the rest of the body, narrow shoulders and waists, a high small of the back, and no muscled limbs. Female figures had these proportions more to an extreme with narrower shoulders and waists, slender limbs, and a higher small of the back in order to keep a distinction between male and female measurements.{{sfnp|Robins|2008|p=118}}