EGYPTIAN ART: THE CASE OF THE MISSING MUMMY

(Click on photo to go to Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Lori Langsner, Art Teacher

 AIM  

1. We will explore the art of Ancient Egypt.

2. We will each creatively design an Egyptian Mummy Case.

GRADE LEVEL  All grades

ESTIMATED TIME  One month (class meets 4 times per week for 40 minutes)

SETTING  Art Classroom

INTERDISCIPLINARY AREAS  Social Studies, Language Arts

DO NOW (Thought Questions) 

1. Why do you think the afterlife was so important to the Egyptians?

2. What do you think people did to prepare the dead for the afterlife?

3. Who was King Tut? What treasures were found with the discovery of his tomb?

4. Why is the Sphinx one of the most famous examples of ancient sculpture?

5. What do hieroglyphics tell us about the Ancient Egyptians?

Understanding Art Textbook - Gene Mittler, Ph.D., Rosalind Ragans, Ph.D.- Glencoe Division of Macmillan/McGraw - Hill Publishing Co,  1992

Silently read p. 54 - 57 “The Art of Ancient Egypt”. Copy and answer questions 1-5 on p. 57 - Check Your Understanding.

1. When did ancient Egypt come into being?  How long did the civilization survive?

2. Who were the pharaohs?  What part did they play in the art of ancient Egypt?

3. Name two achievements in ancient Egyptian architecture.

 4. What is a stele?

5. How did Egyptian artists show the human figure in their work?  What was their reason for doing this?

TEACHER'S NOTES
Elaborate paintings were created for tombs, to make the after-life as pleasant for the deceased as real life.  The paintings, tomb furniture, and sculpture provided food, entertainment, and worldly goods.  Often the life of the person was recorded, including battles and religious offerings.  The deceased was shown making a boat journey through the underworld, or sometimes depicted with their protective gods introducing them to the netherworld gods.  Mummy cases were richly decorated, often with the same stories and details seen in the wall paintings.

HOMEWORK

1. Using the computer as a resource tool,  gather reference material and photographs to help decorate your mummy case. 

2. Make a list of the web sites you have discovered.

3. Sketch ideas from the material you have gathered.

VOCABULARY

1. mummy - a dead person preserved in lifelike condition

2. afterlife - the next life, in which the dead are believed to live again

3. artisan - a worker who has a special artistic skill

4. pyramid - triangular buildings built as royal tombs (place of burial)

5. hieroglyphics -picture symbols representing words or ideas

6. papier-mache - an art medium of torn newspaper and paste for sculpting

7. lapis-lazuli - a rich blue gemstone found in Ancient Egyptian artworks

8. earth tones - rich color pigments derived from the natural earth

9. pharaoh - the title given to kings of Ancient Egypt

10. sarcophagus - mummy coffin

MATERIALS 

sketchpads, pencils, papier-mache materials newspaper, cardboard, masking tape, wallpaper paste, plaster craft, metallic tempera paints, brushes, water containers, sequins, glitter, rhinestones

MOTIVATION

Student -size mummy coffin, Student Egyptian Art Gallery in school lobby, visit to the Egyptian Galleries at the Brooklyn Museum (www.brooklynart.org ), Metropolitan Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org), and Egyptian Museum in Cairo (www.powerup.com.au/~ancient/museum.htm), via the Internet.

PROCEDURE 

1. To become acquainted with Egyptian Art, students will use computer technology to view the renown Egyptian collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Met, and Cairo Museum.

 2. These collections will be discussed in class.  Elicit from students  What do these galleries have in common?  Why do you think artisans were inspired to create these art works?  Why are we so fascinated by the discoveries of Egyptian art?

 3. Employing, analyzing, and communicating their newly found information, students will sketch ideas for their mummy case.

 4. Papier-mache technique will be demonstrated in class and students will work in groups to create their mummy case.

 5. Once dry, and lightly sanded, students will draw their mummy face and mask, as well as adornments  throughout the body.

6. Using metallic tempera paint, students will creatively design their mummy case.

7. Completed mummy cases will be displayed in classroom art gallery, following  evaluation and critique.

EVALUATION

1. How did we learn about  the art of Ancient Egypt?

2. What types of artwork are the Egyptians famous for?

3. Describe how you would prepare for the afterlife. What possessions would you want to take with you? Why?

4. How are our Egyptian mummy cases similar to those of the Ancient Egyptians?

 5. Which mummy case do you like best?  Why?

STANDARDS: 

Cultural Diversity and Contribution -

Cooperative Learning - group work

ADDITIONAL LINKS  

wwar.com/brooklyn_museum/index.html  - Brooklyn Museum

www.memphis.edu/egypt/artifact.html  - artifacts

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES: 

1. Take a class trip to the Brooklyn Museum or Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Sketch from observation

2. Create a mummy to put inside your coffin. 

3. Create a school gallery exhibiting artwork from ancient cultures.     

 ATTACHMENT:

Students at work on their mummy coffins