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Colour and Painting in Ancient Egypt by W. V. Davies

Article · January 2002

DOI: 10.2307/40001167

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Review
Reviewed Work(s): Colour and Painting in Ancient Egypt by W. V. Davies
Review by: Melinda K. Hartwig
Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 39 (2002), pp. 265-268
Published by: American Research Center in Egypt
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40001167
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 BOOK REVIEWS 265

Colour and with additional

Painting in textual and visual data (pp. 36-37).
Ancient Egypt
Davies. London: The British Museum Press, They argue that sntr, translated as "that which makes
2001. Pp. xvi+ 192, pls. 64. divine," was applied to objects and forms to make
them effective and to contribute to the deceased's

This volume contains a collection of twenty-three

divinity in the next life. The instability of pigments
papers given at the 1996 international colloquium
or binders and the resulting change in color are the
held at the British Museum. Composed by scholars
subject of the paper by Lorna Green, who finds that,
from the scientific and Egyptological communities, through degradation, the color blue turns to black or
the broad range of expertise represented in these green,
pa- the arsenic pigments (realgar and oripiment)
pers reflects the broad character and function of degrade
color photochemically, and lead-based whites and
in ancient Egypt. The papers exhibit the very highest reds blacken with consistent contact with atmospheric
caliber of scholarship, and the volume is to bepollutants.
com-
mended for presenting a well-rounded view of color While the properties and symbolism of gold are
that includes the identification of pigments and asso- in a number of articles, particularly in terms
discussed
ciated materials, the artistic work process, andofcolor the gilding of funerary objects (Collinart, p. 1;
symbolism, perception, and articulation. Green, p. 47; Taylor), gold is not usually associated
A concise, thought-provoking forward bywith W. tomb
V. painting. That said, Eric Miller and Rich-
Davies is followed by the first group of papers,ard B. Parkinson examine a rare instance of gilding in
which
are written by scientific researchers and object thecon-
eye of a cat that appears in the painted 'Fowling
servators whose data is derived from analyzing onob-
the Marsh' scene from the tomb of Nebamun (BM,
jects in various museum collections. Sylvia Colinart EA 37977). The authors address how the image of the
addresses the properties of yellow (yellow ochre, cat iron
works in concert with the underlying symbolism
oxides, jarosite, natrojarosite, and orpiment); Ann
of the fowling scene to create a highly charged, multi-
Heywood surveys the usage of huntite white (a mag-
valent image of a domestic companion that acts as the
nesium calcium carbonate mineral), finding itsmanifestation
usage of the goddess Hathor in her erotic
begins in the Old Kingdom; and Andrew Middleton and aggressive aspects. Symbolically, the cat repre-
and Sylvia Humphrey discuss the similarity of sents colors the eroticism of eternal rebirth and triumph
on Middle Kingdom coffins from the Middle Egyptian over chaotic forces for the benefit of Nebamun in the

sites of Asyut, Beni Hasan, and El-Bersheh. Blythe next Mc-world (p. 51).
Carthy's article bridges science and reception in Fran her Weatherhead rounds out the first group of
discussion of the perception of the colors red and with her discussion of the cleaning, consolida-
papers
yellow in the Tomb of Suemniwet (TT 92). She tion, indi- and removal methods attempted on the painted
cates that color perception varies according plaster to the fragments at Amarna during the late nine-
use of different colorants (alone or in mixtures), teenththe and early twentieth century by Petrie and exca-
presence of different distributions of pigment particle vators of the Egypt Exploration Society. She indicates
size, and the application of glazes or layers of that semi-the early treatment and recording of painting at
transparent pigment above various painting grounds. Amarna was generally successful, despite the lack of
In their analysis of paint binders and varnish materials
on and methods that are available to modern
stone and wood substrates, Richard Newman and Su- conservationists today.
san Halpine find the most common binders to be ani- The next group of papers concerns color, paint-
mal glue and plant gums, and Margaret Serpico and ing, and the artistic process. Gay Robins analyzes the
R. White analyze the physical properties, origin, and differing uses of the squared grid as a technical aid
religious significance of varnish. Serpico and White in private eighteenth dynasty tombs. Robins suggests
note that black and yellow varnishes were applied to that the extensive use of grids in the early eighteenth
funerary objects, and the latter sometimes appeared dynasty may have contributed to the rendering of
on tomb walls. They determine that 'yellow' varnish 'stiffer' figures. Once the artist's adherence to the
was derived from pistacia resin that was applied as a grid was gradually abandoned in favor of freehand
clear medium that was yellowed over time. Black var- drawing from the mid-eighteenth dynasty on, the au-
nish was often composed of a number of products, thor notes that figures became more fluid and were
including blackened pistacia resin, yellow varnish, bi- rendered in more synthetic postures.
tumen, pinaceae resin or pitch, beeswax, and lipids. In the following article, Betsy Bryan examines paint-
Serpico and White convincingly equate pistacia resin ing techniques and the organization of painters in the
with the ancient Egyptian word sntr, based on the con- tomb of Suemniwet (TT 92). In her analysis, Bryan
tents and labeling of a 'Canaanite' amphorae found at combines the technical aspects of painting (numbers
Amarna, and this is an identification that they support of pigments mixed, how long the binder would last,

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 266 JARCE XXXIX (2002)

how many artisans can work are questions about the deliberate in
comfortably use of
a copybooks
room,
etc.) with a visual examination and other methods
of the of image
wall transmission
paintings, that, al-
and he divides the walls into a number of work zones. though not addressed in this article, would enrich the
Bryan works under the logical assumption thatauthor's the approach to the material.
grid was used for apprentices as a design and teaching The next few papers provide invaluable informa-
aid, while the master painter accomplished his motifs tion about wall painting outside of Thebes, beginning
freehand. Evidence of some 80 artists, working with simul- Geoffrey T. Martin's discussion of New Kingdom
taneously or at different times in the tomb, led temple-tombs
Bryan at Saqqara (pp. 101-5) and the arti-
to suggest that they were derived from a number cles of
by Renee Friedman and W. V. Davies on the pri-
different sources, based, in part, on the similarity vateof tombs at Hierakonpolis. Friedman examines the
the painting in the Front Room to painting in temple tomb of the "Overseer of Stone Masons" Djehuty and
contexts and the stylistic similarity of decoration in
the better-preserved tomb of Hormeni, both of which
the back room to painting found on funerary objects. contain relief carving and painting. The former tomb
Bryan assumes there was an insufficient workforce is particularly
to intriguing, in part because of its bio-
accommodate the manufacture of elite tombs, based graphical inscription that mentions the contentment
on a comparison with a similar situation at Amarna of the workforce who worked on his funerary chapel
(p. 70). This fact is borne out by the peak number of(Urk. TV, 132, stela lines 10-11). Friedman's citation
private tombs under construction in the Theban that Djehuty "was instructed by his god 'concerning
necropolis at the time Suemniwet built his sepulcher the enduring upland necropolis'" (pp. 107-8) is in-
in the reign of Amenhotep II (cf. Romer in B. Bryan teresting, but requires a little more documentation
and D. Lorton (eds.) Essays in Egyptology in Honor ofgiven the reference on Urk. IV, 132, stela lines 14-15,
Hans Goedicke (1994), 216). which mentions Djehuty was instructed by his god
Cathleen Keller analyzes the work of two brothers, concerning an enduring "upland tomb (hrt)" (Wb. Ill,
draughtsmen Nebnefer and Hormin, who painted the 143, 13; Goedicke, in M. Gorg and E. Pusch (eds.)
tomb of the chief workman Inherkhacu (TT 359) at Fest. Elmar Edel (1979), 149). Although the study of
Deir el-Medina. Keller finds evidence of these artists in the tombs of Djehuty and Hormeni are in a prelimi-
TT 359 through their signatures, inscriptions, and nary
im- stage, one would have liked to have seen the
ages, and she draws on supplementary palaeographic tomb plans to situate particular scenes, as well as a
and visual comparanda from graffiti, papyri, votive few line drawings or highlighted details on the photo-
monuments, and signed figural ostraca to identify graphs to make out the sadly faded images (particu-
their individual contributions and the flexible divi- larly the mason's marks, p. 109, colour plate 35.3).
sion of labor in the tomb. While Keller's palaeographic Focusing on the lower group of rock-cut tombs at
line drawings and comparisons are particularly Hierakonpolis,
strong W. V. Davies examines the painted
(figs. 1-7), a number of stylistic assessments tombs must be of Nyankhpepy and Horemkhawef (pp. 113-
taken on the author's word as a result of illustrations 125). After examining the patterns of usurpation visi-
that do not easily convey stylistic points (pp. 81-82, ble in Nyankhpepy, who reused the late Old Kingdom
fig. 5 gr. 1082, colour plates 25.3, 25.4, 26.1-2).tomb The of Itjefy (pp. 113-16), Davies discusses the tomb
motifs shown in these drawings and plates areof parti-
Horemkhawef which is the main focus of the paper.
cularly critical to the author's central argument Onandthe east wall, Davies examines an offering scene
might have been more effective as enlarged linethat draw- depicts the artists, Sedjemnetjeru and Ahmose,
ings or enhanced photographs. acting as participants and beneficiaries of the central
The same Hormin is identified on stylistic grounds funerary ritual. As Davies explains, they appear here
as one of the painters of TT 65, belonging to Imiseba probably because they were the actual artists of the
(tp. Ramesses IX), who usurped an earlier eighteenth tomb and would gain mortuary benefits and prestige
dynasty tomb that belonged to Nebamun (Bacs, from their depiction here. Davies also finds evidence
MDAIK 54 (1998), 50). In his essay, Tamacs Bacs argues of Sedjemnetjeru at El-Kab: He is depicted in the
that Imiseba created a royal mortuary temple and funeral
a procession in the tomb of Sobeknakht, again
tomb within the space of his private tomb chapel by
accompanied by an offering formula naming the artist
copying and reworking royal decorative prototypes as beneficiary. The tomb of Sobeknakht contains the
from the tombs of Ramesside queens and princes, samethepalaeography, style, and figural proportions, as
mortuary temple of Ramesses III, and the tomb well of the as a decorative program similar to the one found
vizier User-Amun (TT 131), as well as specific scenes in the tomb of Horemkhawef at Hierakonpolis, sug-
and architectural features from the Temple of Amun gesting
at the two tombs were decorated by the same
Karnak (pp. 96-99). Resulting from Bacs's discussion group of artists that included Sedjemnetjeru. Davies

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 BOOK REVIEWS 267

ends with an intriguing other observation, discussion

Baines argues that color could of be an
art and how it incorporated a 'temporary expedient' in the case mortuary
of the main axis
and aesthetic (display) of the Second Hypostyleconcerns that
Hall, in which the columns
the artist in encoded in the row leading ways.
up to the centralDavies'
Amun-Re chapel an
eventual publication were fully paintedof whilethe Hierakon
the remainder were not. Fur-
promises to add to thermore,
our the walls to either side of this chapel
knowledge of alongto
formative periods outside
the west wall contain someof of the Thebes.
finest painted relief
In the next paper, in theNigel
complex, and this offers evidence that color
Strudwick off
nation of the practical could act as a visual focus by highlighting
issues regarding a symbolic
and publication point of color
in the temple between andthe publicpaintin
(hall) and pri-
tombs. Strudwick vate (chapel) areas.
discusses the benefits
inherent in the execution The last group of articles of addresses
facsimilethe symbol-
the wall or from ism and articulation of color in ancient
photographs, and Egypt. he
Syd- s
translate color, line, ney Aufrereand examines thedamage
materials, minerals, in fac
precious
ings. The author stones, also presents
and color that were an integral ideas on
part of the ar-
presentation of line chitecturaldrawings
and decorative symbolismin of the book
Egyptian
objective versus subjective temple. Aufrere discusses the recording
union of the earthly and o
uses, and he ends with a discussion of available con- the sacred in the temple's architectural components
temporary electronic technologies (Photo CD, the and in the mineral composition of its building materi-
Internet, and virtual reconstructions) and their appli- als in which the divine was manifest. He relates to
cations in future works. color in terms of its natural origin, symbolism, and
Returning to the theme of ancient work process, function within the temple complex where "texts were
T. G. H. James examines the Papyrus of Ani and animated dis- by the colors, the elements of which were
covers that the artist utilized work methods similar to taken from the traditional minerals used as a touch-

those used in the decoration of contemporary Theban stone" (p. 160). If any criticism can be leveled against
tombs, albeit reduced to fit the scale and demands of this tightly crafted overview, it is that Aufrere does not
a funerary papyrus. Next, John Baines explores color develop his references but instead cites them for the
symbolism, the organization of work, and what consti- readers to explore at their leisure.
tutes 'effective' decoration in the Temple of Sety I at John H. Taylor's paper offers a richly detailed dis-
Abydos. Baines begins with a discussion of the diver- cussion of color on coffins and how it was used to em-

gency between the limited linguistic terminology for ulate natural materials, convey symbolism, and create
color and the expanded palette used in Egyptian art. a sacred environment for the deceased. The author

Baines then presents the six stages of decoration at examines form, surface decoration, and coloring on
Abydos (fully painted relief; unadorned raised relief; coffins, focusing on patterns of development from
painting without relief carving termed 'provisional the New Kingdom to the twenty-sixth dynasty. Among
painting'; sunk relief of Sety I; sunk relief of Ramesses the interesting points discussed in this article (and
II; and the decoration of Merenptah), suggesting that there are plenty): the rendering of luminosity by the
temples were functioning structures in which beauty application of 'yellow' varnish (pistacia resin) and re-
could be rendered in a number of different ways. On birth by a black coating (a mixture of heated pistacia
a symbolic level, he discusses how color reinforced pitch and other ingredients, possibly equated with
the cosmological environment of the temple (see also mrht nt (h ntrt), both of which carried a magical signif-
Aufrere, pp. 158-63), relating to the divine world icance (pp. 166-68); the symbolism of black and red/
through blue (lapis lazuli) and yellow (sun/gilded yellow color juxtapositions expressing a solar-Osirian
world of the temple) or to the earthly realm through amalgamation of the afterlife to be used "as a magical
the naturalistic rendering of color in the figure of the aid to resurrection" (p. 174); and the red coloring of
king. The use of black was rare and was avoided in coffin edges as a type of protective encirclement of
many areas, which the author suggests was due, per- the deceased (p. 176).
haps, to its lack of color. Baines offers a number of In the next entry, Geraldine Pinch discusses the
important observations concerning the detail and four basic color terms (black (km), white (hd), red
precision of provisional painting. The author argues (dsr), green/blue (wld)), their symbolic value, and
that this type of decoration was intended both as a their application on papyri used as working copies for
guide for relief sculptors and as a "finished but not ritual practitioners or as permanent substitutes for
final" statement that could stand alone and create an ritual acts. Pinch notes that, in a material sense, color
ideal environment for the gods (pp. 149-51).utilized
In an- in ritual magic could be the actual color or it

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 268 JARCE XXXIX (2002)

could be a symbolic color such as 'red Typhon's and coloring materials take precedence over the de-
ochre,' which made use of poppy juice believed by the velopment of color vocabularies, which, in the an-
ancient Egyptians to be the concentrated essence of cient Egyptian language, do not allow for absolute
red (p. 183). Pinch finds some colors such as red to definition of color in a European sense.
be ambiguous: While dangerous, red could also be While many of these authors weave scientific, tech-
harnessed for protection based on its symbolic refer- nical, and symbolic analysis into their discussions,
ence to wrath, fury, and evil, as well as the life-giving their individual approaches only whet the appetite for
rays of the sun. a comprehensive, synthetic account of Egyptian paint-
In the final article of the volume, Stephen Quirke ing, which, it is hoped, will appear in the not-so-
reevaluates the Berlin-Kay hypothesis on color devel- distant future. Until then, this volume is a welcome
opment vocabulary (see also Baines, p. 145) by study- addition to the study of color and painting, and it is
ing individual ancient Egyptian terms for color in sure to increase our understanding and respect for
word groups and examining them in this context. such a complex and varied medium.
Through the study of word pairs, he determines that
the spectrum of meaning is too varied for precise Melinda K. Hartwig
color articulation. Diagnostic features of size, shape, Georgia State University
and location in space and time, brightness, texture,

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