As a child, ancient egyptian history was my escape. I would sit under my covers for hours reading books I had recently checked out from my city library about pharaohs, pyramids, and my favorite subject of all, Cleopatra. When visiting The Rosicrucian Museum of San Jose, I felt like a child agin. While touring the many different exhibits, I became more excited and interested one after another. After carefully reviewing over 4 pairs of artifacts, I chose to compare and contrast a predynastic box coffin and a Middle Kingdom coffin. The predynastic box coffin dates back to 3200 B.C.E and is not adorned with any after life offerings or scriptures, while the coffin of Lady…
The inner most coffin of the sarcophagus in the tomb of King Tutakhamun is made of gold and is the body of King Tutankhamu. It shows the facial expression, the nemes headdress, the ceremonial beard, as well as the flail and the scepter. Those were all represented his royal power. As the experts thought, King Tutankhamun died young and his death was unexpected, but this…
Marble stele (grave marker) of a youth and little girl with capital and finial in the form of a sphinx, the most complete grave monument of its type to have survived from the Archaic period. 1 The monument is made with marble; the total height is 13 feet and 10 11/16 inches.…
Toward the western side of the burial ground they found multiple 2-4 meter ring ditches which originally help posts or beams, but none were found. In the same area, they found large amounts of burnt bone deposits. This suggests the previous presence of a pyre used for cremation. They also uncovered a series of nineteen coffin edges containing sand bodies and objects. Many of the objects buried with the bodies were weapons such as swords, spears, and shields suggesting a male, and others contained brooches and bead jewelry, suggesting a female. One grave had “a male with sword spear, shield boss and decorative shield-mounts.” (Archaeology, 1)…
Over the course of the Roman Empire, burial art and traditions varied greatly. For centuries, cremation was the standard. By the second century A.D., however, the preservation of the body became increasingly popular. As a result, the Romans began to use intricately decorated sarcophagi, typically held within mausolea, to bury their dead. For the Romans, remembrance was a such critical part of their religious tradition and belief in the afterlife that there were numerous festivals which required families to visit the tombs of their ancestors.…
There are many inferences that can be made about the societal views of the dead during this time period based on the study of the cemetery. Firstly, the dead are buried with the headstones, often inscribed with the names of the buried, as well as the year of birth and death. It can be assumed that it is a societal norm in order to document and revisit the graves.…
Chapter II the Nightly Rendezvous at the Cemetery is an important scene in the novel because it’s the first time Catherine Sedgwick establishes a common ground between the Indians and the Puritans. In the novel, Hope is introduced to readers as a free- spirited, unconventional, and nonconformist character. The traits that Hope possesses in her character sets her apart from other Puritans. Although it may appear that Hope is different, her distraught reaction after hearing that her sister was married to an Indian man proves otherwise. Hope views her sister’s marriage “as if a knife had been plunged in her bosom” (188) this comparison allows readers to understand the pain and disappointment Hope felt towards the news. Sedgwick is also showing…
Abstract: Egyptian canopic jars function as funerary pottery and a symbol of the protection offered by the four Sons of Horus. Although Egypt gets the most recognition, several other ancient cultures have similar pottery used for the dead’s benefit. Greek kraters functioned both as wine mixing pots and pots for liquid offerings for the dead. Both of these ceramics allow the viewer to observe key pieces of their respective cultures’ values, religion, and technology.…
The outer coffin stood above the ground and was surrounded by a layer of charcoal then by a layer of white clay. The two completely insulated the coffins to protect them from air and humidity. This caused the coffins so stay preserved as well as their contents. The central coffin contained four nested coffins: the first one consisting of a kind of crate and painted black; the second was decorated with mythological figures and animals; the third was decorated with various colors and augury symbols; the fourth and last coffin was uncovered to find a perfectly preserved woman. The body was laid down on its back, covered with twenty silks and feathers, and tied with ribbons. The body was still intact with the original organs, muscles, and skin including red blood still in the veins at 2100 years old.2 On the inside of the lid, archeologists…
An understanding of the Etruscans’ domesticity is revealed through their tombs, implying an organised and sophisticated society. The Etruscans had a passion for an orderly and comfortable afterlife (The Mysterious Etruscans, 2006; Hamblin, 1975, 44-45), thus they built sophisticated tombs that mimicked their everyday households. In early cremations, Etruscans used urns made to look like huts (Figure 1) (Cristofani, 1979; Etruscan Civilisation, 2009; Hamblin, 1975, 67-68). They believed that the shape of a tomb had to resemble the deceased’s surroundings [house]. This verifies that housing existed at an early stage of their civilisation confirming that they were not primitive. The tomb of Bas Reliefs (Figure 2) (The Mysterious Etruscans, 2006; Hamblin, 1975; Estensen, 1995), displays a well thought out set up of a typical house in Etruria. This tomb exhibits cooking utensils, tools, crockery and weaponry all carved into the tufa rock walls (Estensen, 1995). Even though tombs often contained these items for the afterlife, it provides valuable information about them as a society and demonstrates that they were able to construct tools and weaponry valuable to everyday life. Later tombs imitated the civil architecture that developed, using paintings to emphasise architectural features of their homes (The Mysterious Etruscans, 2006). As explained…
In this weeks reading, the artwork that resonated with me most were the Etruscan tombs. As an anthropology student, I am drawn to artwork that is unclear in its meaning, and I am especially drawn to burials. I find it extremely fascinating that we as humans have always placed importance on an afterlife, whether one believes in reincarnation, heaven, or any other type of eternal place of rest.…
Funerals and final expenses are a major issue for unprepared families. With the average funeral cost estimated in the range of $8,000 - $10,000 dollars, unexpected costs and fees can create significant stress for grieving family members. That's why the burial vault is such a common point of frustration for folks in this situation. They add somewhere between $900 - $7,000 dollars to the total funeral bill.…
I chose to write about the "Sarcophagus Depicting a Battle Between Soldiers and Amazons (Warrior Women)". A sarcophagus is a stone coffin usually bearing sculpture or inscriptions. Supposedly, This Roman cultured sarcophagus was dedicated for an important Roman soldier. It was built some time in between 140 A.D. to 170 A.D. and made out of marble. Sarcophagus were officially made by the Greeks, hence the pediment. Although this sarcophagus was built by the Romans they still added the triangular roof at the top of the coffin, which was also invented by the Greeks. The scene on this coffin is of a battle between men soldiers and female warrior amazons. The battle scene that takes place on this casket is very interesting; it depicts different kinds of symbolism, emotion, and is more expressive.…
v This burial doesn’t demonstrate the usual characteristics of an execution. The head is placed by the stomach, which means it was strategically placed in the grave, as well as the urn which was on the shoulders where the head should be. Whatever pagan tradition was being followed, it is quite clear that the set-up of the body was designed in a way for some sort of representation, possibly religious sacrifice. The position of the head is the main hint as to what the purpose of the decapitation might have…
The first aware the woman's rights is called Second-Wave Feminism. It occurred in 1968. Some women organized The Burial of Traditional Womanhood. The event was remembered as sign for the mainly political nature for woman. Political activism characterize all features of this movement having art criticism. Having this item, I refer to a group of critical perspectives on art.…
