Egyptian sculpture

viii EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

In these circumstances, the chief need of the student is a clear and concise account of the various styles and periods, illustrated by typical examples and accurate descriptions. Though many works have been written in explanation or appreciation of Egyptian art, none of them, so far as I know, gives just that guidance which is required to help in realising the various phases of development, the characteristic qualities, merits, and defects of various ages. Such an account, within a moderate compass, is given by Miss Murray in the present volume; and she is admirably qualified to give it, for she has had long experience in the teaching of Egyptology at University College, London, and has a wide and accurate knowledge of Egyptian sculpture and painting, both from the artistic and from the technical standpoint. The numerous illustrations and diagrams set before the eyes of the student are a judicious selection of the most characteristic examples of Egyptian art, and make it possible to follow the history of that art from the earliest dynasties to the Ptolemaic and the Roman periods.

The student may thus appreciate and recognise in due succession the majestic statues of the kings of the early dynasties and the wonderfully realistic portraiture of the same age. Then, after a gap, come the delicate reliefs and the saddened portraits of the kings of the XIIth dynasty, as if weary and despondent in their decline. After another long interval come the imposing monuments of the great conquerors of the XVIIIth dynasty, suddenly invaded and interrupted by the strange episode of Akhenaten, whose artists show a delicacy and sensitiveness of portraiture, coupled sometimes with a grotesque deformity, such as no Egyptian artist earlier or later approached, yet which cannot be traced with certainty to any alien influence. Then, after a further period of confusion, there emerges