Egyptian sculpture

44 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

scene. The work of the artist who executed these panels shows a triumph over that convention which had already stamped itself on the sculpture of Egypt. For brilliancy of portraiture and for mastery of tools and material these panels are supreme.

The sculptures in limestone from the pyramid-temple of Zoser have not yet been published, except those found by Petrie at Memphis. These are the first wall-scenes known in Egypt, and as such are of interest. The delicate relief and exquisite detail show the high level of the art.

No painting survives from the early Proto-dynastic period, and only one example is known from the IIIrd dynasty. This is from the tomb of Ra-hesy, where the colour decorations consist almost entirely of representations of woven mat-work hangings and of objects made of wood or stone. There are no scenes of daily life or of religious import, only figures of precious possessions which the owner desired to perpetuate to all eternity. The colours of the woven mats are red, yellow, blue, black, and white; the detail of the patterns is often very elaborate and minute. The painter has obviously revelled in representing the graining and knots of the wood in planks and wooden objects, and has done his work with the utmost accuracy. Though hardly artistic in the ordinary sense of the word, these paintings show the use of colour in small and elaborate detail.