Is Egyptian Art African?

This exhibit introduces two concepts that connect Egypt to twentieth-century African creativity. No explicit contact or citations are available. Such speculative exploration is offered to underline the fact that many answers about Egypt’s role and influence are yet to be revealed.

Animal masks mix identities and divinities
Human and animal features mingle in African and ancient Egyptian art. Egyptians worshiped a vast pantheon of deities whose shapes shifted. Heads from a hippopotamus, ibis, hawk, jackal, and lioness appear on the bodies of humans in this display. Such depictions may signify the presence of a priest actually wearing an animal mask. However, certain scholars remain unconvinced that masking was extensive, and propose that such appearances were artistic symbols and not meant to represent performers. Either way, the artistic evidence makes it clear that Egyptians shared a sense of divinity with animals. In contrast, Greco-Roman preferences set another direction for art, as reflected in Aristotle’s statement that "men create the gods after their own image."

African masquerades featuring animals abound. They do not derive from any direct known connection with Egyptian prototypes, and they differ in many ways. Egyptian masks may have been constructed of molded linen and cloth, and depicted animals that were not consistent with African choices. Yet the belief that divinity can be manifested in many animal forms unites the continent and sets it apart from later Western traditions.

Adornment crosses over the continent
Echoes of ancient Egyptian dress appear in African adornment. Broad collars (weskhet) surrounded the necks of Egyptian men and women as well as statues of gods and kings. They are seen on a lionness goddess, a cow-eared goddess, and a mayor and his wife. Worn extensively from the Sixth Dynasty on, weskhet were painstakingly strung with beads made from stones, metal, and ceramics. Wigs of braided and curled hair were kept in special chests and worn during ceremonial occasions.

No exact connections to African jewelry and wigs have been established. Yet the Maasai, who in the fifteenth century migrated along the Nile to reach the East African savannah, have remarkably similar broad collars. Maasai women today assemble them not only with glass beads but with recycled pins, zippers, and buttons. Their beadwork embodies a woman’s personal wealth and is full of indicators of her social identity and ceremonial status. Wigs from many regions of Africa resemble examples of ancient Egyptian hairstyling and serve as reminders that Egypt stands as a parent civilization whose depth of contribution is yet to be discerned.

Is Egyptian Art African? I Contemplating Eternity

Contemplating Eternity