Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, by visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts, the author was able to closely examine Ancient Egyptian artifacts first hand and how it is clear that art was a very important aspect of Ancient Egyptian culture. The paper focuses on and describes the elaborate funeral items, colorful paintings, inscriptions, and hieroglyphs that adorned the sarcophagi of various Egyptian mummies on display in the Egyptian showroom.

From the Paper:

"When viewing an Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, it is apparent that art served a spiritual purpose. Kings and members of the royal family were entitled to extravagant tombs and coffins with intricate artwork and detail in order to bring beauty to the afterlife. One of the sarcophagi that I examined obviously belonged to a king or a man of royalty. His sarcophagus is believed to be from between 850-750 B.C.E. It was made in Egypt with linen and stucco and was the largest sarcophagus in the museum. One of the first signs of his elevated social status was the head cloth that surrounded his face, which was striped with blue and yellow paint. At the museum, I learned that this type of head cloth is known as Nemes and was worn only by royalty, primarily during the third dynasty (SOURCE 1). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dunn, Jimmy. "The Crowns of Egypt." Tour Egypt. 10/11/2005. Intercity Oz, Inc., Web. 1 Nov 2009. <http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/crowns2.htm>.
• Viegas, Jennifer. "'Green Magic' Protected Egyptian Child Mummies." Discovery Channel. 02/05/2009. Discovery Communications, Web. 1 Nov 2009. <http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/02/05/child-mummy.html>.
• "Cemetery Symbols." Buffalo Architectural Museum. 2002. Chuck LaChiusa, Web. 1 Nov 2009. <http://www.buffaloah.com/a/forestL/symbols/>.
• Seawright, Caroline. "Animals and the Gods of Ancient Egypt." Tour Egypt. 2005. InterCity Oz, Inc., Web. 1 Nov 2009. <http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/animalgods.htm>.
• "Mumification." Egyptology Online. 2009. Egyptologyonline.com, Web. 1 Nov 2009. <http://www.egyptologyonline.com/mummification.htm>

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