Customer Reviews

The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art)

5 star:		(2)
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3 star:		(1)
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This is on the reading list for my archeology course at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. As well it should be. It is informative for students and the interested layman. I felt that more photos in the book could be in colour. It is a must for those wanting to increase their appreciation of museum visits.

Many art and architectural treasures survive from Ancient Egypt. This book offers 400 illustrations of such treasures from the fourth millennium B.C. to the conquest of Alexander the Great. The author examines Ancient Egyptian tombs, temples, palaces, decorations, and many other works of art. A recommended book for the interested student of art and of Egyptology.

This is a dense book -- what I mean is that is has a lot of material, a lot of images, and it is rather small print. This version has "new materials" from William Kelly Simpson but it is currently 20+ years old so I'd not recommend it for a new class or serious study -- things do change in the study of the ancient world as new discoveries, new techniques, and new theories develop. However, if you just want basic, great images, ad chronological order to the study of art and architecture it is perfectly fine for these purposes. I used it extensively when I was studying ancient Egypt back at Columbia University.

As always, the reprint of this title should be warmly welcomed. This is a high-standart, much authoritative text on Egyptian art from its origins down to the sunset of Egypt's glorious pharaonic civilization. It is not only well-writen but also furnished with lavishing plates and a lot of figures, which constitute a wealth of information. Not only for Egyptologists and Egyptofans, but for anybody interested in learning seriously about the treasures of art and architecture in the Nile Valley. Highly recommendable.

First things first: beautiful pictures. Leave this one on your coffee table for guests to peruse though...
However, there is one major problem: the author's incredible penchant for run-on sentences. A seven-line paragraph without any commas, colons, or periods does not generally constitute an acceptable paragraph by anyone's standards... was the editor asleep? You decide....
That said, the information is interesting, albeit hard to read. The author tends to diverge from his topic with astounding frequency, then jumps back to the original topic without reason or warning, let alone a connective thought... or should I say, "connexion"... apparently the letters 'c+t' in the word 'connection' were offensive to the author's eye? I don't quite understand it either...
But it is a lovely book to look at, valuable from the artistic point of view. Buy it if you are interested in the topic, borrow it if you just think Egyptian art is pretty.

This textbok was perfect for our 13-day Academic Program Aboard to Egypt in January 2009. The Art amd Achitecture of Ancient Egypt breaks down each period of history into separate dynasties. This sequential approach to Egyptian history helped our undergraduate students better understand the differences in ancient architecture, artwork, and rulers. They could use the textbook as a reference to understand that the Old Kingdom funeral tombs were built in the shape of pyramids as we climbed inside Cheops at Giza. Next, they personally experienced the Middle Kingdom construction of cliffside funeral tombs while visiting Hatshepsut's Temple in Deir el Bahari. Finally, this textbook clearly presented to our students the building of New Kingdom tombs underground while gazing upon the face of King Tutankhamun lying his Valley of the Kings sarcophagus. Yale University has done an outstanding job of presenting this ancient culture in an historical context that is easily understood and grasped by undergraduate Art History students.