The Scepter of Egypt Vol. 1 : From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom

The Scepter of Egypt presents the culture of ancient Egypt as it is reflected in the large and comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The account - written by the eminent Egyptologist and former Curator of Egyptian Art at the Museum, William C. Hayes - traces cultural development from prehistoric times through the end of the New Kingdom. The historical narrative is wholly derived from the objects in the Museum's collection, which are understood as testimonials of the life, tastes, and thought processes of the ancient Egyptians, "one of the most interesting and attractive people of the ancient world." The book provides the reader with both a detailed history of the art and culture of ancient Egypt and a guide through the collection of the Metropolitan Museum's Egyptian galleries. The present volume, opening with an introductory chapter on the geography of Egypt, is devoted to Egyptian culture from its origins in the Stone Age through the succeeding periods to the collapse of the Middle Kingdom in the eighteenth century B.C. It covers ten thousand years of Egyptian prehistory and almost seventeen hundred years of recorded time; it deals with more than eighteen thousand works of art and craftsmanship. Much of the material has never been published elsewhere. In addition to the objects in the collection, the book discusses the architecture, language and writing, religion, funerary beliefs and customs, dress, warfare, and daily life of the ancient Egyptians. The many quotations from ancient records and inscriptions bring the reader close to ideas, events, and personalities of the time. Over two hundred illustrations accompany the text; they range from sculpture in relief and in the round to jewelry, pottery, furniture, tools, coffins, and funerary equipment. The illustrations are supplemented by more than two hundred hieroglyphic signs, inserted in contexts that explain their form and meanings.