<em>Palace Painting</em>, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. Mud, pigment, 15 3/4 x 25 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (40 x 64.8 x 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 27.35. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.27.35_wwg7.jpg)

Palace Painting, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. Mud, pigment, 15 3/4 x 25 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (40 x 64.8 x 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 27.35. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.27.35_wwg7.jpg)

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Tell me more.

This muted wall painting is a really special piece! Most of what you see in the galleries from ancient Egypt comes from tombs, but this actually comes from where someone actually lived!

The city this comes from, Tell el Amarna (known as Akhetaten in ancient times) was only occupied during the reign of a single king. When a site is not reused, it can often be a treasure trove of archaeological information.

Is there any hidden meaning to this piece?

I wouldn't say there is a hidden meaning. Depictions of the natural world especially including water and images of the lotus were very common in ancient Egyptian art.

The Nile River and the surrounding marshy areas were very important to life in ancient Egypt as well so it makes sense that they would surround themselves in this imagery.

Where can I find a source of information about this piece?

You're going to want to look at publications on Tell el Amarna and the archaeology of the people that lived there.

This is basically a chunk of a wall. It's not a stand-alone artwork, it is a fragment that represents the type of decoration that you might find on the walls of an ancient Egyptian home. The intent was to represent the natural, outside world.

How was this colored?

Most Egyptian painting is done with mineral pigments mixed with a binder such as animal fat or even egg.

I love the way the color on this has been preserved. Most of what we have in the galleries comes from tombs but this comes from a place someone actually lived making it really special.

What did they use to color it?

Ochre, for example is a popular mineral for making red paints like what you seen in the uppermost part of this fragment.

Black paint was often mad from charcoal or the mineral manganese. They likely applied the paint with brushes.

Palace Painting

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

Unlike temples, constructed of stone to last forever, Egyptian places were made of mud brick, and each was probably used for no more than a generation or two. Artists covered palace walls with layers of plaster on which they painted idyllic scenes of palace activities and life along the Nile. This detail shows lotus buds and flowers; it may represent the edge of a pool in a palace garden.

MEDIUM Mud, pigment

Place Found: Tell el-Amarna, Egypt

DATES ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom, Amarna Period

DIMENSIONS 15 3/4 x 25 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (40 x 64.8 x 3.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 27.35

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society

PROVENANCE Womens’ Quarter at the North Palace at Tell el-Amarna, Egypt; 1926-27, excavated by Henri Frankfort for the Egypt Exploration Society; 1927, gift of the Egypt Exploration Society to the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Large fragment of fresco with two registers of lotus design, probably forming the lower border of a large wall composition. The fresco is a good though not important example of the type of decoration used in the houses at Amarna. The upper register is orange-red with black outlines. The divisions between registers are black; the lower and more complete register has a blue background with flowers in green and white, black outline. The preserved portion is in fragile condition and is apparently extremely thin. The surface has flaked considerably and apparently much of the blue background has been lost.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Palace Painting, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. Mud, pigment, 15 3/4 x 25 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (40 x 64.8 x 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 27.35. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.27.35_wwg7.jpg)

IMAGE installation, West Wing gallery 7 installation, CUR.27.35_wwg7.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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