Any discussion of Egyptian art must mention Egyptian
writing. In fact, the pictorial nature of the hieroglyphs
and the narrative nature of the art makes it virtually
impossible to distinguish between the two. The writing
accompanying a scene (right) was as carefully rendered as
the scene itself. The hieroglyph constituted written
language, but it was also capable of artistic effect .
Often, a figure in a scene will do double duty, functioning
as well in an inscription nearby. This often occurs in
scenes from the Old Kingdom, where the final hieroglyphic
character–a seated individual–in the name of a person is
omitted; the large seated figure in the scene itself serves
also as a hieroglyph, thereby ending any distinctions
between writing and art. Below is the translation of the
Hieroglyphic alphabet: |
