The aim of this essay will be to show through comparison and discussion of specific examples, how the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome differ in their in their furniture design. More specifically discussing three examples from each civilization and how their designs differ in function, form, structure and embellishment. The different influences of "status, power, proportion and perfection," will be brought in as well as the effects of religious beliefs, environment, and availability of materials, techniques, and trends.
The examples to be discussed are Tutankhamen's Ceremonial Chair form Ancient Egypt, the Klismos Chair from Ancient Greece and the "Sella Curulis" (a folding chair) from Ancient Rome. These examples have been chosen, because they demonstrate well the traits, culture and daily life of their particular nation. They also give very good insight into how the people who made the chairs approached design and how the different surrounding that these designers were in influenced their decisions.
The examples will be analysed and placed in context each separately, with attention brought to their own individual features, styles and the reasoning behind them. .
The first example to be discussed is Tutankhamen's Ceremonial Chair, from Ancient Egypt. This chair was found in the elaborate burial chamber of Tutankhamen who was a pharaoh (i.e. ruler) in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptian society was one of a strong hierarchy and the pharaoh was the most important, in fact the Egyptians even believed him to be a god. They also were obsessed with the after life and believed people needed their earthy possessions for this after life, hence burying it with them.
(Online: MSN: Encarta). They also believed strongly in pleasing their wide variety of gods through sacrifices and rituals. This is what they lived for.
The illustration of the chair is a reconstruction, because it was originally constructed of wood that was covered with gold (Desroches, 1969:293) and obviously with time the wood deteriorated, but the gold plating was left for the reconstruction (Brunt, 1985:44).
The ancient Egyptians were one of the first cultures to believe in one God. ... To the ancient Egyptians, Maat also meant order and justice. ... The ancient Egyptians still believed in demons and knew that they must keep Maat protected. ... The priests also played a big role in running the ancient Egyptian government. ... These groups were called "phyles" by the Greek. ...
Ancient art serves as a useful tool to help historians decipher some important aspects of ancient culture. ... The differences in arts purpose in Greece and Rome, for example, show us the fundamental differences in each culture's political and moral system. ... This change in the meaning of art from Greek to Roman times shows the gradual decline in the importance of intellectualism in ancient western culture. The earliest example of how art reflects the basic moral and philosophical belief systems in individual cultures is seen in the Ancient Egyptian empire. ... By the time of Augustus C...
Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt is a wonderful land of mystery. People today still have no idea how to duplicate some of the achievements of Ancient Egyptians. ... When Caesar returned to Rome, she followed him with their baby and lived in Caesar's villa outside of Rome, where he visited her constantly. ... A popular belief is that the Ancient Egyptians knew very little about anatomy. ... Like the doctors of today, Ancient Egyptian doctors gave out prescriptions. ...
Egypt marked the passage of time with kings and dynasties as evidenced in Egyptian art. Egyptian monumental art began on a large scale with Pharaonic rule, originating when King Narmer (Menes) united Upper and Lower Egypt. ... The Greeks learned from the Egyptians how to carve blocks of stone but adapted the technique to suite their own tastes (Adams p.86, p.88). ... Rome had its own local style of art yet with a Greek influence in sculpture, painting, and architecture. ... In contrast to the continuity of Egyptian art, Greek art evolved rapidly from stylization toward naturalism. ...
The medicine of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans set the foundations of what we know today as modern science. ... GREEK MEDICINE "The foundation of modern medicine is to be found in the medicine of the Ancient Greeks" (http://junior.apk.net/~fjk/gmed.html). The Ancient Greeks seemed to be the source of most medical knowledge up through and including the time of the Roman Empire. Most of Rome's best-known physicians were actually Greek. ... Medical practice in early Ancient Greece was based largely upon religious beliefs, just like the Ancient Egyptians. ...
Ancient art serves as a useful tool to help historians decipher some important aspects of ancient culture. ... The differences in arts purpose in Greece and Rome, for example, show us the fundamental differences in each culture's political and moral system. ... This change in the meaning of art from Greek to Roman times shows the gradual decline in the importance of intellectualism in ancient western culture. The earliest example of how art reflects the basic moral and philosophical belief systems in individual cultures is seen in the Ancient Egyptian empire. ... By the time of Augustus C...
From Babylon's Hammurabi and his laws, to the extremely scientifical Egyptians, and the brilliant warlike Persians. Yet they all seem not as significant as the two most remembered ancient civilizations being the Greeks and the Romans. ... (Kagan) All the above points have been made to show the incredible amount of cultural and societal influence the Greeks had over the Romans, and if we hypothesize that Rome made the greatest contribution to our modern era, and then the Greeks would be contributors to Rome. It is true Rome made incredible changes and developments to Greek ideas, Philosoph...
Religion in Ancient Rome Religion in ancient Roman times could be divided into two main Categories; State and Domestic Religion. However there were two other types of religion present in ancient Rome and these were Emperor Cult and Foreign Religions. ... Greek mythology, Romans were attracted to Greek mythology and adopted different gods and ceremonies. ... Romans adopted many ancient Egyptian gods. ... Roman Religion was a dominant part of all persons living in ancient Rome. ...
Eventually, under the leadership of the last brother Simon, the Maccabees were victorious and Rome sent messages to Syria, Egypt, and the surrounding areas to let them know that the Jews were under the protection of Rome. ... Antiochus IV Epiphanes took over and tried to force the Greek religion and customs on the Jews. ... Egypt was also important for trading. ... The revolt was lead by Judas MAccaleus a Hasmonean The Romans had a polytheistic view of religion that was adopted from the Greeks Caesar Crassus, and Pompey formed the first triumvirate of Rome. ... While in Egypt he fell in l...
