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So the skin color of the Egyptians in art is symbolic
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Djehuti: [QB] [QUOTE]Originally posted by Oshun: [qb] I heard Egyptian art shouldn't be counted for much because the way they made themselves look on average was just symbolism. What evidence do we have that says the dark brown-red shades are symbolic? Were they symbolic and not literal in every situation or just religious ones. [/qb][/QUOTE]This topic was covered before [URL=http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=005212#000001]here[/URL], [URL=http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=005447]here[/URL],[URL=http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=004131#000012]here[/URL],[URL=http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=003764#000000]here[/URL],[URL=http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001747#000010]here[/URL], and [URL=http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001098#000021]here[/URL]. But to answer your question, there is a common color scheme or convention in art where men are portrayed as reddish brown and women as yellow, whereas certaind deities may be depicted with inhuman colors like blue or green. [i] The choice of the single red-brown color to represent The Egyptian man rather than a more realistic range of shades should also be considered within a wider symbolic scheme that included the representations of foreginers. The foreign men to the north and west of Egypt were depicted by yellow skin[similar to that odf traditional Egyptian women]; men to the south of Egypt were given black skin. Although undoubtedly some Egyptians' skin pigmentation differed little from that of Egypt's neighbors, in the Egyptian worldview foreigners had to be distinguished. Thus Egyptian men had to be marked by a common skin color that contrasted with the images of non-Egyptian men. That the Egyptian women shared their skin color with some foreign men scarcely mattered, since the Egyptian male is primary and formed the reference point in these two color schemes--- contrasting in one with non-Egyptian males and in the other with Egyptian females... ...Male and female skin colors were probabaly not uniform among the entire population of Egypt, with pigmentation being darker in the south[closer to sub-sahara Africans] and lighter in the north[closer to Mediterranean Near Easteners] A woman from the south would probabaly have had darker skin than a man from the North. Thus,the colorations used for skin tones in the art must have been schematic [or symbolic] rather than realistic; the clear gender distinction encoded in that scheme may have been based on elite ideals relating to male and female roles in which women's responsibilities kept them indoors,so that they spent less time in the sun than men. Nevertheless, the signifcance of the two colors may be even deeper,making some as yet unknown but fundamental difference between men and women in Egyptian worldview... [/i] 'A Guide to Egyptian Religion' by Gay Robins (Color Symbolism pages Page 57-61), [i]The Ancient Gods Speak[/i] Ed. by Donald Redford. I disagree with the assessment that womens' yellow coloring was due to being indoors since countless Egyptian murals portray peasant women laboring outdoors with their men and still depicted as yellow while elite women are shown outdoors taking part in recreations with their men and still depicted as yellow. I personally think the yellow coloring does indeed have a deeper spiritual meaning based on a common custom practiced by Afro-asiatic speaking women from the Sahara to the Horn where they would don yellow make-up. I plan on making a thread on this topic too when I have time. That said, not all Egyptian art portrayed this convention and there are many instances of exceptions to this general rule where men and women are portrayed in their realistic complexions. One such example would be the mural of Lord Nebamun and his wife who is darker-skinned. http://c8.alamy.com/comp/D96G19/nebamun-hunting-in-the-marshes-nebamun-is-in-a-small-boat-hunting-D96G19.jpg But judging by the countless examples of Egyptian people depicted in their allegedly true complexions, one can surmise that the average Egyptian skin tone ranged from mahogany to chocolate brown. As for the color black (jet-black), I believe that color also holds deep spiritual meanings as deities who specifically represent or possess the power of rebirth and renewal are sometimes depicted as such. For example Ausar (Osiris) has as one of his epithets Kem-Wer literally meaning 'Great Black'... [IMG]http://www.anciv.info/img/osiris.jpg[/IMG] Or Asat (Isis) as Kem-Weret [IMG]http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/isis_black.jpg[/IMG] Such black Isis and baby Horus idols were the inspiration for the black Madonna and baby Jesus idols. Ausar and Asat were also called Kem-Sho meaning 'Black-Faced' The god Min was also depicted in black and had the epithet of 'great black phallus'! [IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JPv8It5BqwI/VqKOuRfuUpI/AAAAAAAAJEo/dZUPyfcj3C8/s1600/MIN%2BGOD.jpg[/IMG] And of course Anupu (Anubis) the black jackal [IMG]http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/images/Anubis4.jpg[/IMG] The Great Wife Ahmose Nefertari and founding matriarch of the 18th dynasty presents a unique situation because she was actually [i]deified[/i] before her death having her own cult dedicated to herself which explains the depictions of her jet-black like a deity. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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