The ancient civilisations

In Egypt and Mesopotamia, art became part of the machinery of state and religion.

With writing and the first cities came an art meant to display power and eternity. In Mesopotamia people built ziggurats and carved reliefs with kings, gods and military campaigns. The stele bearing the Code of Hammurabi shows the king before the sun god.

Egyptian art followed strict rules for almost three thousand years. People are shown with the head and legs in profile but the chest and eye from the front, and important figures are larger than others. The art was not made to be seen by the living but to serve the dead in eternity.

Under the pharaoh Akhenaten around 1350 BC the rules were broken for a short time. The art of Amarna, such as the bust of Nefertiti, is softer and more personal. After his death Egypt returned to the old style – Tutankhamun’s burial treasure dates from precisely that time.