Music and Art in Egypt

Music and Art as Historical Records

                                           

Music and art in Egypt has been a part of its history since their first records. One interesting point that can be clearly seen in the above picture, is that the Egyptians used art, painting, to depict their deep musical roots. A common ritual in the Egyptian culture is Mulids. Mulids is a religious musical ceremony where the flute is the instrument of choice. 

Music within Egypt grew as the influence from other cultures filtered into their country. One thing that did not change even with the filtration of other cultures is Egypt's connection of gods with music. 

                                

Music was not the only form of art that was abundant in Egypt. Hieroglyphics, sculptures, paintings, pottery, glass, and papyrus were all forms of art. We can learn so much about Egypt's culture and history by observing all their different forms of art. For Egypt, this was a way to document their history. Whether a man's story through hieroglyphics on the walls of his tomb, or a piece of pottery portrayed a happy day for a family, life in Egypt was recorded in these manners. 

                        

Unlike sculptures or paintings, hieroglyphics was an amazing form of writing that was almost lost to the world today. The spread of hieroglyphics was not great. There was of course Egypt and under the Persian rule it extended into their empire. However Egypt was the primary source of this writing style, and after around the 4th century there were few who could actually read it. This was simply because of the filtration of other cultures and their languages into Egypt. Thankfully the Rosetta Stone was found and deciphered in the 1880's, leading to the interpretation of all hieroglyphics.

Sources and Photos obtained from:

http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/MIRE/Introduction/AncientEgypt/AncientEgypt.html

 http://egyptartsite.com/

 http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/rosetta.html