Does Egyptian art give us a true sense of how ancient Egyptians looked?
Some royal images in sculpture and relief seem to resemble the preserved mummies of kings, suggesting that they may have been portraits. In fact, all periods of Egyptian art include works that appear to be lifelike, but even an image that seems to be realistic is not necessarily a close resemblance to a real person. The Western concept of portraiture may not have existed in ancient Egypt. Many Egyptian images are idealizing, intended to convey specific qualities such as youth or athleticism. In Egypt’s Late Period (Dynasties 26–31, 664–332 B.C.), naturalizing representations became common and were produced in large numbers. However, even features that seem to be specific to a particular person may still be part of an idealizing image; wrinkles and other signs of age might have been added to denote wisdom, for example. Similarly, nonroyal individuals, and occasionally a king’s successors, were portrayed in the official style of a king in order to be associated with him.
