Hieroglyphics
The Writings of Ancient Egypt
by Maria Carmela Betrò
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This complete handbook reveals the secrets of the hieroglyphic writing of the Nile Valley, which provides a still-vivid snapshot of the gods, the people, and the everyday life of the Ancient Egyptians. Both literal and highly lyrical, hieroglyphics bring alive a distant world, with descriptions of the natural environment, the art, the society, the religious beliefs, and even the philosophical basis of a culture that flourished 5,000 years ago.
Presenting and explaining almost 600 of the figures used in the classic phase of Egypt's "sacred writing," this fascinating volume traces the origins and the meaning of each sign, as well as its graphic stylization. An opening essay reveals the secrets of the hieroglyphic system, including its development and its structural characteristics, and emphasizes the sacred, evocative, even magical power of the form, which - unlike our own abstract alphabet - is immediate and expressive.
Concluding the book are a complete glossary, a bibliography, and an index, designed to make this book invaluable to the casual reader as well as the student and specialist.
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Subjects
Hieroglyphic Writing, Egyptian language, Hieroglyphics, Paleografia, Escrita, Historia antiga, Egito, Egyptian language, writing, hieroglyphic, Criticism and interpretation, Renaissance Mural painting and decoration, Italian Mural painting and decoration, Cappella Sistina (Vatican Palace, Vatican City)Places
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Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt
1996, Abbeville Press
Hardcover
in English
- English-language edition
0789202328 9780789202321
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Geroglifici: 580 segni per capire l'antico Egitto
1995, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
Paperback
in Italian
8804403896 9788804403890
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Work Description
This book is a consideration of Egyptian Hieroglyphs as an artform, rather than a form of writing. Any mention of the Egyptian language is incidental, you cannot learn the language with this book. As indicated by the original Italian title, the book discusses only 580 out of the 700 most common hieroglyphs. The selection of which hieroglyphs to be included was from artistic consideration, not linguistic. Therefore, many of the 24 fundamental letters of the Egyptian alphabet have been omitted. While the Gardiner List is presented, the editor overlooked the fact that the letter J is not used in the Gardiner list, so Gardiner sign K1 appears in this book as J1 and Gardiner sign AA1 appears as Z1. The author chose 15 additional hieroglyphs not on the Gardiner list. This book is an interesting supplement to other books covering hieroglyphs and the Egyptian language, but is not a replacement for them.
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