Who were artists in ancient Egypt?
Tomb scenes with images of artists, rare inscriptions and texts, and the surviving objects themselves all provide clues about ancient Egyptian artists. Egyptologists sometimes make a distinction between the artists who carved statues and reliefs in stone and the artisans who made jewelry, furniture, and objects in metal, stone, and many other materials. The Egyptians had no word for “artist,” but they did have various words to distinguish specialists within a craft, such as “polisher” (seshep). Artists who worked for the court and the temple were often literate and highly skilled. (Find out more about the connection between writing and art.) Overseers supervised teams that carved statues, decorated tombs, or fashioned personal arts in workshops. Training was done by apprenticeship, with sons often following their fathers into the profession. There is no evidence for female artists or craftsmen, and little direct evidence for the role of patrons, whether royal or private. Most artists a
