Background:

 

The Geese of Medum is a piece of are made of painted plaster yet is still very well preserved. This is due to the fact that most colors in ancient Egypt were made out of natural substance e.g the white color came from limestone, the green from rusted cooper, the black from carbon and the yellow from yellow ochre. The colors were mixed with water and egg white and left in the sun and air. After finishing the painting it was covered with honey wax.

 

The painting:

 

The painting is considered a masterpiece. It is made out of painted plaster found in the mastaba of nfr mAat, Att dating back to the Old Kingdom, beginning of the 4th dynasty. It is the lower part of a larger scene found on the wall of the passage of the tomb. It represents three pairs of geese. Some were popular in Egypt and others vanished. The scene represents six geese, each three are moving towards the other three. The two halves of the painting are equal in measures and would have been a reflection of each other except for the differences among the geese. This reflects the skill of the artist. The painting is 5 feet in width and 89 inches in height. The painter represents three types of geese. The first two are represented in feeding attitude with their necks bent down feeding form the plantation. They are bean geese randomly found in ancient Egyptian art. They are represented in a bigger scale. The artist was very skillful in representing the bill of the geese; they are lightly opened in the motion of feeding and the tip of the bill is black may be from the mud. The claws of the geese are out stretched as if they are depending on it to be able to feed.

 

The left side pair is white fronted geese because they have a white band at the base of their bill. This type is occasionally used in the ancient Egyptian art. The artist was very skillful in representing their vivid colors and the overlapping attitude gives a sense of depth.

 

The other pair is thought to be brought form Asia by the various expeditions during the rule of king Senefru. They are painted differently and they are called red breast geese because of the red color in the upper breast part. They seem to be identical yet there are some differences such as the red color in one of them extends towards the neck. In the other one there are four lines in the lower breast while the other doesn’t have these lines. The back one has three white lines at the lower part of the wing while the other doesn’t. They are featured stepping forward as if walking waiting for their turn to feed.   

 

The painter was skillful enough to use the third dimension method found in the opened bill, the out stretched claws and in the overlapping. Also there is a sense of depth represented in the green plantation which is featured horizontally to give a sense of extension.

 

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�sPp The eyes are inlaid and lined. The white part of the eye is made out of opaque quartz, the cornea with rock crystal and the eye pupil with black nail or resin. They are lined with rusted copper thus it turned green. The eye brows are depicted in high relief. The head is clinging towards the side as if he is listening to someone dictating him. His eyes are looking towards the right for the same reason also the wrinkles around the nose. The delicate nose and opened nostrils gives the impression of real breathing. His mouth is well represented as well as his high cheek bones. There used to be a false beard indicating his important post. He represents realism in art. There used to be a necklace around his neck but now it is missing. The details of the body are well represented. It was painted with reddish brown. He is wearing a kilt and holding a roll of papyrus on his lap. One hand is holding the roll and the other is in the position of writing. Most probably there was a feather in his hand. The artist was skillful to free the statue from a back pillar or from filling the gaps between the hands. The statue combines between idealism in the well representation of the body features and realism in the representation of the facial features.