Egyptian Decorative Art

throne of Ramessu III

In the XVIIIth dynasty it is more free, as might be expected in the time of Akhenaten.

. In the earliest days we find it entwined around the hieroglyph of union

Beside using the separate flowers, the whole plant was also a favourite subject as a group

we find that something has been evolved which is indistinguishable from the Greek palmetto alternating with the lotus.

This line of flowers and buds was varied as flowers and grapes, and appears very often in the XVIIIth dynasty.

At Karnak there is a celebrated pair of granite pillars, one with the papyrus, the other with the lotus; and this form, with the sepals turned over at the end, became the more usual in the Empire and later times.

appears as a capital in wood of the Vth dynasty in the tomb of Imery.

The plain flower was also used very early, as we see on the head-band of Nefert at the begining of the IVth dynasty. And as architectural ornament it

The oldest use of the lotus was in groups of two flowers tied together by the stalks; such are found on the prehistoric pottery at Koptos, and on the earliest tombs. But in later times this became corrupted, and the origin apparently forgotten, by the XVIIIth dynasty.