ABSTRACT
Egyptian artists, craftsmen – call them what you will – who were employed on the building of tombs and palaces, on the decoration of their interiors, the making of their furnishings, the design and management of their structures, were all engaged in processes which are recognizable today and to which are attributed specific designations. It is certainly true that their motivation may be qualitatively different from their modern successors, closer to the medieval craftsman who only was seen to have produced a sublime work of art in the eyes of subsequent generations. Yet the kings, queens and great nobles of Egypt, even in its earliest days, cosseted and honoured men of talent who produced those artefacts which today are hailed as great works of art. It may be that the argument of their motivation is futile; it is by their works that we may judge them.
