2nd Intermediate Period

also: Second Intermediate Period of Egypt

movement c. 1782-1550 BC Egypt North Africa

The 2nd Intermediate Period names the centuries between the end of Egypt's Middle Kingdom and the reunification that opened the New Kingdom, when power split between rival dynasties - the Theban line in the south and the Hyksos kings ruling the north from Avaris. In art it is less a break than a continuation: Middle Kingdom conventions of coffin painting, stelae, relief and personal jewellery carry on, refined in provincial workshops. Foreign contact shows up most clearly at Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a), where excavators have found Minoan-style frescoes that place the delta within a wider Mediterranean world. Much of the finest surviving work is in the minor arts - scarabs, faience, goldwork - and the period matters less for a new look than as the bridge whose Theban reconquest under Kamose and Ahmose I opened the New Kingdom.

Drawing of an offering table originally of the 12th dynasty, later reused and dedicated to the god god Seth of Avaris by the king Aaqenenre
Drawing of an offering table originally of the 12th dynasty, later reused and dedicated to the god god Seth of Avaris by the king Aaqenenre Public domain (credit: Flinders Petrie (1853-1942)) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Middle Kingdom forms carried forward: slender proportions and calm, frontal figures on stelae and coffins
  • Refined minor arts - scarabs, faience vessels, gold jewellery - more prominent than monumental building
  • Minoan-influenced wall painting at Avaris: acrobats, bull-leaping, and naturalistic flora and fauna
  • Provincial and workshop variation, with cruder execution outside the royal centres
  • Continued use of pyramid and coffin texts on Middle Kingdom models

Example works

  • Wall paintings of Tell el-Dab'a (Avaris) — Unknown (Minoanizing workshop) (c. 1600 BC)
  • Stela of Kamose (Carnarvon Tablet) — Unknown (Theban royal workshop) (c. 1550 BC)

Sources

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