Ancient Egyptian Art for Kids: Paintings, Reliefs and Sculpture

Artists placed people, animals, objects and signs in organised scenes. A wall image might show a ritual, a procession, a meal, farm work or a moment from a sacred story. What is included and where it is placed can guide the viewer.

Look for repeated gestures, clothing, tools and symbols. Then make a three-picture sequence about a journey beside the Nile, using one detail from an Egyptian artwork as inspiration.

A relief keeps part of a carved figure attached to a surface, while a statue can stand on its own. Artists also used scale, posture and materials to show status or importance. A large figure is not necessarily a portrait of a physically large person.

The British Museum's Egyptian sculpture collection covers about three thousand years, so styles and meanings changed. Compare two figures and ask what is similar, what is different and what evidence supports your idea.

Choose one object in a museum collection and record four clues: material, shape, marks or colours, and possible purpose. Separate what you can observe from what you infer.

Finish by colouring a scene with a limited palette. Explain how one colour, symbol or posture helps your picture communicate an idea.