Communication and display: the

integration of early Egyptian art and

writing

JOHN BAINES"

Our contemporary world is literate, alphabetical, and controlled by texts. Written texts
are formally more important than images, and the separation of words and pictures is
sharp. When writing is pictographic, the distinction is not always so sharp, and in early
civilizations both texts and pictures were rather scarce things. Here, the places of texts
and images in Egypt, and their relative standing, are explored.

Among systems of writing and representation, the developed into the 'hieratic' script, and hiero-
ancient Egyptian is the most closely fused, with glyphs, which were the vehicle of public
the possible exception of those of Mesoamerica writing, and more generally of written display
(e.g. Marcus 1976; Schele & Miller 1986). (which mostly had a pictorial element).
Whereas most scripts have moved away more or Although the two remained closely linked for
less quickly from being clearly representational, 2000 or more years, hieroglyphs, which were
Egyptian hieroglyphs continued to depict identi- not used in everyday contexts, were able to
fiable objects until they ceased to be used in the retain their original organization and sign forms
4th century AD (te Velde 1988). Egyptian art fundamentally unchanged. Because of the close
should also be distinguished from Far Eastern links between the scripts, hieroglyphs probably
systems, where an awareness of the representa- moderated the development of hieratic. The
tional origins of characters is retained even connection between hieroglyphic and cursive
though their calligraphic form is not immediately was maintained until the appearance of demo-
representational. There, too, writing is very tic cursive in the 7th century BC. (On early Near
common in pictures, but, if anything, the influ- Eastern writing see Naissance 1982; introduc-
ence is from writing to pictorial style and conven- tion to Egyptian writing: Davies 1987.)
tion rather than the other way round. Nearer to This integration of writing and representation
Egypt, there is a strong contrast with Mesopo- and separation of forms of writing relates to issues
tamia, where cuneiform writing very soon lost its of literacy, which I have explored partially for the
representational character and there is little 3rd millennium BC (Baines 1988).Here, I discuss
comparable interplay between writing and repre- the integration itself for the beginning of that
sentation, even though many pictures bear period and relate the system to its creators, the
inscriptions; there, the public and monumental Blite of a large, monarchically organized state, and
use of writing seems to be a rather later develop- their display (cf. Baines in press).
ment (Larsen 1988).
The principal reason why Egyptian writing The setting
was able to stay so close to representation is
probably that the script existed virtually from The political context
the beginning in two forms, the cursive signs Egypt was politically centralized in most
used for administrative purposes, which periods, as was its artistic production and style.

* Oriental Institute, Pusey Lane, Oxford ox1 ~ L E .

ANTIQUITY 63 (1989): 471-82

472 IOHN BAINES

The system of writing and representation ori- being hieroglyphs - which come together in a
ginated in late predynastic times, at the end of complex that was organized to a great extent for
the 4th millennium BC. On present evidence, clarity and ‘semantic’ expression, rather than
writing may have been invented and used for for emotional or sensuous impact, or for techni-
extended marks of ownership, especially royal cal and compositional virtuosity. It is as if the
names, slightly earlier than representational originators of the mixed Egyptian system were
and iconographic conventions stabilized (e.g. the first semioticians: the system seems to be
Kaiser & Dreyer 1982). This distinction is sug- designed with the maximum emphasis on
gested particularly by brief but detailed anno- differentiation and meaning. Among other
tations of the delivery of goods that date several issues, this emphasis raises the question of why
reigns before the beginning of the 1st dynasty such clarity was sought, that is in part, whom it
(Kaiser & Dreyer 1982: 235), as well as being addressed. It is possible to speak of the system’s
earlier than the principal monuments con- having been designed, because of its contem-
sidered in the past to belong to the ‘unification’ poraneous integration of representation and
of Egypt. This period of definition of represen- writing, and because it was the product of a
tation and invention of writing postdates ruling group in a centralized state and was
slightly the creation of a large, centralized state created in quite a short span of time, probably
with borders similar to those of later Egypt. no more than a century leading up to the Narmer
The system was thus probably created by the Palette (FIGURES 1-2), which exhibits all its
new state as an instrument of control, directed features completely formed.
in the cursive forms of writing toward admin- A vital feature of representation is its use of
istration - about which little is known - and in the human figure as the organizing principle of
the monumental, hieroglyphic and representa- scale and composition. This can be seen emer-
tional form toward display (a problematic cate- ging in late predynastic monuments, of which
gory), prestige, and the articulation and the earlier ones show more animals than
affirmation of values. Egyptologists have humans (e.g. Asselberghs 1961: plates 65-7,
mostly, and probably correctly, assumed that 70-4,76-9), and continues throughout dynastic
writing was invented for administration, which times. Its definitive form is the ‘canon of propor-
was its predominant use in later times. In such a tion’, a set of rules for the ideal proportioning of
view hieroglyphs are secondary, but for the the human figure which can be extended to the
early 6lite they should be considered as impor- design of whole compositions (summary e.g.
tant as cursive administrative uses of writing. Robins 1986; to be distinguished from ‘cano-
The inner elite were literate, probably in both nical’ representation, often confusingly so
cursive and hieroglyphs, and their artistic mon- termed by Davis, e.g. 1984).It is uncertain when
uments, which included hieroglyphic writing, this was introduced. Attempts to see its applica-
were central preoccupations. In addition, tion in major early monuments have been
writing and representation were crucial for the methodologically circular (e.g. Iversen 1975:
formulation and presentation of royal and relig- 60-6; Meyer 1974), but the compositional prin-
ious ideology. Egypt is thus a mixed case, ciples of these pieces are nonetheless compa-
whereas on present evidence Mesoamerica rable with later ones; other evidence is
used writing exclusively for monumental pur- restricted to an empty, possibly canonical grid
poses for many centuries (Marcus 1976). on a practice piece from a probable early dyn-
astic context (Emery 1958: 84 no. 1, plate 97;
Representation and style Spencer 1980: 16 no. 16).
The instantly recognizable Egyptian rendering This central significance of the human figure
of nature and artistic style, which was analysed is a powerful cultural statement, which has
in the classic work of Heinrich Schzfer (1986),is been variously interpreted, often as showing
oriented toward the ‘accurate’representation of that whereas earlier Egyptians had conceived of
figures and objects and lacks the stylistic exu- divinity in animal form and felt their power
berance of many artistic traditions. What is true inferior to that of animals, those of the early
of the rendering of nature by itself applies also state viewed human form as the measure of
to the fusion of the pictorial and linguistically- things (e.g. Hornung 1982: esp. 100-8; for
based representational systems - the latter counter-arguments see Baines 1985: 72-5; Wil-
 INTEGRATION OF EARLY EGYPTIAN ART AND WRITING 473

FIGURES 1-2. The Narmer palette, from Hierakonpolis, main temple deposit. Cairo Museum CG 14716,
h. 64 cm. (Photos courtesy Hirmer Fotoarchiv Miinchen.)

liams 1988: 35-46, 58-9). The principal mean- encoding discourse or for any more than a few
ing of the human figure is, however, probably abstractions. Thus, representation and writing
not humanity in general, but the ideal repre- were not separate media; there was much that
sentative or protagonist of ‘human’action - the could be expressed only by the linked use of
king - as well as the gods, whose only ‘direct’ both. Writing needed representation to fill out
iconography is human (see Williams 1988 for the detail of ideology and specific statement,
early human statues of gods). What seems a while representation did not seek to convey
‘humanistic’ and levelling feature is a complex, through iconography matters that were better
hierarchical one that should be understood in notated in writing. The partial bias toward the
terms of its relations with alternative repre- visual in presenting complex matters results in
sentational forms, such as the animal and there being few textual sources for early
emblematic [discussed below), rather than in Egyptian ideology, ‘monumental’ forms of
terms of its apparent content. which were in the mixed visualherbal mode.
There must have been a marked separation
Between representation and writing between oral discourse about ideology and
Early cursive and hieroglyphic writing was a these formulations. In addition, systematic con-
limited instrument. Continuous language was straints of decorum, which limited what could
not recorded; no more than a few words were be represented and in what context (Baines
written consecutively and they did not use 1985a: 277-305) - and later what was recorded
linguistic syntax. Writing was adequate for in texts - result in there being no evidence for
some administrative purposes but not for many central social and religious concerns.
474 JOHN BAINES

FIGURE3. Emblematic details on late predynastic palettes. [After Baines 1985a: 43,figure 12.)
a ‘Cities’ palette. Cairo Museum CG 14238, h. c. 19 cm.
b ‘Battlefield’ palette (detail]. Oxford, Ashmolean Museum 1892.1171, h. of detail c. 12 cm.
c ‘Bull’ palette (detail). Paris, Louvre E 11255, h. of detail c . 15 cm.

Even though there is relatively little stylistic emblematic mode consists of partly representa-
disjunction between representation and tional figures, such as hieroglyphs or symbols to
writing, direct interplay between writing and which arms are attached to indicate actions
representation, in which figures act as hiero- (FIGURE 3). Extensions show that depictions of
glyphs or hieroglyphs as figures (Fischer 1973; cult images of deities, or of the king in animal
1986), is less common than is sometimes form, belong in the same mode, which is fully
implied: conventions of scale and other details integrated in the system of decorum.
almost always keep the two separate, and no The essential early sources for representation
one confuses picture with script (as is true also and writing are a few monuments with relief
in Mesoamerica). There is an emblematic mode decoration from the turn of the 4th millennium
of representation (or textual encoding) that BC. These are schist ‘palettes’ of a design origin-
stands between normal representation and ally used for grinding cosmetics (FIGURES 1-2;
writing (Baines 1985a: 277-305); if the two Asselberghs 1961: plates 44-96 [full series]),
other genres were not separate, such a bridging mace heads (FIGURE 4), and various ivory objects
type could hardly exist. In its simplest form, in (e.g. Quibell 1900: plates 5-16), as well as ivory
which its intermediate position is clearest, the tags of the 1st-2nd dynasties (c. 2950-2650 BC;

FIGURE
4. The Narmer mace head from Hierakonpolis, main temple deposit. Oxford, Ashmolean
Museum E 3631, height 19.8 cm. (Drawing from original by Pat Jacobs. Courtesy Ashmolean Museum.)
 INTEGRATION OF EARLY EGYPTIAN ART AND WRITING 475

Petrie 1900: plates 10-17; 1901: plates 2-12). Values in representation

Sculpture in the round was relatively rare and The representational and iconographic system
not so advanced stylistically as relief (cf. Wil- depicts and comments on the society’s cosmos
liams 1988), or as comparable representational (so far as evidence goes, only the elite’s cosmos).
features of elaborate stone vases (e.g. Fischer On the best known earlymonument, the Narmer
1972), but some ivory pieces are of very high Palette (FIGURES l-z), the mixed humanlcows’
quality. Most representations are relatively heads at the top and the absence of a falcon
small and were either dedicated in temples above the patterned rectangle or serekh enclos-
(Dreyer 1986: 11-58) or placed in tombs. Their ing the king’s name demonstrate that the main
style and composition is very close to that of relief areas show the ‘world’,above which is the
later large-scale or colossal works - it is easy to sky, where the principal god Horus -the falcon
mistake the size of Egyptian works - and they - has his being, while the areas at the bottom
are conventionally called monuments (as I do present what is outside and ‘beneath’ the
here). ‘Memorial’ might be an apt term, because ordered cosmos. This outside realm is not
many pieces ostensibly commemorate events, beyond royal intervention; the figure of a bull
and the making of ‘memorials’is one of the chief butting an enemy and an enclosure wall on one
activities of the Egyptian king recorded when side represents the king, who for reasons of
suitable textual contexts become available in decorum is not shown in his human form in this
the 4th dynasty (c. 2550 BC; Tawfik 1985),but context. He both pervades the ordered cosmos
the pieces are monumental also in the sense that and influences the realm beyond. A contem-
they ignore scale and create compositions that poraneous ceremonial cylinder seal presents
are both meaningful and impressive. ‘Mon- similar distinctions in a highly sophisticated
uments’ need not, however, be public, and the form (FIGURE 5). The king is shown as a catfish, a
earliest known public pictorial compositions
were set u p outside Egypt (Williams 1986:
171-2 [conceivably a Nubian inscription]; Gar-
diner et al. 1952: plates. 1-4). Within Egypt,
decorum may have been one of the constraints
that led to their absence.

Restrictions to the spread of writing and

representation
There are two essential restrictions to the
spread of a system like the Egyptian, whose
complexity and incorporation of the elite tech-
nique of writing placed it outside the reach of
most people. These restrictions are the values it
incorporates, which relate it almost exclusively
to the elite, the king and the gods, and are
manifested in detail in the system of decorum;
and the connected use of other means of 6lite
and royal display toward society as a whole and
removal of access to art from all but the inner
elite. Both of these are peremptory manifest-
ations of the general reservation of works of art
in complex societies for central concerns - a
reservation that renders the definition of what
counts as art and the status of art as ‘art’ less
problematic than has often been thought [e.g. FIGURE5. Ivory cylinder seal of Narmer from
Wolf 1957: 66-8), provided that an excessively Hierakonpolis, main temple deposit. Oxford,
narrow westernizing conception of art is not Ashmolean Museum E 3915, height c. 4.7 cm.
adopted. (Drawing from original by Michele Germon Riley.]
476 JOHN BAINES

powerful and ambivalent being also incor- the pyramid age. Royal destiny and the destiny
porated in his principal title, his Horus name, of society were identified. The force that made
which means something like ‘Mean Catfish’. His the elite espouse such a limited presentation
human arms wield a long baton to smite was probably religious. The later Egyptians
enemies who are arranged in several registers lived in a divine and human cosmos sur-
and identified by a caption as Libyans. Above rounded and threatened by disorder, and cham-
the king, a falcon facing in the opposite direct- pioned by the king (e.g. Hornung 1982: 172-85).
ion hovers in protection and holds out the If this conception existed earlier, its urgency
hieroglyph for life. This falcon may be may have legitimized the restriction and focus
compared with the one in the main register of on the king.
the Narmer Palette, which perches on a rebus The system of decorum should not be re-
for defeated countries and holds a rope securing duced to a narrowly religious phenomenon; it is
the emblematic prisoner’s head with a human the society’s definition of what central concerns
arm. As is clearest in the rebus, both the falcons may be represented, and has general ideological
are indirect, emblematic representations of the and political meaning. Because much in reli-
god Horus, whose ‘full’ iconography is not gion was not depicted - such as most royal
attested from this period. The benefits of victory rituals and all temple rituals - one concomitant
and life that they proffer to the king are those feature of this system was that a great deal was
which the divine world gives to him and, retained in the oral sphere, where the restricted
through him, to humanity. In return, the king parts may have been safe from unwanted dis-
presents the fruits of his actions in the world, semination. (This continued to be the case in
and the order and prosperity they bring, to the later times when continuous texts were writ-
gods. ten.) The exclusiveness of art is part of a wider
On most of these monuments the king is the exclusiveness. The limited cosmos that is
only being shown at full scale in human form, depicted focuses on the king and emphasizes
and in some contexts he too is shown emble- aggression. Centuries were to pass before any
matically, as in the base area of the Narmer significant number of non-royal people had
Palette and on the seal. In later reliefs from the major works of representational art among their
inner areas of temples - the earliest extensive monuments, and when they did, the subject
material is of the 5th dynasty (Borchardt et aJ. matter of these works was quite separate from
1913) - gods in human form interact directly that of royal monuments.
with the king; this is the core idiom in which
exchanges between human and divine are Art and elite
shown. Some emblematic figures (e.g. FIGURES The second restriction on the impact of repre-
3a-c) probably antedate the Narmer Palette. sentation and writing on society is the use of
Thus, the emblematic mode came into being other types of symbol by those in authority. The
about the same time as the script, when pictorial creation of the monumental style and context in
representation was being reformed and defined late ‘predynastic’ times was accompanied by
as the third, and ideologically the most impor- other crucial changes in material culture. The
tant, member of the interdependent set (much Naqada 11-111 period (c. 3400-3000 BC), during
later, writing became relatively more significant which Egypt became culturally uniform, saw
when its potential had increased). Discrimina- both the greatest development of predynastic
tions of decorum in iconography, of which the prestige objects and the beginnings of their
emblematic mode forms an essential part, were eclipse. The chief types were cosmetic palettes
therefore designed into the system from the (typologically the same as the Narmer Palette;
beginning. In comparison with the conventions Petrie 1921; Asselberghs 1961: plates 42-96),
of slightly earlier palettes (e.g. Asselberghs mace heads (e.g.Adams 1974: plates 5-6), stone
1961: plates 65-7) and decorated pottery (Petrie vases (el-Khouli 1978), and decorated pottery.
1921; Vandier 1952: 329-65; Asselberghs 1961: Of these, only stone vases survived into dyn-
plates 13-19), they leave little place on impor- astic times. The decorated pottery is important
tant monuments for humanity, whose radical here, because its themes, which centre on boats
exclusion has a later correlate in royal domi- and religious motifs, seem to go beyond what is
nance and in the overpowering monuments of known from later: many people, probably mem-
 INTEGRATION OF EARLY EGYPTIAN ART AND WRITING 477

bers of elites, had access to representations Quibell 1900: plates 21-2; for these materials
which may be of rituals, possibly mortuary ones Williams’ dating, 1988, is too rigid, cf.
(the scenes have not been successfully inter- Whitehouse 1987). By the 1st dynasty copper
preted). The later disappearance of cosmetic was used for many prestige containers, and for
palettes might relate to religious meanings of this purpose metal eventually ousted stone,
the cosmetics, which were made of valuable whose use declined by the 3rd dynasty. Gold
ores from the Eastern Desert and could have may have been relatively common but, as is to
been restricted to certain groups of people or be expected, hardly any is preserved (for the
gods, but such an idea is problematic, because 4th dynasty see e.g. Reisner & Smith 1955).
cosmetics continued to be used even though the The differentiation and privileging of certain
objects on which they had originally been forms and materials deprived most people of
prepared ceased to be made. Maces, as symbols artistic expression of any kind to which the
of individual martial values, are inappropriate elite accorded significance; here, represen-
to a centralized power; the king possessed and tation was almost irrelevant. It is difficult to
dedicated in temples the finest and largest mace think ourselves into a world in which few
heads ever made (FIGURE 4; Asselberghs 1961: people often see pictures, but the restriction of
plates 97-8; Adams 1974: plates 1-4). But these, normative artistic expression and luxury
too, ceased to be made, and although the king objects to elites is common in many societies
holds a mace in countless dynastic reliefs, (and still applies to ‘major’ art outside
maces were not significant objects (6th dynasty museums). Those who used representation
examples Quibell 1908: plate 5; 1909: 19-20). also used writing, although there must have
Thus, traditional symbols of independence been many literate people who had no access
and status were appropriated by the king, and to representations. Display which was
most of them subsequently disappeared. No addressed beyond the elite could not always be
representational materials were buried in couched in the system of writing and represen-
normal graves, still less written ones. Members tation, whose chief message for others would
of the royal entourage of the 1st dynasty, who have been that they could not understand it in
were buried around the royal tombs and mor- more than general terms - a point whose signi-
tuary cult areas at Abydos, might have crude ficance the elite would naturally have seen and
stelae decorated with their names and a large the rest may also have taken. The content of
sign representing a human being (Petrie 1900: much early writing is the recording of taxation
plates 30-6; 1901: plates 26-30a), but else- and other levies, which are hardly ever wel-
where such an object is not known from before come, even if the symbol justifying the exac-
the end of the dynasty, in one of the grandest tion is respected; writing is an instrument of
non-royal tombs at Saqqara (Kemp 1967: 27 symbolic and executive authority rather than
figure 2). This is inferior in execution to royal persuasion (cf. Larsen 1988). Apart from stric-
works, although it is sophisticated in design tly written documents, the scale of almost all
and meaning. As in later times, the location of early representations, including such pieces as
a monument was almost as significant as its royal tomb stelae ( e g Asselberghs 1961: plate
scale and quality; people of high status buried 1; Petrie 1900: frontispiece; 1901: plate 31) is
close to the king might have quite poor tombs small and not suitable for addressing the
and memorials. people, who would not have had access to the
This impoverishment of the non-royal record places where they were sited.
was accompanied by standardization. Most
dynastic Egyptian pottery is uniform and Architecture
almost devoid of aesthetic significance. Early Instead of writing and representation, the chief
dynastic prestige materials included stone form of more general display was therefore
vases, which were developed in virtuoso architecture. Royal names show an enclosure
designs both before and after the beginning of that is the juncture between the world of the
the 1st dynasty; metal (e.g. Petrie 1901: plate gods and the human world through the descent
9a; Emery 1949: plates 4-10); ivory, from of the sky god Horus to ‘inhabit’ the king, who
which many temple offerings were made; and, manifested Horus within the enclosure (Baines
less impressive as works of art, faience (e.g. in press; classic example Asselberghs 1961:
478 IOHN BAINES

plate 1; early cases: Kaiser & Dreyer 1982: 263, of pictorial representation and writing, and of
figure 14).This image focuses on an architectu- the fusion and mediation of the two, within the
ral feature, the enclosure wall, which conveys system. An essential question is how specific
its message to humanity through exclusion and the representations are, that is, do they record
dominates the landscape in which it is set. actual events or are they generic? If the generic
Enclosures themselves seem to have been has a ritual function, it may fulfil it without
uninscribed until more than a millennium particular reference and without relating to
later, and even then it was an inner enclosure anyone beyond the king and the gods. In this
which was decorated (Arnold 1988: 58-63, respect, there is an apparent tension between
plates 30-6). The earliest royal names may be pictorial records, which tend more toward the
the first preserved examples of writing, and generic than the specific, and other material
these enclosures must have been among the such as ceremonial labels with year names,
first major structures in Egypt. At the beginning which apparently record events. Records simi-
they may have been constructed of perishable lar to these probably formed the basis of royal
materials, as has been suggested for their ‘annals’ which both preserved an ideal record
formal counterparts in Mesopotamia (Heinrich of mainly ritual and royal events and acted as
1982: 4-14, figures 1-43). Later they were of the point of reference when old documents
mud brick, plastered and painted white or were consulted in administration (Redford
perhaps with polychrome decoration; the 1986). They had practical as well as ideological
largest structures standing from the early dyn- meaning, although all extant examples are
astic period, which are impressive by any probably grand, non-utilitarian pieces.
standards, are the mortuary cult enclosures of The palettes and mace heads, which are the
lst-znd dynasty kings (O’Connor in press). In main early reliefs, are slightly earlier than the
addition, the new capital Memphis was named annals. They too appear at first sight to record
‘White Wall’ or ‘Wall’ (Zibelius 1978: 39-43) specific events. The Narmer mace head (FIGURE
and seems to have had such an enclosure or 4) fuses two possibilities by showing the royal
defining element. sed-festival, a ritual of renewal celebrated after
The dominance of architecture conveyed in 30 years of reign, with the enumeration of vast
positive terms the same message of exclusion numbers of captives and a representation of
as did the inward-turning character of the offerings and a temple, in which the god to
system of writing and representation. Architec- whom the fruits of royal success were to be
ture was, however, slightly less value-laden dedicated would be worshipped (early evi-
than representation, for non-royal tombs could dence: Williams & Logan 1987).The figures for
be large and impressive, more so than the captives are, however, suspect, and many
kings’ own tombs (Kemp 1967). It is not known depicted sed-festivals could not have occurred
how they compared for size with palaces or (Hornung et al. 1974). Thus, what is shown is a
temple enclosures. This relative freedom prob- ritual of conquest allied to a prospective ritual
ably relates to the exclusive use of hallowed that will bring benefits to the king, perhaps in
forms, materials and sites for royal tombs, the next life, and hence indirectly to society.
while allowing the inner elite a medium of For reasons of decorum, parts of the ritual
display away from the king that was not so which took place in a temple could not be
tightly restricted as monumental represen- shown pictorially, any more than the god could
tation (see also Kaiser 1985). appear within the scenes, which include
human beings and captives together with the
A self-sustaining system? king.
The communication and display of early works The same general point applies to the
of art was virtually an internal matter for the ‘record’ aspect of a monument like the Narmer
gods, the king, and the Blite. Until the Old Palette. There have been numerous attempts to
Kingdom some centuries later, the Blite appear identify the events it ostensibly shows, and one
to have been excluded from the most signifi- of these may have the correct answer, yet the
cant parts of the system. I consider at the end chief purpose of the piece is not to record an
further aspects of this restricted system’s place event but to assert that the king dominates the
in its social context. First I review the positions ordered world in the name of the gods and has
 INTEGRATION OF EARLY EGYPTIAN ART AND WRITING 479

defeated internal, and especially external, Although the communicative structure of

forces of disorder. Whatever events were the early Egyptian writing and representation is
ultimate model for the composition, they were not in doubt, and writing served important
probably far back in time from the piece itself administrative functions, how far works of art
(the same probably applies to the seal, FIGURE meaningfully communicated with anyone
5); they were tokens of royal achievement. beyond the gods is less clear. At every point,
Ritual incorporated events and thus gave them the apparent significance of works as state-
full meaning, so that there was no necessary ments that could be available to many was
distinction between them and the celebration subverted by scale and accessibility, by the
of the achieved order of the world. Rule was audience they were addressed to, and by the
ritual and representation fused the two in omissions and formalizations in subject matter,
recording them. Similarly, ritual and repetitive which were such that what was not recorded
occurrences dominated the year names and was more central to the functioning of king and
‘annals’, assimilating transitory happenings to cult than what was. This leaves the identity of
enduring meanings. Only in later times were the non-divine audience of the works uni-
there at all extensive written records of indi- dentified, and this gap is acute because of the
vidual exploits. These events were themselves system’s semiotic clarity.
ritualized, but more weakly. The essential human audience must be the
Until later times, the near-total integration of small Blite involved in commissioning and
representation and writing with ritual favoured producing the works, on which great resources
a cyclical, non-specific position of records and were expended, and among them must be
display, in which rulers participated in order sought an explanation for the system’s ‘real-
to fulfil their r61e. This does not exhaust the ism’ (Baines 1985b). No adequate solution has
functions of records, but affects strongly those been proposed for this problem, which has
likely to be excavated. Between the palettes cross-cultural dimensions because of the
and mace heads and the later early dynastic evolution of numerous artistic traditions
period, the only real evidence for kings’ having toward realism. This group’s concern for a
projected their ritual r6le is in year labels, and system that excluded them is also problematic,
this gap in the record needs further investiga- and forms part of a wider problem of social
tion, but the appearance of a fuller royalidivine access to knowledge, whose dimensions are
iconography toward the end of that time (e.g. beginning to be appreciated (cf. Baines forth-
Quibell 1900: plate 2) implies the existence of coming). Such restrictions are common in
lost monuments in which the tradition small-scale societies, so that their existence in
matured. The virtual separation of ‘record’ and Egypt is not surprising, but they are at variance
iconography from particular events rendered with some other aspects of ideology. A later
the system self-sustaining so long as there was religious analogy that may suggest how these
no great change in the potential of other media, conflicting aspects could be integrated ideolo-
which there came gradually to be with the gically while excluding much of the Blite is the
spread of continuous texts, and in a more solar cult, whose central texts and institutions
limited way with extended records in the appear to have been kept ‘secret’ until rela-
annals of the 4th-5th dynasties. Until that tively late times, perhaps in part because the
time, the fusion of writing and representation matter was too portentous to be ‘publicly’
allowed the representational, and in a sense revealed (see Assmann 1983: 22-53, who
performative, aspect of the works of art to ascribes great antiquity to some of these con-
predominate. ceptions).
Similar questions of audience apply to dis-
Conclusion play. In earlier discussions (e.g. Baines 1983) I
Further aspects of communication and audi- wrongly assumed that the display of the early
ence relate to the self-sustaining character of elite and their appropriation of writing and
the system of writing and representation. This representation could be taken for granted once
material also has implications for broader the identity of elite and bureaucracy was
issues in the archaeological analysis of appreciated. The essential form of display was
complex societies. architecture, and it took centuries for the Blite
480 JOHN BAINES

to supplement it to any extent with represen- writing and monumental representation occur-
tation or writing (cf. Larsen 1988). Even royal red in a short period some time after the state
reliefs were seldom placed in a public position, was formed. Although state formation was the
and here they could have followed rather than ultimate stimulus to this surge of creativity, the
led non-royal monuments. In addition, luxury two cannot be linked immediately; such a time
aspects of material culture were probably lag should not be taken to imply a lack of
important among the living, but hardly any connection. The high-cultural system that
evidence for them is preserved except from formed was in some measure tangential to the
tombs. The crucial means - and to some extent wider social context. Its values, symbolism and
the message - of display and differentiation functions cannot be derived simply from its
was exclusion, as is fitting in a culture where position in society, but in their inward-turning
representation and writing were very scarce character are typical of the exclusivism of
resources. small groups that are not directly answerable to
Much of the core of high culture was in oral an audience. The legitimation I have suggested,
forms and in ritual. So long as continuous of maintaining the cosmos against disinte-
language was not written down, these retained gration, need not have been thought about or
their ideological precedence and escape the accepted by all.
archaeological record, while representation In such a context, it could be misleading to
only ever presented small excerpts from ritual. read the broader archaeological record as
Writing and representation report minimally showing the effects of these esoteric and artisti-
on the concerns of society as a whole and only cally and semiotically ambitious products. For
partially on those of the elite. They say hardly Egypt, such caution turns out to be unneces-
anything about social cohesion, a topic that is sary, because the restricted system has a
often absent from the Egyptian record, but their negative counterpart in the deprivation and
character and distribution make them the uniformity of the wider material culture. In
wrong place to look for such a concern; in this other societies there might not be such a neat
period relevant conceptions were probably correspondence. Whether high culture sits
confined to oral contexts. Here as in so many easily within the record or not, archaeology
spheres, the distribution of evidence and cannot ignore something that absorbs so much
evaluation of restrictions on it and gaps in it of a society's resources and is the focus of so
are vital to interpreting what remains. But, much of its prestige, even if the methods used
although I suggest that the ultimate focus of for analysing the material may belong prima-
ideology was oral, this devalues the signifi- rily to other disciplines.
cance of the recovered record only marginally.
Architecture was visible, costly and enduring, Acknowledgments. This paper was delivered to a section on
while the fused form of writing and represen- archaeology and art at the Theoretical Archaeology Group
meeting, Bradford 1987. I am grateful to Tim Taylor i n
tation created something of fundamental particular for inviting me to participate in a most interesting
importance that could not have a close oral session, and to Richard Parkinson, Michele Germon Riley,
counterpart. Helen Whitehouse and Norman Yoffee. The final version
This material has more general implications was prepared during a Humboldt-Stiftung fellowship at the
for the evaluation of archaeological evidence. University of Munster.
The Egyptian construction of a system of

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continued from p. 470

Penelope Walton. Textiles, cordage and raw (ed.). Computer usage in British archaeology.
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