Let me introduce you to Rahotep and his wife Nofret who lived at the end of the III and beginning of the IV dynasty. They were contemporaries of Sneferu and perhaps of Khufu as well. Rahotep was a high official whose father may actually have been Khufu although this is speculation. His wife called Nofret may have also been of royal birth as her name means “known to the king.”
Oooooooh look an accurate representation of Egyptian skin colours made by who you ask???egyptians!!!!!
well in this case it’s more likely that the skin color is symbolic rather than representative, bc colors were a big deal for depictions and this is a common trend that is probably more representative of ancient egyptian concepts of duality - husbands were dark (and sometimes red) whereas wives were pale (yellow or gold), just like sometimes the kings are depicted as Gigantic and the wives are depicted as Tiny or actually:
Color is also important in nonliterary depictions of the ideal form. Men are almost universally shown with red or reddish-brown skin. Women are frequently shown with paler skins, although the color used by artists varies over time. In Old Kingdom representations, we see women with pinkish white skin. During the Middle and early New Kingdom, their skin is often yellowish. Later in the New Kingdom, the shades returned to pink or were pale orange. Goddesses, on the other hand, had yellow or “golden” skin throughout the New Kingdom.
Only during the Amarna Period do we sometimes find male and female with the same, darker reddish skin color. (x)
some egyptologists claim this is due to the concept of people who work in the sun vs women who stay pampered indoors but imo this is heavily influenced by modern nonsense bc ancient egyptians had relatively similar gender roles and women frequently worked in farms, and symbolism was far more influential than literal representation especially for kings and queens and gods.
thats not to say there isn’t a lot of ancient egyptian art that is an actual portrayal/depiction of ancient egyptian appearances! but this isn’t it, as symbolism and duality is usually much more relevant for important people and monuments. but hey, they’ve got noses.
