what characteristics make Egyptian art distinct and unique?

There are
many distinctive characteristics of Egyptian art. These include:

Pigment Choice: color choice was symbolic for ancient
Egyptian art. Six pigments were used, each with its own meaning:
red - power, life,
victory
green - new life, growth, fertility
blue - creation
yellow -
eternity (sun or gold)
white - purity, sacred items
black - death, the
underworld and the night

Symbolic Elements and
Hierarchy: artists were ranked by their implementation of laws that strictly
governed the elements of art works.

Scale, for example
demonstrated the hierarchy. Kings and Gods were represented by, relatively, large characters
(both graphical and in text).

Registers also conveyed
hierarchy. Scenes were divided into vertically sorted registers. The higher the register, the
more important the content.

Regularity and
Simple Geometric Form:  across all media (most notably engraving, sculpture and
painting), Egyptian art has similar form and structure. These forms persisted over several
millennia.
Art works were not used for self-expression, but rather to convey events, or
accompany the deceased through the afterlife. Most artworks, especially those in tombs, was not
meant to be 'displayed' in the way that modern art is.

These rules are
discussed further at: fhttp://mheducation.co.jp/data/QuestRW/sp/2.pdf - it's a worksheet, but
the second and third 'summary' pages should help.

href="http://www.essential-humanities.net/world-art/egyptian/">http://www.essential-humanities.net/world-art/egyptian/
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