Emblematic of the art of ancient Egypt are the splendid treasures of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Nubian Monuments of Abu Simbel, the huge stone sculptures which arise as if from the desert itself, some of them wearing human faces, at once serene and uncanny neither entirely stylized, nor completely realistic. Equally emblematic are the marvelous wall paintings preserved for thousands of years in the dark, dry air of ancient tombs and mortuary chapels. From .