Customer Reviews

Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy: A Beginner`s Guide to Writing Hieroglyphs

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I liked this book, but the structure is pretty plain.
I appreciate the ability to learn how to draw the glyphs,
but there wasn't enough description, as an added bonus, to
the glyphs. The book could be improved on further.

The best I guide to practice your hieroglyphic calligraphy. I love it.

This is one of several books on the subject that I bought because I was late on a decorative commission and had to learn how to write hieroglyphs fast. This turned out to be the only book of any value. Using Gardiner's Sign List to organize the symbols into catagories, Fischer first shows a large drawing of the glyph, then shows with a series of sequential sketches how to arrive at the final design. Using his technique, I was able to achieve satisfactory results in a remarkably short time.

Unlike some of the other authors, Fischer does redraw, modify, or try to "reinterpret" the symbols. I compared his hieroglyphs to photographs of tomb and temple walls and found his to be true to the originals.
The 4th edition contains some additional glyphs and information in supplementary references and addenda.
This is a beautifully designed and bound book, worthy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I use this in conjunction with Wilkinson's "Reading Egyptian Art".

As others have said, this volume is slim and thankfully clear and concise. The glyphs are simplified to make them easier to draw, but still recognizably hieroglyphs (as opposed to cursive forms or hieratic-- and sometimes clearer than Faulkner). There are many larger illustrations that show the glyph in more naturalistic form; these are quite interesting. When the forms varied significantly over time, all versions are shown (i.e., Old Kingdom form, Middle and New Kingdom form(s).) It's very helpful, for writing and reading.

Books on Egyptology come and go out of print but a select few manage, for good reason, to stay in print. Henry Fischer's "Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy" has always been in print and for good reason. There are scores of books that tell you how to translate and read Egyptian hieroglyphs but very few offer a practical guide as to how to actually write the symbols. Fischer offers a very practical and easy to follow guide that is so simple that it is genius. A slender volume but a truly invaluable one for anyone who is interested in this area of Egyptology.

Once again Dr. H.G. Fischer has produced an outstanding title and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, must be congratulated for issuing it as a wonderful book. If you are beginning your own practice of hieroglyphic writing, this is the best (and the only) guide to obtain a nice and elegant hand-writing. TopTen Title.