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Egyptian Clay Sarcophagus– 4th/5th grade

Colorful clay sculpture and a matching drawing of an Egyptian decorated vase on purple paper signed by Anna.

These are the fun sarcophagi the 4th/5th graders made from clay.  We spent a few days learning about Egyptian art and drawing them on paper.  See my previous post about the drawings.

Due to my finger problem, I’m not going to type out full directions for the clay sarcophagus.. but we traced the template onto slabs of clay for the top and bottom, built the bottom up with coils and then carved designs in the top of the box.  Kids could either carve or paint their hieroglyphs on the box.  We used regular acrylic paints and some fun gold tempera paint to paint these.  (only one firing before painting.)

A couple of side notes:  I am completely fine with them changing their clay sculpture from the preliminary drawing, personalizing it and not using typical Egyptian sarcophagus colors.  It is a good idea to embrace the change as your ideas progress from the first idea to final artwork.

A colorful bird sarcophagus drawing labeled "Jenny," looks like it belongs to a 4th/5th grade student exploring Egyptian themes.  Next to it is a clay sarcophagus of a bird.
Colorful handmade clay figurines, including an Egyptian Clay Sarcophagus painted with vibrant patterns and faces, displayed on a white surface.
A colorful bird-themed clay sarcophagus sculpture, next to a similar bird design drawing on blue paper, crafted by 4th/5th graders.
Two artworks of a bear-shaped figure: on the right, a colorful and patterned clay piece inspired by an Egyptian style, and on the left, a detailed sketch.

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About Marcia Beckett

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

One Response to Egyptian Clay Sarcophagus– 4th/5th grade

  1. ArtMuse says:

    These are great. They have a lot of personality, and I like the 2D/3D aspects of each together.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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