as also exhibited "in the beautiful reliefs of his reign "in the great colonnade of the temple of luxor-- "we find extreme delicacy of style, "together with character of the utmost refinement. "in the case of a painted scene, vase, or statue, "the primary idea of art is obvious. "but in utilitarian objects,rt-- "as we know too well today-- is not a necessity. "here in this tomb, the artistic value "seems to have been always the first consideration. "what are the great qualities of egyptian art? "they are the sense of pure feeling "that creates an element of serene dignity-- "and herein lies its supreme essence-- "and the extraordinary degree of truth, form, and character "portrayed within such absolute simple and minimum line "by which it stands alone." brown: egyptian art was not immune to outside influence. in the shape of a pomegranate, this vase is witness to egypt's absorptive power. for one thing, silver was extremely rare in egypt. but for another, more importantly, pomegranates were not native to egypt at all, but to western asia. the egyptians adopted foreign designs and styles