A good deal of what we today deem "Art" was not thought of as "Art" in the same manner when it was created. That would include most Ancient Greek sculpture...
Medieval manuscript illuminations...
Etruscan tomb sculpture...
... even a good deal of Renaissance art:
A vast majority of the Art created across history had a purpose that was seen more important than the notion of merely creating an object for aesthetic pleasure. This is true whether we are speaking of portraiture, icons, propaganda, illustrative narrative, memorializing the dead, etc...
The Egyptians belief in an eternal life after death was the driving aspect of their art and culture. It was believed that in the afterlife the dead would need all they had in this life. Thus, we often find tombs including wives... or sculpture of wives buried with their husbands. The bodies were preserved in the belief that they would need their bodies in the afterworld... but just in case, they often added surrogate sculpture of the bodies. Pets were often buried with the dead as well as furniture, decorations, weapons, even entire boats. Walls and sarcophagi were painted with narratives praising the dead as well as blessings and prayers. Just as only the wealthiest among us can afford a Maserati or a painting by one of the "blue chip" artists, so only the wealthiest... the pharaohs... could afford the best of the best craftsmen.
And yet these works were buried as well... with few ever having seen them until they were unearthed in modern times. The sarcophagi recently unearthed were certainly created for individuals with some degree of wealth... yet not the wealthiest. Their sarcophagi are wood and plaster hand-painted as opposed to being made of gold and precious stones... and are still quite beautiful IMO.