#Egypt Wood
#Egypt Wood
#Egypt Wood
Egyptian
WoodV\Torking
and Furniture
Geoffrey Killen
ll
!
~
I
I
Cover
Box, Eighteenth Dynasty, tomb of Perpaut, Thebes.
(Durham University Oriental Museum, 1460.
Photograph reproduced by courtesy of Durham University Oriental Museum.)
Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 4
CHRONOLOGY 6
1. WOODWORKING MATERIALS 7
2. WOODWORKING TECHNIQUES AND FITTINGS 12
3. PREDYNASTIC AND EARLY DYNASTIC PERIODS 19
4. OLD KINGDOM 28
5. MIDDLE KINGDOM 37
6. NEW KINGDOM 43
7. LATE AND ROMAN PERIODS 54
8. GLOSSARY 58
9. MUSEUMS 59
10. FURTHER READING 62
INDEX 63
Acknowledgements
Published in 1994 by
SHIRE PUBLICATIONS LTD
Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough,
Buckinghamshire HP27 9AJ, UK.
Series Editor: Barbara Adams
Copyright Geoffrey Killen 1994.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording, or any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
ISBN 0 7478 0239 4.
First edition 1994.
Printed in Great Britain by
('IT Printing Services, Press Buildings,
Mrr hn-, 1I,"11~(', l lavcrfordwest, Dyfed SA6l lXF.
List of illustrations
List of illustrations
1. Steam bending, tomb of Baqt III, Beni Hasan page 8
2. Ivory leg from tomb of Djer, First Dynasty, Abydos page 9
3. Carpenter's basket, Twenty-second Dynasty, Lahunpage 10
4. Reed wig box, New Kingdom page II
5. Sehefner seated on a cushion, Second Dynasty, Saqqara page II
6. Woodcutters, tomb of Khnum-hotep III, Beni Hasan page 12
7. Carpenter working with pullsaw, tomb of Rekhmire, Eighteenth Dynasty,
Thebes page 13
8. Timber conversion using 'through and through' cutting page 13
9. Cupping of timber caused by tangentiaI shrinkage page 14
10. TypicaI slash-grain figure page 14
11. Butt-joint page 14
12. Box and frame comer joints page 15
13. Scarf-joint with butterfly cramp page 15
14. Mortise and tenon joint page 16
15. Dovetail joint page 16
16. Hieroglyphic decoration applied to furniture page 17
17. Application of hot glue, tomb of Rekhmire, Eighteenth Dynasty, Thebes page
18
18. Wooden hinge, Late Period, Saqqarapage 18
19. Flint saw, Badarian Period page 19
20. Copper saw from a tomb at Abydos, First Dynasty page 20
21. Ancient and modern saw sets page 20
22. Adze, First Dynasty, Saqqara page 21
23. Mortise and firmer chisels, First Dynasty, Saqqara page 22
24. Furniture fragment with bound rush decoration, First Dynasty, Abydos page 23
25. Strips of ivory inlay incised with patterns, First Dynasty page 23
26. Bed-frame constructions, First Dynasty, Tarkhan, page 24
27. Simple rectangular bed-frame, First Dynasty, Tarkhan, page 25
28. Bed-frame with bovine-shaped legs, First Dynasty, Tarkhan, page 25
29. Bed-frame with curved side rails, First Dynasty, Gebelein page 26
30. Low table, First Dynasty, Tarkhan page 26
31. SandaI tray, First Dynasty, Tarkhanpage 27
32. Stela of Nefer-meri-ka, Second Dynasty, Helwan page 27
33. Stela of Nisu-heqet, Second Dynasty, Helwan page 27
34. WaIl painting of two bed-frames, tomb of Hesire, Third Dynasty, Saqqarapage
29
35. WaIl painting showing stool and chair, tomb of Hesire, Third Dynasty, Saqqara
page 29
36. WaIl painting of two boxes, tomb of Hesire, Third Dynasty, Saqqara page 29
37. Queen Hetepheres' canopy, Fourth Dynasty, Giza page 30
38. WaIl relief showing canopy, tomb of Queen Meresankh III, Fourth Dynasty,
Giza page 32
39. WaIl relief showing carrying chair, tomb of Queen Meresankh III, Fourth
Dynasty, Giza page 32
40. WaIl relief showing carpenters sanding a box, tomb of Ti, Fifth Dynasty,
Saqqara page 33
,
~
II
41. WaIl relief showing carpenter using bow-drill, tomb of Ti, Fifth Dynasty,
Saqqara page 34
kh III F rth
42. WaIl relief of box with barrel-shaped lid, tomb of Queen Meresan
, ou
Dynasty, Giza page 34
35
43. Wall relief showing two boxes, tomb ofPenu, Sixth Dynasty, Saqqarapage
44. WaIl relief showing carrying box, tomb of Queen Meresankh III, Fourth Dynasty,
Giza page 35
.
S
a
45. WaIl relief showing carrying box, tomb of Mereruka, SIxth Dynasty, aqqar
page 36
46. Stool, Twelfth Dynasty, Be.ni Hasan page 37
47. Scale diagram of Middle Kingdom seat page 38
48. Middle Kingdom furniture page 39
49. Box from workmen's village, Twelfth Dynasty, Kahun page 41
50 New Kingdom woodworking tools, Thebes page 43
51: Carpenter truing timber, tomb of Rekhmire, Eighteenth Dynasty, Thebes page
44
52. Lattice stool, New Kingdom, Thebes page 45
53. Round-legged stool, New Kingdom, Thebes page 45
54. Three-legged stool, New Kingdom page 46
55. Folding stool, New Kingdom, Thebes page 46
56. Chair, New Kingdom, Thebes page 47
57. Vase stand, New Kingdom, Thebes page 48
58. Box, Eighteenth Dynasty, Thebes page 50
59. Box, Eighteenth Dynasty, Thebes page 51
60. Toilet box, New Kingdom, Thebes page 52
61. Jewellery box, New Kingdom, Thebes page 53
62 Carpenters turning on a lathe page 54
63: Turned couch leg, Late or Roman Period page 55
64. Cabinet, Late Period page 55
65. Map of Egypt page 57
Chronology
Predynastic
5500 - 3200 BC
5500 - 4000 BC
4000 - 3500 BC
3500 - 3300 BC
3300 - 3200 BC
Badarian
Naqada I (Amratian)
Naqada II (Early Gerzean)
Naqada II (Late Gerzean)
Protodynastic
3200 - 3050 BC
Early Dynastic
3050 - 2686 BC
Dynasties I-II
Old Kingdom
2686 - 2181 BC
Dynasties III-VI
First Intermediate
Period
2181 - 2040 BC
Middle Kingdom
2040 - 1782 BC
Second Intermediate
Period
1782 - 1570 BC
1570 - 1070 BC
Dynasties XVIII-XX
Third Intermediate
Period
1070 - 525 BC
Dynasties XXI-XXVI
Graeco-Roman
Period
525 - 332 BC
332 BC - AD 323
Dynasties XIII-XVII
New Kingdom
Late Period
1
Woodworking materials
Dynasties XXVII-XXXI
I
I
:/
1. Carpenters steam-bending lengths of timber, from the tomb of Baqt III, No. 15, Beni
Hasan. (After Newberry, Beni Hasan II, London, 1893, plate VII.)
Oak, Quercus cerris, was also used and was probably imported from
Turkey. Unfortunately it decays, unlike ebony, Diospyros, which is a
black or dark brown wood of high durability with a very dense grain.
Ebony would have been shipped from regions south of Egypt, such as
Ethiopia. During the earliest dynasties only small supplies appear to
have been available. However, in the tomb of Tutankhamun a splendid
Woodworking materials
.
d A scene in the New Kingdom temple
ebony bed-frame was dlsc?vefeB~ . shows Egyptians cutting branches
of Queen Hatshe~sut at Delr ef p t~d African slaves carrying them to
from ebony trees 10 the land ~ u~ Ebony is very hard to work and
ships for transport bac~ to gy~~lued highly throughout the east
furniture made
~rom GI~fwa}
were made by the later
.
Mediterranean
region.
I ts 0 ebony furniture
kings of Egypt to the rulers of other countnes.
Plywood
. . . h ts of timber with the grain of
The technique of laminating thin sh ee t was ~own to Egyptian
.
.
.
. ht angles to t e nex ,
f hi earl 'plywood' was discovered 10 .a
one sheet being at ng
carpenters. An example 0 tIS. d ~ lex of Djoser at Saqqara. This
passage within the St~p Pyrami co d p ossibl forms part of the side
piece dates to the ~hlrd DynaS\~ ~ sif-pl y w~od that is held to~ether
panel of a coffin. It IS an ~xamp
t
bviously realised that this was
with wooden pegs. Egyptian carpden ers stable sheet of material with
.
hi h they could pro uce a
.
d
a way 10 wlarger
IC than the Iog fro m which it was fabncate .
dimensions
Ivory
Ivory was use~ fro!il as early ~s
the Neolithic period, I~S close gram
making it an ideal medluI!1 to carve.
Many small legs of bo,:me shape,
carved in hippopota~us IVory, h~ve
been discovered In the FIrst
Dynasty royal tombs a~ A~ydos and
at other Early Dynastic sites, such
as Tarkhan. In the First Dynasty
tomb of Djer many short legs,
which were probably used to
support small caskets, wer~ found
(figure 2). Preserved In. the
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambnd~e,
is a particularly fine ex~mple.whlch
is delicately carved WIth vein and
tendon detail. There are examples
2 Ivory bovine-shaped leg which would ha\e
. orted either a small casket or a stoo ;
of Djer, Abydos, First Dynasty.
~t~b
(A~ter
50mm.
O~~~;;iiIiIl~~~;;~~~i
~
11
10
Basket techniques
Basketwork too was practised from as early as Neolithic times. By
plaiting natural fibres, such as the leaves of the date palm, some kinds
of coarse grass and pliable plant stalks, craftsmen were able to weave
many different types of basketware. The carpenters and joiners
themselves used baskets of hold all type to carry their tools. It had to be
reinforced with cord ribs and had a carrying handle (figure 3).
Woodworking materials
.
New Kingdom. (British
2561 Photograph:
4. Reed wig bOdx,
Museum. Lon ?n,
.
Lorraine March-Klllen.)
Leather
Shee goats and cattle were
domestf~ated and their skins used
as clothing at an early date',Leather
,
production was well ~stabhshed,by
the Predynastic Period. ~anm!1g
hieved by treating skins wI~h
~~s,~fce from the fruit ofth~ acacia
'
trei. Leather w~s used during th~ for t ing woodwork joints t~gether,
m
Predynastic Penod to make t~n8_fram~ and the seats of New Kmgdo
and the webbing of some ear Y e
stools were formed from leather straps.
U holstery
h woven cord was used to make
~s well as straps made f~~ l~sa~e~~ in the Second Dynasty stela o~
seats for chairs and stools.
1S ,1 le stools the cord was bound aroun
ady
Heken
at
Belwan,
On
simp
hairs holes were drilled through
L
the
.
'1
re
elaborate
c
the seat rails, Wh1 e on rna
across to form the sea t "
the 'seat rails and the dcofrd wa~sw~~~~ as the Second Dynast y !" ~~~
Cushions were use rom
ted on a low-back chau.
,
stela, from. Saqqara, sh?ws S~~~f~~re~~:nded over the backrest of this
deceased S1tS on a CUShIO~ w f li
.
. (fi ure 5) The weavmg 0 men
chair g
. 11 derstood by the
[ -$
from flax was we un.
' d A
beginning of the Dyna~t,IC Peno '
linen cushion in the Bntlsh MuseNum,
h to date from the
ew
~.ou~o~ is stuffed with the feathers
oP~aterf~wl. Animal skins we~ ~~so
used as seat covers: leopar. s in,
. ported into Egypt from Nubia and
~~e Sudan, was highly favoured.
[
f
ated on a cushion,
5. Stela showibn~f:~~ ~e:c~~d Dynasty. (After
Saqqara, Tom
,
' Sara 1912-1914,
Quibell, ExcavatlO n s at ~~i3 plates XXVIc
Archaic Mastabas, airo,
'
xxvn.i
:J
12
2
Woodworking techniques and fittings
Felling, timber conversion and fittings
The selection of wood for felling was an important process. Timber
boards had to be cut from straight trunks of good quality which had
sufficient heartwood with few defects. A fine illustration showing
woodcutters felling a tree and feeding its foliage to three gazelles is
seen in the Twelfth Dynasty tomb of Khnum-hotep III at Beni Hasan
(figure 6). These men are using bronze axes which have a curved cutting
edge with integral projecting side lugs. The blade fitted into a groove
cut into the head of the ash shaft. Wet leather thongs were bound
around thetogether.
lugs and shaft and as they dried they pulled and tightened the
assembly
After felling, the branches were chopped away and the trunk was cut
into lengths of approximately 1.70 metres. This made the logs easy to
transport and of the correct length to convert into boards. The logs were
13
I_ ~=-~~?~
I~~~~
i~o
6,
Thl~own
~onverted
by this process were,:;:~~_ rain Jhich results from ~s~ng
shrinkage (figure 9). The ~xpose~ and 1O~ can be seen when exammmg
this conversion process (figures
the timber.
bark
sa wood
8. Timber
conversion
using 'through
and through'
cutting.
heartwood
pith
board
6. Woodcutters felling a tree, from the tomb of Khnum-hotep III, Twelfth Dynasty, No.3,
Beni Hasan. (After NeWberry, Beni Hasan I, London, 1893, plate XXIX.)
15
14
c.
f.
d.
., . a half-lap: b, simple mitre; c, shoulder-mitre; d, double
12. Box and frame ~omer Jo~nts: f 'dovetailed mitre-housing.
shoulder-mitre; e, mitre-housing, ,
.
h holes in the joining members (figure
leather thongs which passed throu g sed from the earliest times wer~ the
l
11). Other cornerJo.mts com~~n y ~tre double shoulder-mitre, mitrehalf-lap, simple mitre, .shou . er-~ousin (figure 12). Carpenters used
housing and the dovetalled .Ill:ltre- th fargest of boxes as well as the
the most complex of these joints on e
smallest ivory jev.:el. cases.
nable to use long lengths of timber for
Carpenters and Jomers were u the length was determined ?y the
/
hei ht of the sawing post. It was
-'
con~erted against. Longer r~lls ~er~
,
manufactured by scarf-)omtmg s. 0
rails together and locking them into
position by using a butterfly craT~
(figure 13). Unusually long ~o I 1
pieces used in major constructlO~a
works' were not converted by sawing
but p;epared directly from the log.
Joints
In many Predynastic burials the crouched
body was placed in a simple box or on a
frame of wood which had been covered with
plant stems. Much of this early timber has
decayed but from surviving pieces showing
the corners and edges it is possible to
identify a number of woodworking joints.
The majority of boxes have butt-jointed
corners held together with
wooden pegs or tied with 11. Butt-joint.
b.
a.
t
\
16
jomt.
shoulder
tenon
,--_c_,heek
15. Dovetail joint.
~/c;:r-
Applied techniques
. Gypsum, a hydrated form of calcium 1 h
.
either rock or crystal form
d
suo p ate, occurs in Egypt in
applied to the surface of poo~~qu~f~ ~ad~ into a .thic~ plaster. It was
any .exposed defects. If paint was
~m ers to disguise the grain and
furniture, then a thinner ground maJe f~ used t.o. decorate a piece of
would have been laid on to the timber
?m whl~m~ and gum or glue
m~de. a perfect foundation for paint .~hls rnaterial is called gesso and
gnndmg naturally occurring minerals' de paints were made by finely
and .an.adhesive such as size.
an rruxing the powder with water
ql1dlllg was another techni ue a li
.
laying very thin gold leaf u o~ a pp I.ed to timber and. was achieved by
acted as an adhesive hOldi~g thewetl~IF of ?esso. ThiS latter dried and
!hicker gold foil, and sometimes s~~er eaf firmly to the ~ooden core.
III Egypr, were pressed and punched
' ~etal not occurnng naturally
position by small nails.
on 0 t e wooden core and held in
17
turning the log against a long knife. Ebony was extensively used as a
veneer and was fixed into position with gum or glue and held with small
dowels to prevent it from slipping or twisting while the adhesive set.
Both ebony and ivory were used in sheet and strip form for inlaying into
better-quality timbers. Other materials such as faience, which is a
green or blue glazed non-clay ceramic (of crushed quartz, lime and
natron), and polished stone, such as carnelian, were also inlaid into
wooden furniture.
The ability of the carpenter to apply complex decoration is best seen
with the techniques of marquetry and parquetry. Two boxes discovered
in the tomb of Tutankhamun (Eighteenth Dynasty) have their panels
decorated with thousands of tiny pieces of wood carefully arranged and
glued into position in a herringbone pattern.
Clear varnish, made from resin mixed with oil, was used to protect
timber during the Eighteenth Dynasty. Black varnish, made from pitch
and oil, was also painted on wood to seal the grain. To cover and protect
paintings, beeswax was often applied but it is uncertain whether it was
used as a polish on timber, although it is the base from which many
modern polishes are manufactured.
Decorative techniques
a.
b.
~
C.
d.
Adhesives
The use of animal-based glues was not known until the Fifth Dynasty.
The glue was made by boiling the skins and bones of animals in water
and allowing the solution to evaporate, leaving a concentrated viscous
adhesive. In an illustration in the tomb of Rekhmire at Thebes a carpenter
18
C'
rurmture
Fittings
.Both wooden and gold buu-h:
~~ndgels made from interlocking ~nyTI~~n~erle ~sed on furniture. Barrel
ca pieces of wood
e yemployed (figu 18)
a complex bronze hin;fng ~~~ ex.tremely fi~e folding bed w~f~~ ~~~
T utankhamun It is n
.
aOlsm was dIscovered in th
from the New' Kingd~~u~que, for a srnal] model folding b~dto:r~. of
Art, New York
' preserved m the Metropolitan M ' a 109
M
.
useum of
ost boxes were secured b t .
~~aped 1andl~s set in the lid a~d~r~~tC~;~har~und a pair of mushroorn_
10 en sea ed WIth clay to provide rudiment e ox . The cord would have
~f~~an be seen on better-quality box my secunty. However, complex
1 109 bolts running in metal
es.
~gether the hinged doors of box~~a~~~ orb~ooPs were used to fasten
ynasty onwards.
ca mets from the Eighteenth
19
3
Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods
Tools
Up to and during the Predynastic Period resistant materials were
worked with knives and saws made from flint (figure 19) and simple
copper tools were manufactured during the Badarian Period, 4500 to
4000 BC, to carve wood, ivory and stone. By the Naqada I Period
(4000 to 3500 BC) basalt and other stone vases were being bored with
copper drills and in Naqada II metal, stone and wood working
proliferated. Therefore, by the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period
and the unification of the lands of Upper and Lower Egypt into a single
kingdom the technology was available to work wood and other materials
with a high degree
of
accuracy. From
19. Flint saw,
Badarian
then on the trades of
Period, cA5DD
craftsmen
were
Be. (British
regulated across the
Museum,
whole Egyptian
62274.
Photograph:
state.
Lorraine
The cut lines
March-Killen.)
made from early
copper saws can
often be seen on planks of timber that were converted during the Early
Dynastic Period. These run across the face of the timber in all directions,
which indicates that the saw blades were short. The earliest examples of
copper saws were discovered by Petrie at Abydos in 1899-1902 and
1921-2 and by Professor Walter B. Emery at Saqqara between the
1930s and 1950s. The series of mastabas Emery excavated included a
burial chamber surrounded by a number of storerooms, which had
contained many different funerary goods such as jewellery and household
furniture.
Unfortunately the tombs had been robbed during antiquity and we
have no idea of the material which was removed. What is more, the
robbers started fires in each room, either maliciously or for the purpose
of destroying evidence of their entry. The wooden roof appears to have
extinguished the fire when it collapsed into the tomb. Much of the
remaining wooden material was either smashed into fragments or reduced
to charcoal.
One of the major discoveries Emery made was an enormous cache of
saws and other woodworking tools in Tomb 3471. He dated them to the
reign of Djer, who ruled during the First Dynasty. These saws were of
20
..
stroke direction
21
pitch
Modern saw blade
....
stroke direction
Furniture
Many of the fragments of wooden furniture discovered in the First
Dynasty tombs at Saqqara and Abydos are carved with a bound rush or
'basketwork' decoration. An assembled piece made from two fragments
discovered separately by Emile Amelineau and Petrie in the tomb of
Semerkhet at Abydos would have formed part of a box (figure 24). One
22
23
,---
f~
b.
100mm.
0-""",.
a.
o
[
-----~
.
ith bound rush decoration, First
Dynasty, Ab ydos . (Ashmolean
M~seum, Oxford, EI255 and E138.)
. ht) At the elbow
24 1""""1
Furniture
fragment
-
WOm~
]
side has been bordered with a delicately carved bound rush pattern.
This has been overlaid with fine linen which was used as a ground for
gold leaf. Many small fragments of gold can still be seen in the incisions
between the basketwork border and the plain panel below. In the centre
of this is a serekh gateway, on which is seated the falcon god Horus.
The reverse side is edged with a carved band of bound rush, which also
was gilded. The main body is inlaid with small triangles of wood and
moulded faience which have badly faded in colour. They were arranged
in an alternating
binding
medium. pattern and held in position with some type of yellow
Ivory strips, which have been engraved with various straight-line,
nail-head and interlocking chain patterns, were also used to decorate
furniture (figure 25). They were held in position with small ivory dowels.
These features have been discovered at both Saqqara and Abydos which
suggests that carpenters were following common design practices in
both Upper and Lower Egypt.
The best collection of Early Dynastic furniture was discovered at
Tarkhan by Petrie. He found a number of bed-frames, which can be
classified into five constructional types. The first, and most primitive,
was made from four branches of timber which conveniently had right-
WI
(f re 26 bottom ng .
.
. h
angled elbows form~d In t eJ1l~g~he lo~g straight end of the opposmg
of each was housed, In a roun 0 helbow formed the legs of the bed.
bed-frames made from squarebranch. The short ends below eac
Also found at ~arkhan were recta~gdu~~ short square pillar legs (figure
section timber ralls that m:e supp~r e
d tenoned together, as are the
d
26, top left). The fram~ IS m~~~I:~on~nSide rails (figure 27). This view
legs, into the bottom sur ace.o
in made from woven cord would
~hIC~
~~~~gl~S
through the bottom and inner
shows
that
slots,
through
have passed, were choppe at ng
rro::.-DJJJlJlI
24
E gypttan
. Woodworking and Furniture
25
28. Bed-frame with bovine-shaped legs, First Dynasty, Tarkhan. (Manchester Museum,
5429. Archive excavation photograph, courtesy of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian
Archaeology, University College London.)
26. Bed-frame construction, First 0 nast
.
.
rail above' c?ottO~'I~~)~an: (toPhleft) pillar I~g; (top right) bovineInto SIderail; (bottom right) primitive bed m d f ovrne-s aped leg with cross rail mortised
a
photograph, courtesy of the Petrie Museum ; rfm angled branches. (Archive excavation
0
gypnan Archaeology, University College
London.)
26
27
29. Bed-frame with curved side rails, First Dynasty, Gebelein. (Oriental Institute, University
of Chicago, 12169. Photograph by courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of
Chicago.)
moulded side rails. The cross rails are stub-mortised and tenoned into
the side rails and webbing slots are chopped into the frame. The accurate
shaping of the frame with its graceful curves illustrates the high degree
of carpentry skills being practised by Early Dynastic craftsmen in a
limited number of specially commissioned works. The joint of the leg
and side rail is lashed together with a sophisticated binding of leather
which also passed through slots in the cross rail. Only one end of the
side rails has been carved with a stylised papyrus-flower handle. A
similar bed-frame can be seen in the Musees Royaux d' Art et d'Histoire,
Brussels.
Further interesting discoveries were made at Tarkhan. Two small
tables were found, each of which was cut from a single block of wood.
One was set on four projecting pads and the other on a pair of supports
(figure 30). Petrie also discovered two sandal trays, again cut from solid
blocks of timber and with a central bar of wood. This is shaped to the
outline of a foot and the tray is hollowed out below (figure 31). This bar
may have been used as a carrying handle, although the small projection
at one end was perhaps intended for this purpose. Whether the tray was
used to clean sandals or to hold some early chiropody implements or
materials used in the cosmetic care of feet we do not know.
d . t d on a number of stelae
Saqqara. Th.e first examples of seats a~b~~~c~elwan by the Egyptian
discovered in the seco;d p.yn~~t32toFromthese we can establish that
Egyptol~ghiSbt Z~kY~: le Ig~ of si~ilar construction to the bed-frames,
stools, Wit ovme-s ap
.
durin the Second Dynasty. One
were commonly used by ~glPl1ans. k se~ted on a stool with the ends
stela from Hel~U? ~hows .e er-men~:_flower terminal. The stela has
of each side :al1 finished With a pap~ w both the side of the seat and its
been carved I.n an u.nusual way to s ~ r stela of Prince Nisu-heqet, is
top in one vle~ (figure ~2). Anoto~ a chai; with a high back post and
remarkable, for It shows h(l~ seat~~) Being of royal descent, the prince
rtr ed seated on a special piece of
a stretcher below the seat igure
would normally ~e expected to b~fto :rsume that this might represent
furniture and so It seems reason a e
:%
an early throne..
'J
t
~
Vi
29
Old Kingdom
28
4
Old Kingdom
Reliefs and wall paintings
The few bed-frames and illustrations of early seats discovered in
tombs of the Early Dynastic Period indicate the kind of furniture
commonly used then. All of these pieces of furniture would probably
have been found in the houses of both middle and high ranking officials
and their families.
By the Third Dynasty, which marks the beginning of the Old Kingdom,
major advances in building construction and the associated trades of
woodworking and furniture manufacture are seen. The improvement in
the design of furniture can be seen in a series of remarkable wall paintings
in the Third Dynasty mastaba of Hesirc at Saqqara. Hesire was chief of
dentists and physicians during the reign of Djoser, whose Step Pyramid
can also be found at Saqqara.
One of the earliest scholars to excavate sites in Egypt was the
Frenchman Auguste Mariette. He opened the tomb of Hesire during the
mid nineteenth century and discovered eleven wooden panels, five of
which are displayed in the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo. Each
had been beautifully and precisely carved in raised relief to portray
Hesire in a number of elegant positions. One shows him seated on a
typical animal-leg stool whose side poles are finished with papyrusflower terminals.
After these panels were removed from the mastaba its position was
forgotten and it became hidden under the moving Saqqara sands. The
tomb was reopened in 1911 by 1. E. Quibell, who discovered the furniture
paintings which Mariette had overlooked. These paintings show a
complete set of typical furniture which would have been used to furnish
homes of the Old Kingdom and they show how design and technical
developments in furniture production had advanced since the previous
era. The quality of the furniture displayed indicates the use of imported
timbers; furthermore, emphasis on applied and decorative techniques is
beginning to be an established rule.
The bed-frames and stools illustrated in the tomb paintings are
generally similar to those already described. The patterns rendered on
these pieces of furniture suggest they were made of, or veneered with,
timbers such as ebony. Two types of bed-frame are displayed, one with
bovine-shaped legs and the other in an unconventional form with curved
or bent elements which are set on a drum (figure 34). Both types slope
slightly towards the foot of the bed, where a separate frame is placed to
stop the bedding from slipping off. Again stools and chairs are to be
=-~ f"rn~,",inl
Dynasty, tomb of
=--
Hesire, Saqqara.
(After Quibell,
The Tomb of
Hesy, Cairo,
1913, plate XX.)
~f
r
35. Stool and chair, Third
Dynasty, tomb of Hesire, Saqqara.
(After Quibell, The Tomb of Hesy,
Cairo, 1913, plate XVIII.)
W1
. .
36. Two
boxes, Third
Dynasty, tomb
of Hesire,
Saqqara.
(After Qui bell,
The Tomb of
Hesy, Cairo,
1913, plates
XVll and
XVIII.)
lc-
-'
---~
Ii
1.1
~~
\, ~
\J
30
;~~~~fo~
~~!'F.~~);~~:~;s;t~!~~E~tc~~:~~tf~t~~bs~o~i~:r~~
~~~g ~i~~:a:nc~.
;:i~n~~c~;~nei~t~~l~hsah~~~:~~~~~d~~~~
~~~~nRo~~~~io:dtheer
PWoit~t,Sl Ionthe 0gfOldht eses~~ete~n?ur~~~r~c~t~~r~~t~~0~;~6~
remains he and hi
.
I.11
Reproducti~:ns~of;"Q~ue:en~H~e:teGpl~~'.is':''!~
37,
(Museum of Fine Arts B t
Jeres canopy and furniture, Fourth Dynasty Giza
Departmental ApproPri~li;; ~~;~~jl ~8.8~3, chMair 38.957, ~ed 29.1858. Phot~graph~
,
. ou esy useum of Fine Arts, Boston.)
Old Kingdom
31
32
Old Kingdom
33
Tools
One of the most important mastabas at Saqqara, is that of Ti, which
dates to the Fifth Dynasty. The walls of his tomb are carved with many
reliefs showing scenes of activities performed as part of the normal
daily life. One scene shows a number of carpenters manufacturing boxes
and a bed under which is a headrest of the fluted column type. One pair
of carpenters are hand-finishing the lid of a long box which is similar to
the curtain box discovered in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres (figure 40).
They are using sandstone blocks to smooth the grain of the timber,
rubbing the block with the grain and not across it, which would have
scuffed and damaged the timber surface.
Headrests
Another headrest is placed on a box bel
Q
'
armchair. Egyptians did not use illow
ow ueen Meresankh s
~~~p~r~~~:~S~~~~i~~eads on ..G~nerall~,~:~~~~s~~e~a~~e~s~~~~~~~
~~~~~dn;;:~!~~:.~~~o"~~I?'1~~n~~~i~:ili~~~:'~~y~'tia~~=:~
were stored in reed boxes Usi~rsona ygiene apd wore WIgS that
gl'
uncomfortable: some were p'added a 'dheabdresth mlg~t appear to us
e ut t e rnajonty were
t
P OSSIiblYt hey were customised to fit an nSI
individu l' head.
no .
of these headrests are displayed in
a sM
Many exa~ples
museums.
ost are of a simple
40. Wall relief showing carpenters sanding a box, Fifth Dynasty, tomb ofTi, Saqqara. (After
Wild, Le Tombeau de Ti, Cairo, 1966, plate CLXXIV.)
34
Old Kingdom
35
43. Two boxes, Sixth Dynasty, burial chamber of Penu, M.VII, Saqqara. (After Icquier,
Tombeaux de Particuliers, Contemporains de Pepi JJ, Cairo, 1929, figure 50.)
41.$. acI1lenterl19Js6in6g albow-drill, Fifth Dynasty, tomb ofTi, Saqqara. (After Wild Le Tombeau
,p ate CLXXIY.)
,
d e 11, airo,
ha.s been moulded to fit the carpenter's hand, to give a more comfortable
gnp.
Early boxes
The origins of the bed-frame., stoo~ and chair were firmly established
by the end of the Ear~y Dynastic Penod. It was during the Old Kingdom
that boxes developed in all shapes and sizes. In the Old Kingdom tombs
at Saqqara there are man~ wall reliefs which illustrate this. Earlier
bo~es were made from plain boards that were corner-jointed together
w~lle later. examples are of frame and panel construction Some are
painted while others are inlaid or veneered. In the Fourth Dynasty tomb
?f Queen Meresan~ III a number of simple rectangular boxes are
illustrated, some having round or barrel-shaped lids (figure 42). By the
end of the Sixth Dynasty lids are shown in both the shrine and gable
form (figure 43).
Egyptians used boxes to carry heavy loads over long distances. ~n
early illustration in the tomb of Queen Meresankh III shows a plain
rectangular box carried on a pair of poles by two porters (figure 44).
The box appears simply to rest on the carrying poles. The improvement
in the quality and design of these larger boxes can be seen in the Sixth
Dynasty tomb of Mereruka (figure 45). This box is of frame and panel
construction with a gable lid set on a cavetto-shaped cornice with a
torus moulding below. The carrying handles are separate elements and
can be pushed in under the box when not being carried. The handles,
which run in copper staples, would have been shaped so they could not
be fully withdrawn. An almost identical box was discovered by Howard
Carter in the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.
44. Porters carrying a box on a pair of poles, Fourth Dynasty, tomb of Queen Meresankh Ill,
Giza. (After Dunham, The Mastaba of Queen Mersyankh JJJ, Boston, 1974, figure 8.)
36
IFr====~
37
5
Middle Kingdom
Furniture
The Middle Kingdom necropolis of Beni Has~n is situ~ted on the ~a.st
bank of the Nile between Cairo and Luxor. Cut mto the hmestone cliffs,
which overlook the Nile, are a number of Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasty
tombs. These tombs were built for the nomarchs of the Sixteenth Nome,
or administrative district, of Upper Egypt. These powerful men ruled
almost independently of the king. One of their duties w~s to ~egulatc
work produced in state or temple workshops, and scenes 10 their tombs
show carpenters at work.
Private individuals could have furniture commissioned only through
the patronage of the nome. This tight supervision of work was necessary
to conserve those raw materials which were available. Each workshop
had an inspector, who received instructions from an overseer. He was
probably a dependant of the nomarch.
.
On a slight slope below these nomarchs' to~~s was an lII11~lL'~lSl'
burial ground where the small tombs of thos~ Civil servants, ofbela Is
and dependants who served the nome were Sited. !hese pe~plc well'
buried in some splendour in small burial chambers which were discoverer I
at the bottom of a deep pit. Their tombs were excavated by John Garstanu,
Professor of Archaeology at Liverpool University, during the 11)02-..'
seasons. He cleared 880 small tombs, the contents of which have 1I0W
been widely dispersed. Some pieces remain in public collcctiuns whi 1('
others are privately owned.
.
In tomb 569 Garstang discovered a stool whose legs are shaped III a
typical Middle Kingdom style (figure 46). Each leg is tapered 10 a small
~ouIdings
.
The first example of a cavetto .co~Olce can. be found on a pavilion in
the heb-sed festival courtyard within the Thud Dynasty Step Pyramid
funerary complex of DjOSer at Saqqara. A torus moulding w~s also
applied to the sarcophaguf of King Menkaure, who ruled dunng the
Fourth Dynasty, and waS di.scove~ed at Giza. This sarcophagus was
unfortunately lost at sea while being transported to Lon?on in 18~8.
From as early as the Fifth pynasty moul.di~gs were decoratively applied
to boxes. A particularly fine e~ample is illustrated 10 the tomb of Ti.
The curved surface of the cormce has been vertically ribbed, perhaps
with plaster, and then gilded.
46. Stool, Twelfth Dynasty, Beni Hasan. (Ashmolean Museum. Oxfoul.fv-l !u.' 1"',01"1"''101,
Lorraine March-Killen.)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _lIiiIIII
J'=......
38
Middle Kingdom
39
IMPORTANT
a.
C.
]
b.
d.
l
e.
48. Middle Kingdom furniture illustrated on stelae in the collection of the Egyptian Antiquities
Museum, Cairo: a, table, General Catalogue 20756; b, table, General Catalogue 20561; c,
stool, General Catalogue 20010; d, chair, General Catalogue 20232; e, vase stand, General
Catalogue 20755.
41
40
Middle Kingdom
form of the front and hind legs of a bull or lion (figure 48c). Also
illustrated are a small number of elegant chairs, some having slender,
gazelle-shaped legs. An interesting example shows that chairs are given
complex curved back supports, of full height, made from angled slats of
timber. They are jointed into the rear seat rail and into the underside of a
curved and moulded top rail (figure 48d). The surface of the chair
illustrated in the stela simulates animal skin. Perhaps chairs would have
been veneered or painted to create this effect. In the Egyptian Antiquities
Museum, Cairo, are preserved a painted shield and arrow quiver case
which resemble cowskin and date from this period.
Slender vase stands supporting single vases are also to be found in
this collection. The tops are fitted with a moulded cup of wood into
which the round or tapered bottoms of vases or bowls could be seated
(figure 48e).
Tools
In 1888 Petrie discovered a Middle Kingdom workmen's town at
Kahun. These craftsmen worked in the temple workshops built by
Sesostris II and lived close by, within a walled enclosure. The town's
architect had set out rows of terraced houses of about 50 metres in
length, each branching at right angles from the enclosure wall and
separated by a street. These parallel streets joined a central avenue
which led to the temple complex and its workshops.
Each house had a wooden door that was set within an arched brick
entrance. The pivots on the edges of the doors were set into holes in the
floor and the arch above the door. These dwellings had a number of
small rooms, some of which were covered with a barrel vault while
others were spanned with large wooden beams which were covered
with thatch. Some roof spans had to be supported with wooden pillars.
The setting out of the house rows was very precise and the shape and
size of rooms were strictly controlled. The walls were plastered with
daub and painted yellow. Some were decorated with paintings - one
depicted a wooden vase stand, an early example of trompe-l'oeil.
Beneath the floors of these houses were found the poignant remains
of babies who had been buried in small rectangular boxes by their
parents. Such boxes would also have been used, more mundanely, to
hold tools and other domestic items and were made from planks of
timber fixed together with dovetailed mitre-housing joints (figure 49).
Furniture made of wood and even sometimes stone was commonly
used in these houses. Petrie discovered an animal-leg chair with a slanting
back support which was held to the side seat rail with an angled bracket
fixed with small dowels.
The tools used by the carpenters who lived in the town were discovered
49. Wooden box, from the workmen's ,,:iIlage of Kahun, Twelfth Dynasty. (Pitl Rivers
hotograph' Lorrame Mareh-Kll1en.)
Museum, O xfor d" L48 P
.
Toilet boxes.
.
b
s were customised and used for
During the MIddle ~ngdoI? axe contained eight small alabaster
special purposes. One mterestfg yp~ tray cut with holes was placed
vases which held perfumes an 01 nrevent the vases from moving and
inside a SImple rectangularfboxft'~t~d tightly and finger holes or a slot
being damaged The tray a ten I
.'
1
were cut t?roug'? the centre of thed~~~~~~r~~lhe~~t~tI~:~:O;; Petrie. It
A beautlful toilet b ox was a l so
.
.
. H h _Y
t
~~o:~~;.dW~i:hd:';~~~i~s~~~1~~k1E~E~~~r~E~j~~1~1~
and faience. Two boxes were succ~'tan Museum of Art New York,
conservation departmd~ntlofthde ~~~oh~vle shrine-shaped lid~, while one
where they are now lSP aye .
42
Scribes' boxes
T;Cribes also used woo~en boxes to store their pens and writing material
. ey.were often left plain, or they were painted to suggest cedar panels'
WIt h IVOry and ebony inlay.
'
43
New Kingdom
Tools
New Kingdom carpenters had an extensive tool kit and equipment to
draw upon (figure 50). They used axes, large and small adzes, pullsaws
and handsaws, bow-drills, mortise and firmer chisels, mallets and awls.
Egyptian carpenters, like their modern counterparts, used a hone to
sharpen the cutting edge of their tools. It was made from slate and
usually had a hole bored at one end which allowed it to be hung on a
peg somewhere in the workshop. The centre of the hone would become
dished by the repeated honing action. Many marks can be seen along
such hones while a few run across them, these marks being made by the
carpenter when, after sharpening the blade, he turned it over on to its
flat side to wipe away the burr (figure 50).
To assist in the honing of blades a small amount of oil was applied to
the surface of the stone. The oil would be held in a hollow horn, which
was capped at one end with a round wooden stopper while at the other
50. Bronze woodworking tools, New Kingdom, Thebes. (British Museum, London, 6037,
6040, 6042, 6043, 6044, 6046, 6055, 6061, 22834, 30083, 30245, 36728. Photograph
reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum.)
44
Furniture
St?ols would ~ave been the most widely used pieces of household
fum~ture. Egyptians used a number of different types of stool and the
quahty depended upon the rank of its owner. The lattice stool was
probably the most popular with all classes of Egyptians and is widely
illustrated in Theban tomb scenes .
. The c?nstruc~i~n of the stool is very elegant, having four slender legs
into w~lch are jointed at the bottom a cross rail and at the top a curved
seat rail. The space below the seat on all four sides was filled with
vertical struts and angled braces. Some of these are tenoned into mortises
in the horizontal elements while others are simply wedged into position
(figure 52). The seat is always formed with a double cove construction
of curved wooden slats or woven cord which pass through holes in the
edge of the seat frame.
Rou?d-legged stools were also used and are displayed in some of the
~~re Important The~an tombs. The legs were hand-carved and then
fmlsh~d ~y sandstoning, They were not turned on a primitive lathe.
Examination of the many fragments of round legs reveals the irregularity
45
New Kingdom
52. Lattice stool, Nevv Kingdom, Thebes.
(British Museum, London, 2476. Photograph:
reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees of the
British Museurn.)
46
New Kingdom
47
Before the New Kingdom, carpenters either squatted or sat crosslegged on the workshop floor. This is seen in a model of a car enters'
~orkshop that was discovered in the Eleventh Dynasty tomb o{Mekete at Thebes. However, New Kingdom wall paintings at Thebes show
us that c:u-penters often .sat on three-legged stools: a pair of these
workmen s sto?ls were ?Iscovered in the Nineteenth Dynasty village
cemetery at Deir el-Medma.
lh~ seats of these stoo~s were each made from a thick slab of timber
w IC :-vas carved to a dish shape. Three curved legs were iointed at
angle~nto the underside of the seat. Occasionally the leg tenJon would
pass ~ o~lgh the seat and in these circumstances the surface of the seat
~asb e~v1 y plastered to conceal the mortises and also the poor-quality
rm er rom which It was often manufactured. The seats of some stools
were made from the end offcuts of unwanted logs. Several defects such
'j
56. Chair, New Kingdom, Thebes. (British Museum, London, 2479. Photograph: Lorraine
March- Killen.)
as heart and radial shakes would develop in the seat and were again
covered and filled with plaster (figure 54).
The folding stool first appeared in the Middle Kingdom although the
best examples come from the New Kingdom. It was designed for ease
of transport, being light and convenient to handle when folded. When
unfolded, the frame proves to be very rigid. Middle Kingdom folding
stools were made simply from two interlocking frames held together
with a pair of bronze pivots. Those from the New Kingdom are more
elaborate, the vertical spindles often being finished with goose heads
that are inlaid with ivory neck feathers and eyes. The beak of the goose
formed the scribed shoulders of the tenon. This tenon projected as the
goose's tongue and was mortised into the floor rail. Both floor rails are
also carved with goose-headed terminals which are inlaid with ivory
eyes (figure 55).
A leather seat was fixed to both of the curved seat rails with animal
glue, which has darkened with age to a brown crystalline substance.
Some seats were made from cord which passes through holes along the
edge of the seat rails and is then woven across to form a wide flexible
webbing. Although designed to be folded, some stools were made with
solid wooden seats, shaped and painted to simulate an animal skin. A
number of these stools are illustrated in Theban tombs of this period
and a fine example was discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Chairs would have been found only in the homes of the wealthy
middle class. Many are decorated with hieroglyphs and those with
48
70
tlf
New Kingdom
49
(figure 57). The table of this stand has a hollow centre with a thick
wooden collar which prevented the bottom of round or tapered vases
from toppling over. The frame was lightly gessoed and then painted
with light green, dark green and red rectangles.
Apart from stools, chairs and vase stands, the homes of important
officials also contained beds, tables and storage chests. A marvellous
collection of private furniture was discovered in 1906 by Ernesto
Schiaparelli in the Eighteenth Dynasty tomb of Kha at Deir el- Medina.
Kha was an architect and belonged to the rich middle classes. His home
would have been elaborately decorated and comfortably furnished. The
range of furniture discovered in his tomb clearly illustrates the degree
of affluence such high-ranking officials enjoyed.
His furniture, which comprises 32 pieces, is now displayed in the
Museo Egizio, Turin. All of the four classes of stool discussed earlier
were deposited in the tomb, together with the master's chair. Two simple
rectangular wooden tables with square legs and horizontal stretchers
were also discovered. They were gessoed and had bands of hieroglyphs
painted across their tops. Other interesting pieces of furniture discovered
in the tomb were a small table made from short poles, which gave it a
rustic appearance, and two reed tables and a reed stand, all constructed
in a lattice style and bound together with rush and grass.
The beds of Kha and Meryt, his wife, were like others of this period.
They have long curved side rails which are supported on lion-shaped
legs. The footboard was made from three panels separated by a pair of
spindles. It was attached to the bed by large right-angled braces which
were dowelled to each edge of the footboard and the top surface of the
side rails. The weight of a sleeping person would make the bed's cord
webbing droop in the middle. The braces across the long side rails are
therefore curved to prevent the body coming into contact with them.
This design feature is common to all New Kingdom beds.
The bed clothes and linen were stored in five painted gable-lid chests.
Two were painted entirely with geometric patterns in green, yellow,
black and red. The other chests each have a painted scene on one side
that shows the couple receiving offerings of food.
Boxes
Two boxes of similar design to the Kha chests are now preserved in
the Oriental Museum, University of Durham. They come from the tomb
of Perpaut, which was probably excavated during the early nineteenth
century by adventurers, who sold the contents of such tombs to private
European collectors.
The construction and decoration of these indicates that Perpaut was a
contemporary of Kha. Another box in Bologna, together with a round-
50
58. Box, Eighteenth Dyn~sty, tomb of Perpaut, Thebes. (Durham University Oriental Museum
1460. Photograph: Lorraine March-Killen.)
New Kingdom
51
59. Box, Eighteenth Dynasty, tomb of Perpaut, Thebes. (Durham University Oriental Museum,
1459. Photograph: Lorraine March-Killen.)
(figure 59). Two mushroom-shaped handles are set into the centre of
the lid on each side of the ridge. No sophisticated locking system was
used on this box: the lid was simply tied down by winding cord around
both handles and then sealing the cord together with clay.
The construction of this box is quite rough and ready and large amounts
of plaster were used to conceal its faults. The panels were painted in an
ochre colour and were framed with black and white lines. The legs and
edges of the gable lid are again painted with a black lozenge pattern
ruled between black lines and set on a white background.
In the tomb of Any at Thebes a toilet box which belonged to his wife,
Tutu, was discovered (figure 60). This fine box exhibits precise cabinetmaking skills, being of a frame and panel construction with the joints
glued together. The interior has been divided into four compartments
which held Tutu's toilet equipment and cosmetics. Placed in each of
three small compartments at the rear of the box were vases which
contained perfumed oil. The long front compartment held a bronze
cosmetic-mixing dish and the lady's gazelle-skin slippers. Other items
commonly placed in these boxes were polished bronze mirrors, kohl
containers (for eye makeup) and ivory combs.
Below the base of the box is a decorative lattice of round dowels. The
foot of each leg is rounded and was probably originally encased in a
bronze protective shoe. The lid is held in position by a pair of tongues
projecting from under the back of the lid. These located in .notches cut
into the back rail of the box. The front was held down by tying papyrus
52
New Kingdom
53
61. Jewellery hox, New Kingdom, Thehes.-(British Museum, London, 5897. Photograph:
Lorraine March-Killen.)
and lid, are carved from ivory in the traditional mushroom shape.
60. Toilet box of the lady Tutu, New Kingdom, tomh of Any, Thebes, (British Museum,
London, 24708. Photograph: Lorraine March-Killen.)
. . '
Royal collections
The splendid collection of furm.ture dlscovere.d III .the tomb of
Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes IS typical of palace
furniture of that period. These illustrious exa~ples, however, are not
very different in style from those used by the ~Iddle classes. Howev~r,
the quality of the woodwork and Its embelhshment ar~ often quite
exceptional. Royal furniture woul? have been covered in gold sheet,
inlaid with coloured glasses or faience, veneered with rare timbers,
exquisitely painted or decorated with royal symbols like the uraeus.
Unfortunately no other royal tomb has been found intact at Thebes
although we do have a pair of armchair panels from the throne of
Tuthmosis IV now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Also preserved are fragments of a chair of state in the Dundee Muse~m
and Art Gallery and the footboard and legs of a bed-frame which
belonged to Queen Hatshepsut, no~ in the Briti.sh Museum, London.
Another collection of royal furniture was dls~overed by. Theodo~e
Davis in the tomb of Yuya and Thuya at Thebes m 1905. ThiS cc;>uple s
daughter, Tiye, married Amenophis III and he presented them with t:"o
magnificent chests. One of these che~ts has a ~ound lid covered wI~h
gilded hieroglyphs and cartouches which ~ear his ~ame. Also placed ~n
the tomb were two armchairs made for Pnncess Sitamun, the couple s
granddaughter. Again their quality indicates the.exquisite craftsmanship
of the royal workshops at the Theban necropohs.
54
62. Carpenters turning wood on a simple lathe. (After Lefebvre, Le Tombeau de Petosiris,
Cairo, 1923, plate X.)
55
.ad (W 11
e Museum University College
63. Turned couch leg, Late periodh?rRRO~a~pe[~s' ~epr~d~~~ by eourte~y of the Welleome
of Swansea, W 2061. Photograp. ogcr av ,
Museum, University College, Swansea.)
56
was also used in Egypt. Many examples of turned couch leg (figure 63)
survive in museums around the world. These couches would have been
inlaid with ivory and bone which were carved with scenes of animals,
fruits and flowers. Some fine examples of bone inlay strip, from Tanis,
are preserved in the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery. Marble was often
used to make furniture or the tops of tables, while bronze was cast and
made into vase stands. In the Musee des Beaux-Arts, Lyons, is a
particularly fine three-legged bronze vase stand which was found near
Alexandria in 1773.
It was during the Roman Period that carpenters first began using
planes and worked on timber prepared over a sawpit. By converting
timber in this way it became possible for carpenters to work on boards
of better quality and longer length. The art of the woodworker, joiner,
cabinet-maker and turner, founded in antiquity, has been continually
practised through fifty centuries. From master to apprentice, these
ancient skills and techniques are preserved and cherished.
LOWER
EGYPT
Gizae
Saqqara
e Memphis
JeHelwan
eTarkhan
eKahun (Lahun)
j,
SINAI
eBadari
UPPER
EGYPT
oI
100Km
I
65. Map of Egypt, showing sites mentioned in the text. (Cartography by Robert Dizon.)
58
59
8
Glossary
Cheeks: the exposed and cut faces of a joint
Double .cove seat: seat that has four curved seat rails.
Green tImber: wet and unseasoned wood.
Heartwood: the heartwood lies under the sapwood and its cells are
hard and ~o not contain ~ap. It is usually stable and less likely to
decay and is used for furniture construction.
Sapwood: the.sapwood surrounds the heartwood and its cells transport
wat~r and mme~als from the ground to the branches and leaves
Sawpit: a de~p pit over w~ic~ is placed a framework of wood ~hich
supports a timber log, which is sawn, with a long two-handled saw by
two men. One man stands in the pit and the other above on the
[ramework.
Shakes: if the timber is felled or seasoned incorrectly then defects such
als shakhes de~elop. These are splits which open into holes across or
a ong t e gram.
Slash sawing: the log is sawn into boards along its axis. This conversion
proces~ IS als? known as through and through cutting.
Tangential sl~rmkage: ~hen a log is slash-sawn it is cut at a tangent to
~hed growth nngs. S:uppmg or deformation of the board occurs because
it oes not dry uniformly across its width.
9
Museums
Most museums which have an Egyptology collection display examples
of woodwork, furniture and tools. The most important museums are
listed below and visitors are advised to find out their opening times
before making a special journey.
Great Britain
Ashmolean Museum ofArt and Archaeology, Beaumont Street, Oxford
OXI 2PH. Telephone: 0865 278000.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham
B3 3DH. Telephone: 021-235 2834.
Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, Le Mans Crescent, Bolton, Lancashire
BLl 1SE. Telephone: 0204 22311 extension 2191.
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Queen's Road, Bristol BS8 lRL.
Telephone: 0272 223571
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC 1B 3DG. Telephone:
071-6361555.
Durham University Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, Durham DHI 3TH.
Telephone: 091-374 2911.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 lRB.
Telephone. 0223 332900.
Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery, Kelvingrove, Glasgow G3 8AG.
Telephone: 041-357 3929.
Hunterian Museum, The University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ.
Telephone: 041-3304221.
Liverpool Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EN.
Telephone: 051-207 0001.
Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road,
Manchester, M13 9PL. Telephone: 061-275 2634.
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London,
Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT. Telephone: 071-387 7050
extension 2884.
Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford
OXI 3PP. Telephone: 0865 270927.
Royal Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EHI UF.
Telephone: 031-225 7534.
Wellcome Museum, University College of Swansea, Singleton Park,
Swansea, West Glamorgan SA2 8PP. Telephone: 0792 205678.
60
Museums
61
Austria
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Burgring 5, A-101O Vienna.
Belgium
Musees Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Avenue J. F. Kennedy, 1040
Brussels.
Poland
Muzeum Narodowe W Krakowie, Lipcowego 12, 31-109 Krakow.
Muzeum Narodowe W Warszawie, Jerozo1imskie 3, 00-495 Warszawa.
Canada
Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2C6.
Portugal
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Avenide de Berna 45, 1093, Lisbon.
Czech Republic
Narodni Muzeum v Prase, Vitezneho Unora 74, Prague 1.
Russia
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Volkhonka 19, 121019, Moscow.
Denmark
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Dantes Plads, DK-1550 Copenhagen V.
Sweden
Medelhavsmuseet, Jarntorget 84, 111 29 Stockholm.
Victoria Museum, Gustavianum, S-752 20 Uppsa1a.
Egypt
Egyptian Antiquities Museum, Tahrir Square, Kasr el-Nil, Cairo.
France
Mus~e Calvet,
.6?
Mus~e
germany
~gypt~schesMuseum,
Ireland
National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Italy
Museo Archeologico, Via della Colonna 36, Florence.
Museo Egizio, Palazzo dell 'Accademia delle Scienze Via Accademia
delle Scienze 6, Turin.
'
Netherlands
Allard Pierson Museum, Oude Turfmarkt 127, Amsterdam 1012 GC.
63
62
10
Further reading
Baines, J., and Malek, J. Atlas ofAncient Egypt. Phaidon, Oxford, 1980.
Baker, H. Furniture in the Ancient World. The Connoisseur, London,
1966.
Charlish, A. The History of Furniture. Orbis Books, London, 1976.
Feduchi, L. A History of World Furniture. Blume, Barcelona, 1977.
Garstang, J. The Burial Customs ofAncient Egypt. London, 1907.
Killen, G. P. Ancient Egyptian Furniture. Aris & Phillips, Warminster;
Volume 1 1980, Volume 21994.
Lucas, A. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries. Editor, J. R. Harris.
Arnold, London, fourth edition 1962.
Lucie-Smith, E. Furniture: A Concise History. Thames & Hudson,
London, 1979.
Hayward, H. World Furniture. Hamlyn, London, 1981.
Helck, W., and Eberhard, O. Lexikon der Agyptologie, Band IV. Otto
Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1982.
Oates, P. B. The Story of Western Furniture. Herbert Press, London,
1981.
Petrie, W. M. F. Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt. Foulis, Edinburgh
and London, 1910.
Petrie, W. M. F. Tarkhan I and Memphis V. British School of
Archaeology in Egypt, University College London, 1913.
Petrie, W. M. F. Tools and Weapons. British School of Archaeology in
Egypt, University College London, 1917.
Singer, C.; Ho1myard E. J.; and Hall, A. R. A History of Technology.
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1955.
Index
Page numbe rs in italic refer to illustrations
Abydos 9, 19,20,20,21,
22,26
Acacia 7,11
Adhesive 16, 17,25
Adze 8, 16,21,21,34,41,
43,43,44,44
Alabaster 33, 41
Alexandria 56
Amenemhet 50
Amenophis III 53
Ankh 17, 17
Any 51,52
Armchair 31,32,53
Ash 8, 12
Aw121, 43, 43
Axe 8, 12, 43, 43
Bark 13,16
Barrel-lid 34, 34
Barrel vault 40
Basalt 19
Basket makers 10
Bed-frames 9, 11, 16,22,
23,24,25,25,26,26,
29
Beeswax 17
Bench 44,44
Beni Hasan 8, 12, 37
Beve138
Bovine-shaped legs 9, 9,
23,27,28
Bow-drill 33, 34, 43, 43
Bronze 12, 18,41,47
Butterfly cramp 15, 15
Butt joint 14, 14, 52
Cabinet 29, 36, 36, 55
Cairo 10,31,37,39,40
Canopy 30, 30,31,32
Carnelian 17, 41
Carrying box 35,35,36
Carrying chair 32, 32
Cartouche 53
Cavetto cornice 35, 36,36,
38,38,39
Cedar 8, 42, 52
Cedrus libani 8
Chair 11,29,47,47
Cheeks 16, 38, 58
Chiropody implements 26
64
Lcopardskin II
Linen 11,21,22
Lion 31
Locking system 50
Lotus petal decoration 45
Lozenge decoration 50, 51
Luxor 37
Mallet 21, 43
Marquetry 17
Mastaba 19, 28, 33
Meket-Re 46
Menkaure 36
Mereruka 35
Meresankh III 31, 32, 33,
34
Metal hoops 18,52
Metal staples 18,31
Mirror 41,51
Mitre cutting aid 44, 44
Mitre-housingjoint 15, 15
Moisture content 14
Mortise and tenon 16,16
Mushroom shaped handles
18,51,52,53
Nails 16, 18
Naqada 19
Neb 17, 17
Nefer-meri-ka 27, 27
Nile 10, 37
Nisu-heqet 27, 27
Nomarc\l37,50
Nome 37
North Africa 8
Nubia 11
Oak 8
Oil 17,41,43
Oil flask 43, 44
Overseer 37
Paint 16, 40
Palermo Stone 8
Palm leaf 10
Papyrus 10,26,51
Papyrus flower 25, 27, 28
Parquetry 17
Perfumed oil 41, 51
Perpaut 49, 50, 51
Petosiris 54, 55
Plane 16,21
Plaster 16,36,46,47,51
Plywood 9
Polish 17
Pullsaw 13, 13, 43, 43
Index
Pyramid 30, 41
Quercus cerris 8
Razor 42
Reed 10, 11,39
Rekhmire 13,17,18
Rouge dish 42
Round-legged stool 44, 45,
50
Royal annals 8
Royal furniture 53
Rush 10,48
Salix safsaf"l
Sandal tray 26, 27
Sandstone blocks 33, 33,
44
Sapwood 13, 16,58
Saqqara 9, 11,18,19,20,
21,27,28
Sarcophagus 36
Saw 13, 16, 19, 19, 20, 20,
34
Sawing post 13,13, 15
Scarf-joint 15, 15
Scribe's box 42
Seasoning 14
Seat height 38, 38
Sehefner 11, 11
Semerkhet 21
Serekh 22, 23
Sesostris 40, 41
'Set' 21
Shakes 47, 58
Shoulder-mitre joint 15, 15
Shrine lid 35, 35, 41
Sidder 7
Silver 16, 42
Simple-mitre joint 15, 15
Sitamun 53
Sit-Hathor-Yunet41
Size 16
Slash grain 14
Sliding bolt 18
Slippers 51
Sneferu 8, 30, 31
Spindles 49
Steam bending 8, 8
Stela 11, 11, 27, 27, 39, 39
Step Pyramid 9, 28, 36
Stool 37, 37
Stretcher 27, 39, 45, 47
Stringing 50, 52
Sudan 11
Sycamore fig 7
Syrian coast 8
Table 26, 26
Tamarisk 7
Tang 20
Tangential shrinkage 13,
14,58
Tanis 54, 56
Tanning 11
Tarkhan 9, 22, 23, 25, 26
Thebes 14, 17,44,46,47,
50,51,52,53
Three-legged stool 46, 46
Three-legged table 50
Throne 27,27
Thuya 10, 53
Ti33, 34, 36
Tibia 38
Timber conversion 12, 13,
13, 14, 18, 58
Tiye 53
Toilet box 41, 42,51
Torus moulding 35, 36
Tray 41
Try square 44, 44
Tuna el-Gebel 54
Turkey 8
Turned bed leg 55, 56
Tutankhamun 8,17,29,
35,47,53
Tuthmosis IV 53
Tutu 51
Upholstery 11, 55
Uraeus 53
Varnish 17
Vase stand 39, 40, 48, 48
Veneer 16, 17, 18,28,34,
40,52,53
Was 17,17
Webbing 11
Wheelwrights 8
Whetstone 42
Whiting 16
Wig boxes 10,11,32
Willow 7
Woodcutters 12, 12
Workshop 13, 14,37,40,
43,46
Workshop inspector 37
Writing equipment 10, 42
Yuya 10,53
Zizyphus spina-christi 7
Shire Egyptology
This series is written by experts for the student or interested layman. Each book contains
many illustrations and deals concisely with a particular aspect of Egyptology. Titles in the series,
with their series numbers, are:
Akhenaten's Egypt Angela P. Thomas (10)
Egyptian Boats and Ships Steve Vinson (20)
Egyptian Coffins John H. Taylor(ll)
Egyptian Faience and Glass Paul T. Nicholson
(18)
Egyptian Food and Drink Hilary Wilson (9)
Egyptian Godsand Myths Angela P. Thomas (2)
Egyptian Household Animals Rosalind and
Jack Janssen (12)