Ancient Egyptian Furniture

4000 – 1300 BC

Geoffrey Killen

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781785704826
• Topic: Geschichte
• Subtopic: Geschichte der ägyptischen Antike

This revised second edition examines the common forms of furniture used in ancient Egypt, so much of which has been preserved by the dry Egyptian climate and has long been admired for the quality of its design and construction. The story begins with the earliest known pieces and ends with the spectacular discoveries from the 18th dynasty represented mainly by the magnificent furniture from the tomb of Tutankhamun. The insight which Dr Killen brings in the detailed explanations of the materials, techniques and designs of the master craftsmen of ancient Egypt, gives this book a special significance. There is a catalogue of known pieces from museums around the world, classified by type – beds, stools, chairs and tables – with detailed analyses of the materials, tools and joinery. The splendid photographs and drawings illustrate each piece and technique.

Chapter 1

Furniture Materials

1. Timber

Timber as used in carpentry and joinery was a scarce material in ancient Egypt. Most of the timber indigenous to the country was, and is, either too small or of too poor quality to be used in furniture production. Therefore, timber had to be imported into Egypt, principally from those areas close to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea which supported a wide variety of good quality timbers. Importing timber began on a large scale at the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty, 2686 B.C., being mainly used in architectural works, but an offshoot of this industry was a dramatic change in both furniture design and manufacture. This is immediately evident when looking at stelae, reliefs and paintings of this period (Quibell 1913: pls. XVII–XX).

The identification and dating of ancient timbers used in Egypt had not been undertaken on a wide scale by museums and institutions until the latter part of the twentieth century. One of the problems with timber identification is that the grain has to be examined under x100 magnification, for accurate determination of the timber. This means that a small clean cut sample has to be prepared from the object. Naturally, not many museums were willing to expose objects to this treatment, especially those articles which are on permanent exhibition. However, the value of scientific research into timber identification and dating is now accepted and is producing some valuable information into how different wood types supported the needs of ancient civilizations. This has led many leading museums to initiate programmes of research into examining the products they preserve and identifying the wood from which they were manufactured. This approach has been employed by Dr Caroline Cartwright whose work on analysing timbers used to manufacture coffins and mummy portraits has significantly increased our knowledge of the use of native and imported woods at different periods in Egypt (Cartwright 1997: 106–111). For the furniture historian and technologist studying the timber from which an artefact was produced is very important. The introduction of certain timbers indicates the use of either a new technology, for example steam bending and load bearing capability or trading opportunities with those outside Egypt’s sphere of influence. Each timber has an individual quality of working, and the potential of each was quickly identified by Egyptian carpenters. They determined through experience, the capabilities of each timber, very much like the modern master carpenter.

The first section of this chapter is devoted to individual timber species whether native or imported into Egypt, and shows each timber’s characteristics and ancient uses. Since the work undertaken by the Director and his staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in analysing the ancient timbers from Egypt preserved in that museum for the first edition of this work, our knowledge of timber use in Egypt has improved and is now recorded in the chapter “Wood” see (Gale et al. 2000: 334–371).

Acacia (Acacia)

Many types of acacia grow in Egypt, and until the 3rd Dynasty would have been the most widely used indigenous timber. Some of them and in particular A. nilotica were valuable as furniture timber. Other uses which are also known are in coffin parts and constructional work (Gale et al. 2000: 335–336, fig. 15.1). The species of acacia overall was an important source of raw materials to the ancient Egyptian until the Old Kingdom. The flowers of the tree were used in collars, and gum Arabic was obtained from A. senegal which grew in Nubia, the gum being mixed with coloured pigments to produce paint.

Ash (Fraxinus)

The ash (Fraxinus excelsior) which is a hardwood and commonly known as the European ash, is distributed widely and is found in Western Asia and on the North African continent. Another variety (F. ornus) or flowering ash is also commonly found in Europe and Asia Minor particularly in Syria. Fraxinus excelsior can reach heights of 33 metres to 43 metres and attains a trunk diameter of between 0.75 to 1.75 metres. It is usually a white timber although it can darken to a creamy brown; it has very good seasoning qualities with little possibility of splitting. Ash is a very tough timber and was used commonly as the hafts of axes, adzes and axles (Gale et al. 2000: 341). It also has excellent steam bending properties, and artificial bending of timber is illustrated in a Middle Kingdom tomb, where a wooden stick is shown being heated over a basin of hot water and being bent by a carpenter (Newberry 1893: pl. VII). From the tomb of Tutankhamun a compound bow JE 61534, Carter No. 370 nn, was also identified as being ash. This timber may well have been used as veneer in ancient times (Carter and Mace 1923: 114; Lucas 1962: 429 ff; McLeod 1970: 21).

Birch (Betula)

The Silver Birch (B. pendula) was probably used at some period by ancient Egyptian craftsmen although its use is poorly attested (Gale et al. 2000: 336–337, fig. 15.2). The timber is well established in Western Asia although it prefers those cooler climates of Northern Europe. It can grow to heights of around 20 metres but during natural seasoning has been known to warp badly.

Box (Buxus)

The common Box (B. sempervirens) is found in Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. It is known that it was used for inlay and that it was decoratively turned during ancient times (Gale et al. 2000: 337, fig. 15.3). This slow growing bush type tree has a yellow timber, and only attains a height of up to 10 metres.

Carob (Ceratonia)

The carob (Ceratonia siliqua) used by Egyptians came from both Western Asia and those lands to be found at the southern end of the Red Sea (Gale et al. 2000: 338, fig. 15.4). From the reign of Thutmose III (1479–1425 B.C.) may be gauged the quantity of carob-wood entering Egypt from ancient records. During the 38th year of his reign is recorded a Syrian tribute of ivory and carob-wood (Breasted 1906: Vol. II, § 509). Also in that year a further tribute is shown to have come from Arrapachitis, and consisted of two blocks of copper, 65 logs of carob-wood and all sweet woods of the country (Breasted 1906: Vol. II, § 512).

Cedar (Cedrus)

Three main varieties of cedar were used in ancient Egypt. C. libani from the Lebanon would have been the most widely used. Atlas cedar (C. atlantica) from the Atlas Mountains of North Africa and to a lesser extent C. deodara which is found in the dense forests of Afghanistan were used. The cedar tree is a very fine furniture producing timber, although the species C. libani is of poorer quality than some of the genus, being very soft with a rough grain and subject to shrinkage during natural seasoning. Even with these inferior characteristics it was widely used by Egyptian carpenters, who found it better to work with than native timbers.

During the reign of Sneferu (2613–2589 B.C.) we read on the Palermo Stone that Sneferu built sixty great ships to go to the Syrian coast. There, Egyptians felled great trees from the Lebanon’s forests and towed the logs back to Egypt where they were used on large scale building construction and to a limited extent for furniture and coffin manufacture. This practice is still continued to the present day. The Palermo Stone is part of a large basalt monument; fragments are found preserved at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo and the Petrie Museum, University College London. This monument records the annals of Egypt from the predynastic kings to a date late in the 5th Dynasty. Its surface is divided into horizontal registers, which are further divided vertically into compartments, one for each regnal year, in which the name and principal events of the year were inscribed with the height of the inundation below, (For the record here alluded to, see Breasted 1906: Vol. I. § 146).

C. libani grows in groves in the Lebanon at heights of 1,000 metres above sea level, and is a reasonably fast-growing tree, reaching heights of between 20 and 33 metres. As with most cedars it is distinctly scented and produces a reddish brown timber. Although it has disadvantages in its use, the Egyptian carpenter fully exploited this timber. The large shrines discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun as well as a chair (Egyptian Museum, Cairo, JE 62029) were made in cedar (Gale et al. 2000: 349–350, fig. 15.13).

Cypress (Cupressus)

The cypress which was imported into Ancient Egypt would have been the variety (Cupressus Sempervirens). The tree, which is coniferous, belongs to the Cupressaceae family and grows on low dry sandy soil, attaining a height of 30 metres. It would have been imported with cedar, but in smaller quantities, for only a few small specimens have been identified (Gale et al. 2000: 350, fig. 15.14). It is not until the New Kingdom that larger specimens are discovered. A fine example, which is very late, 30.1894/3, is preserved in the museum of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera)

This tree is usually quite small, growing to heights which do not exceed 20 metres. It is indigenous to Egypt and its fruit has proved to be a most popular food. The tree’s bark is of characteristic form, being made of the pruned stubs of old leaf stems. The tree was cultivated from a very early period and would have been a totally unsatisfactory furniture timber. The timber is very soft and its grain is composed of loose stringy fibres. Old trees which had come to the end of their fruit bearing life were often used as beams for houses, the leaves for basketry, the bark as fuel and the stalks of the fruit were plaited together to make cord and string (Gale et al. 2000: 347–348). Apart from the fruit the sap of the timber could be fermented and used as a beverage.

Dom Palm (Hyphaene thebaica)

The Dom Palm, common to Upper Egypt, could have been used in furniture manufacture. The timber of this tree is very hard, particularly the outer layers, and it would have been difficult to fell with early copper axes (Gale et al. 2000: 347).

The fruit of the Dom Palm is commonly discovered in predynastic graves and was used widely in conjunction with early bowdrills as the cup which was placed over the sheath of the drill bit.

Ebony (Dalbergia)

Ebony, in Egyptian, hbny, is a dark jet black timber, very heavy and with a dense grain. It is resistant to attack by insects, is durable, and difficult to steam bend. The timber seasons exceptionally well without cracking or splitting. The term ebony has been confused with two different timbers. Firstly, Diospyros is discovered in several places, Diospyros crassiflora and Diospyros Piseatoria are both found in tropical areas of West Africa, while Diospyros ebenum is indigenous to Sri Lanka and Diospyros melanoxylon to India. No variety was grown in Egypt or close to Egyptian borders. It is possible that Diospyros ebenum grew in parts of Ethiopia. It would seem that specimens of ebony found in Egypt, and referred to in this work, are in fact Dalbergia melanoxylon which is commonly known as African Blackwood and is not a member of the Diospyros family (Gale et al. 2000: 338–339, fig. 15.5). This timber was to be found in Nubia where it grows to heights of 10 metres. The heartwood only of Dalbergia melanoxylon is dark black or sometimes brown with flashes of black. It seems likely that predynastic objects which are called ebony are in fact African Blackwood. During the 6th Dynasty, 2345–2181 B.C....