tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83330532377597617632024-03-05T16:48:40.772-08:00Egypt Centre, SwanseaMuseum of Egyptian antiquities
http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/
Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-71443951114393557132022-02-10T08:11:00.008-08:002022-02-11T07:47:38.325-08:00Red cloth to protect the living and dead<p><b>Colouring linen, and later wool, red in ancient Egypt seems first to have been done using red ochre. From around 1500 B.C. madder seemed to become increasingly common as a red colourant. </b></p><p>Colouring the dead with the mineral red ochre (iron oxide) was not confined to Egypt but seems a common practice cross-culturally. Use of ochre goes back over 300,000 years and the substance was used by Neanderthals as well as our closer ancestors. In Wales we have the 'Red Lady of Paviland', a male burial found covered with ochre, dating to around 3300 BC.C.. Of course, it could be that past societies also made use of red ochre in everyday life but there is less evidence for it. Today, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre">ochre is still used</a> by some groups of people to adorn the hair and body.</p><p><b>In Ancient Egypt</b></p><p>Ochre occurs naturally in Egypt in the Oases of the Western Desert, and in areas around Aswan. </p><p>In burials of the predynastic period, palettes for grinding pigments are found on both burial and settlement sites. Perversely, perhaps, green malachite seems to have been the most common pigment used for burials, while ochre was mainly found on palettes from settlements (Baduel 2008). Fifth millennium graves from Badari contained chunks of red ochre and fourth millennium period graves from Bhutto in lower Egypt were part covered in ochre. A burial at Hierakonpolis dating to 3650-3500 B.C. contained, among other items, junks of black galena used as eye pigment but also chunks of ochre. Another elite burial contained cloth pigmented with iron oxide (Jones 2002).</p><p>In the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.) the use of ochre continued, with red cloth being used for mummy wrappings. Analysis shows red ochre was also used in the 12th Dynasty (c.1800 B.C.) to dye linen (Wouters 1990). It was used, for example on the red mummy wrappings of Khenmit and Ita at Dashur. Iron oxide was also used to dye votive animal mummy wrappings of 3rd century B.C. to the 3rd century AD (Tamburini et al. 2001). [Although I have used the term 'dye', the term 'pigment' may be more apt for mineral colourants. Mineral colourants do not dissolve in water or form molecular bonds with the fabric].</p><p>As well as being used to colour linen, the ancient Egyptians also used red ochre to colour paints (for tomb, temple and other painting), as a medicine to help with eye ailments, to paint images on pottery, and to write on papyrus. Coffins and shrouds were frequently coloured red throughout the Dynastic Period.</p><p>The use of red continued beyond the New Kingdom, though from around 1500 B.C. madder and tannin frequently replaced iron oxides to colour textiles red, though iron oxide has certainly been found in votive animal mummies of the Roman Period. Use of madder to colour red, may have been introduced from the Levant.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDERzHIjecihAgOIRFABXT5zvxX19ltSZemFSy9pwK9iEiFVRXtYCVl7yaJe9vLHVsr2z6nTi17CgM5Ci9pSOby6AK_HxasoGUusKhg1vvqOL-3ji5hC6YovIt3GvRW9ZOBeuiOaMfTz_YxZ55w6o579Qpb1gkrxn0lNNFE5sNuCNqeKp0dj5SpQ=s960" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDERzHIjecihAgOIRFABXT5zvxX19ltSZemFSy9pwK9iEiFVRXtYCVl7yaJe9vLHVsr2z6nTi17CgM5Ci9pSOby6AK_HxasoGUusKhg1vvqOL-3ji5hC6YovIt3GvRW9ZOBeuiOaMfTz_YxZ55w6o579Qpb1gkrxn0lNNFE5sNuCNqeKp0dj5SpQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div>In the New Kingdom, coloured linen seems to have been used by the elite, but here cloth was not only coloured red, but also blue and yellow. For example, Howard Carter found four pieces of coloured cloth from the tomb of Tuthmosis IV (left). Although I say he found them, the actual discovery was made by a dog! Rosalind Janssen (1992, 218) quotes Howard Carter: "I must, however, admit that the original discoverer of the first piece of tapestry-weaving was an inquisitive pariah-puppy, of inborn excavating tendencies. Amid a mass of rubbish were tattered fragments of mummy linen; amongst these the puppy suddenly became active, and after a bout of foraging seized a piece of linen and ran away in triumph with his prize. I pursued him and rescued what I discovered to be a piece of tapestry-woven fabric, which immediately suggested a further search".<p></p><p>There were also several dyed linen pieces from the tomb of Tutankhamun, probably dyed with woad and madder. However, the use of ochre continued. A few pieces from Amarna were coloured with iron oxide rather than madder (Kemp and Vogelsang-Eastwood, 2001, 153-154).</p><p>Madder used with alum and/or tannin may have been preferred because it was more colour fast when washed repeatedly. However, colouring cloth with minerals can have some advantages. Indeed, minerals are still sometimes used today to colour textiles, for example the famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B2g%C3%B2lanfini">mud cloth of Africa</a> or the <a href="https://loopoftheloom.com/bengala">Bengala mud dyes</a>. They can have the advantage of other dyes in being usable cold and, as mordants are not used, they have a low environmental impact. Iron oxides are colour fast and while they can be washed out of fabrics, it is not easily done. It is possible too that some sort of glue, such as milk, was used to help the mineral stick to the cloth. However, mineral pigments can cause textiles to decay. In the case of linen, however, such decay appears slow, with wool it is quicker. The later use of wool may have accelerated the preference for madder of ochre as a textile colourant.</p><p>EC116, from the Egypt Centre, is just one of thousands of (madder) red-dyed shrouds of the Roman Period in museums across the world. It is part of the long Egyptian tradition of dyeing funerary cloth red.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLm64qNfOmqV9QdyBfbLvRvjKIkMN6SGXRuOkgWg3LUomMbsn-GuKBv2eG_n6dSqMI2pRivv1Tk1jkZCvbtIpEPy06vA5r8I_duxMs6-q-mTVuuJ-qHkrqDE5Qfs2TS8nRNm5alwTapGrad9V8LXclhnPSX5cXAVt1V32Iy1i2qSt2jhshETh04g=s2000" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1887" data-original-width="2000" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLm64qNfOmqV9QdyBfbLvRvjKIkMN6SGXRuOkgWg3LUomMbsn-GuKBv2eG_n6dSqMI2pRivv1Tk1jkZCvbtIpEPy06vA5r8I_duxMs6-q-mTVuuJ-qHkrqDE5Qfs2TS8nRNm5alwTapGrad9V8LXclhnPSX5cXAVt1V32Iy1i2qSt2jhshETh04g=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Red was the colour of the sun-god Re and rebirth, it was associated with dangerous beings but was also associated with life and with protection. Red cloth was given as a daily offering to the gods. Indeed, as late the fourth to seventh centuries AD, Egyptian linen textiles sometimes included seemingly stray red threads, almost hidden, which Rooijakkers (2017) has seen as protective.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>References</b></p><p>Baduel, N. 2008. Tegumentary paint and cosmetic palettes in Predynastic Egypt: Impact of those artefacts on the
birth of the monarchy. In <i>Egypt at its origins 2: Proceedings of the international conference "Origin of the
State, Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt," Toulouse (France), 5th - 8th September 2005, Orientalia
Lovaniensia Analecta 172.</i> Eds. Béatrix Midant-Reynes, and Yann Tristant, pp. 1057-1090.</p><p>Janssen, 1992. The Ceremonial Garments of Tuthmosis III Reconsidered. <i>Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur</i>, 19 (1992), pp. 217-224.</p><p>Jones, J. 2002. Funeral Textiles of the Rich and Poor. <i>Nekhen News, </i>14, p13.</p><p>Kemp, B.J. and Vogelsang-Eastwood, G. 2001. <i>The Ancient Textile Industry at Amarna. The Egypt Exploration Society.</i></p><p>Rooijakkers, T. 2017. Tracing the Red Thread. In <i>Excavating, Analysing, Reconstructing: Textiles of the First Millennium AD from Egypt and Neighbouring Countries. Proceedings of the 9th conference of the research group 'Textiles from the Nile Valley', Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015. </i>Eds. de Moor, A, Fluck, C. and Linscheid, P. Lanoon, pp. 242-251.</p><p>Tamburini, D, Dyer, J., Vandenbeusch, M. et al. 2021. A multi-scalar investigation of the colouring materials used in textile wrappings of Egyptian votive animal mummies, <i>Heritage Science </i>https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00585-2.</p><p>Wouters, J. 1990. The Identification of Haematite as a Red Colorant on an Egyptian Textile from the Second Millenium B.C. <i>Studies in Conservation</i>, 35, pp. 89-92.</p>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-46005969862135583882022-02-03T07:08:00.003-08:002022-02-03T08:33:04.808-08:00Warping the loom in ancient Egypt<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSDQfTXUxwvVwRiglQosnmdvP5M1eI5AIuiF9CnDd-qPC3ZYDzB6ZjJ7kUvLjFyWSzWO-cCfMnOnqpA_QPQE3GySyzLbiT5YIQZ8eof_nMC4lplKgQzJOfcXe-s4aY4sQAlp08-SmOsEFJ55XFtK1mH_BLdlql1PX6owXzWIx_S4oZn4zVIkuPOw=s483" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="307" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSDQfTXUxwvVwRiglQosnmdvP5M1eI5AIuiF9CnDd-qPC3ZYDzB6ZjJ7kUvLjFyWSzWO-cCfMnOnqpA_QPQE3GySyzLbiT5YIQZ8eof_nMC4lplKgQzJOfcXe-s4aY4sQAlp08-SmOsEFJ55XFtK1mH_BLdlql1PX6owXzWIx_S4oZn4zVIkuPOw=s320" width="203" /></a></div>The picture on the left is the theme for today's blog.<p></p><p>Last week, I blogged about the ground looms used by ancient Egyptians. This week consideration is given to how they warped the loom, that is, how were the longitudinal fibres put on the loom. Modern weavers using simple looms tend to use two different methods: direct warping where the thread is would backwards and forwards around two parallel beams, or often an indirect method is used there the weaver winds the length of thread between poles/pegs and then transfers it to the loom. Because of the number of warp threads per centimeter is estimated as 30 on average, it has been suggested it would have taken about 3 days to warp the loom.</p><p>A video of modern direct warping of a simple loom can be seen here:</p><p>https://youtu.be/6OY17Kjo5dc?t=312</p><p><br /></p><p>You can see modern weavers using warping pegs here:</p><p>https://youtu.be/IyOSwtY-Gnk?t=85</p><p>https://youtu.be/R2JlgXorWeg</p><p>Pegs can be hammered into the ground, put on a frame or into a wall.</p><p><br /></p><p>It seems likely that in ancient Egypt different methods were used at different times and places. However, there is evidence of indirect warping.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYjCSxpgL8KfPal3MrM4bi6h2uq_MvZnhzxlSft5S-ueQIHJog0GRwuzTrZobx2fQQtdwmk6NrFl-ZYZcOTs5EIzMqAHVbS_E6CUHwIX7qfNCx72dmcPfe6aOf48KoBCQzUvD1_eWb9wYk2xx1_-bkfiR-2qshuqvdbNZtQaY20fNhGcgaPALDlw=s960" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYjCSxpgL8KfPal3MrM4bi6h2uq_MvZnhzxlSft5S-ueQIHJog0GRwuzTrZobx2fQQtdwmk6NrFl-ZYZcOTs5EIzMqAHVbS_E6CUHwIX7qfNCx72dmcPfe6aOf48KoBCQzUvD1_eWb9wYk2xx1_-bkfiR-2qshuqvdbNZtQaY20fNhGcgaPALDlw=s320" width="320" /></a></div>To the left is a model of a weavers workshop from the tomb of Mekhetre. I've showed this image before in other posts. It dates to around 1980BC. On the left in the picture you can see pegs stuck into the wall. It has been suggested that these are warping pegs. The first picture on this page shows a close up of the warping section.<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There are also one or two tomb depictions which have been seen as warping tough they are difficult to interpret.</p><p>For example, below is a scene from the tomb of Nefer-Renpet from around 1200 BC. It has been suggested that the vertical forked sticks are warping pegs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSntiDLnilaTFqH2kMnnVUYI-0WrvQ2vI7TuQiXbk3am6_xgJDgbkenTBWjJBBrn9M-5PmCgQYpE_Gs2bL3s3afGG9z1wkH5a43sRT-UujuVI0MrsnekPYLS3XJC7_xDknyLNaqANR4N3JozT4detz5Eyg_rLaec_yQFQPLmkIho4zGc6Ok4i0OA=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSntiDLnilaTFqH2kMnnVUYI-0WrvQ2vI7TuQiXbk3am6_xgJDgbkenTBWjJBBrn9M-5PmCgQYpE_Gs2bL3s3afGG9z1wkH5a43sRT-UujuVI0MrsnekPYLS3XJC7_xDknyLNaqANR4N3JozT4detz5Eyg_rLaec_yQFQPLmkIho4zGc6Ok4i0OA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Peet and Woolly in their report on the Workmen's Village at Amarna claimed that the several pegs found in houses were warping pegs (COA I, 55).</p><p>As you can see by the videos above, warping pegs are not confined to ancient societies. Below is a depiction of the laying out of a warp in a wall in modern Egypt (with apologies as I don't know where I got the picture!).</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7Zsk4dK0kByBi9NdFNFX58y65GUbamwGBMzCSfteaK-GLg03-9fEFrZ91WWT7zdJAwyMva7h1NBFykg8kGO8npgi9Yae-TFWAGfkwjSiTZkTujg3JBo-vsbycRzgukmF1NlQbFy8tdA4xJdUfBodrhtPzFMkkrduoHjUBJjqz7IGUU95NaQ63Iw=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7Zsk4dK0kByBi9NdFNFX58y65GUbamwGBMzCSfteaK-GLg03-9fEFrZ91WWT7zdJAwyMva7h1NBFykg8kGO8npgi9Yae-TFWAGfkwjSiTZkTujg3JBo-vsbycRzgukmF1NlQbFy8tdA4xJdUfBodrhtPzFMkkrduoHjUBJjqz7IGUU95NaQ63Iw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Further Reading</b></p><p>Kemp, B.J. and Vogelsang-Eastwood, G. 2001. <i>The Ancient Textile Industry at Amarna</i>, The Egypt Exploration Society, pp.314-322.</p><p>Peet, T. E. and Woolly, C.L. 1923. <i>The City of Akhenaten</i>, Part I, <i>Excavations of 1921 and 1922</i> at el-Amarneh. The Egypt Exploration Society.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-44216773749480747482022-01-27T05:25:00.003-08:002022-02-03T03:21:04.608-08:00Ancient Egyptian Ground Looms<p>I've been practising some very basic weaving, really basic, I'm a beginner, so been thinking what can be possible on a very simple loom. I know back-strap looms can be used to make some really outstanding pieces, but the ancient Egyptians, for much of their history, used a ground loom on which they wove linen. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcCPP0kei_zXqkHXu4zcfQNz3uZfl4pw0FVJeP7m2sbTU6o0mMboUzcIbZEDc1V-v4Bvw1OttCttpPPTe4zzA443D5vZvv9VHugizP8yxk8VePeUntPDjR4vUjX6itWLiKWUBuSLWKmKWTlw3P8rvQR8wKpDajIVxDWiAUzX2KYQpLC6INhzWhTg=s960" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcCPP0kei_zXqkHXu4zcfQNz3uZfl4pw0FVJeP7m2sbTU6o0mMboUzcIbZEDc1V-v4Bvw1OttCttpPPTe4zzA443D5vZvv9VHugizP8yxk8VePeUntPDjR4vUjX6itWLiKWUBuSLWKmKWTlw3P8rvQR8wKpDajIVxDWiAUzX2KYQpLC6INhzWhTg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Model of a weaving workshop from the tomb of Mekhetre (c.2000 BC). On the left wall it looks like women are using warp pegs stuck in the wall and centre you can see the ground loom.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0NVH0PenebZiwNfOVxZzdmIyGPN-rTgH1REyO2uJ5ftbB84Zk4EC2vKnt1jl7tOt3DEQwXqmi5XUiURzmlEMcrMU5gUXUUr2dw2qxtms6ayGrJrtWt0NhlYKAO8ZU6iIViOIYyz25D44gX_SHx3N8cAYR9CR6he06q1DJMBjgKv2si7DtKZthUA=s960" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0NVH0PenebZiwNfOVxZzdmIyGPN-rTgH1REyO2uJ5ftbB84Zk4EC2vKnt1jl7tOt3DEQwXqmi5XUiURzmlEMcrMU5gUXUUr2dw2qxtms6ayGrJrtWt0NhlYKAO8ZU6iIViOIYyz25D44gX_SHx3N8cAYR9CR6he06q1DJMBjgKv2si7DtKZthUA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Right: A ground loom of the early 20th century.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Four pegs are hammered into the ground, sticks are attached at one short ends and the warp threads strung between the sticks. Alternate warp threads are lifted up and down by means of another stick to which thread heddles are attached and the weft passed between them.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can get an idea of how such a loom works in <b><a href="https://youtu.be/tMWfkTSNaLU">this video</a></b>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Such looms appear to have been used from very early on in ancient Egypt. Here is a depiction of an early example on a piece of pottery from the Petrie Museum. It dates to c. 3600 BC.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNEyiI1h5kLFOq4rdcenqz4tE_T_gANadYjd9kRYYrwEf4pygfSSfm24oqTxnAqXdZvo9yNpNCSAgc78m_L6o3lk-BNUz9aFoqaOAHU7StvF-syS7d-okMkfoXwQIfQDeTCyr_bgadsY0r7NZmgSVvEqyI4da1CxtFNCPDCxl5hRPK9p5NExQ5LA=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNEyiI1h5kLFOq4rdcenqz4tE_T_gANadYjd9kRYYrwEf4pygfSSfm24oqTxnAqXdZvo9yNpNCSAgc78m_L6o3lk-BNUz9aFoqaOAHU7StvF-syS7d-okMkfoXwQIfQDeTCyr_bgadsY0r7NZmgSVvEqyI4da1CxtFNCPDCxl5hRPK9p5NExQ5LA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The loom is the rectangular shape and depicted at the bottom of the vessel. The weaver would have sat at the foot end of the loom (the right in the picture) and the depiction shows that a start had been made to weaving (right in the picture, the end nearest where the weaver would have sat). If you look closely you may see that the bottom right of the loom in the depiction (this would have been bottom left for the weaver) has some strange 'extensions'.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These would have been caused by the weft threads being quite short, so that they would only pass under and over the warp threads for a few widths of the fabric. This would result in a fringed left edge. Such fringes appear to have been left and used as a decorative feature on the final cloth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPLkAjAF0Npi9BRtahjZAGZLJkk5JG-fYBQYK8hPtJRC6tcvrXw7Af1F1mi5yVLs3tgQKDsAt1v_PEQtxTjSVf857veAkzERjdohHPYaogHej9fnYM7Q0J5q1M-xDuJi9WmSlcrn9HwciUCbnLPUR1kTlBeAZwFIYZrIWrX8DKOUnGqd_X3n3FwQ=s590" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="590" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPLkAjAF0Npi9BRtahjZAGZLJkk5JG-fYBQYK8hPtJRC6tcvrXw7Af1F1mi5yVLs3tgQKDsAt1v_PEQtxTjSVf857veAkzERjdohHPYaogHej9fnYM7Q0J5q1M-xDuJi9WmSlcrn9HwciUCbnLPUR1kTlBeAZwFIYZrIWrX8DKOUnGqd_X3n3FwQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div>Here is the famous Tarkhan dress from the Petrie Museum, c3200BC. On the wearer's left you can see the weft thread showing underneath the arm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In later periods, the weft was longer but the use of the decorative fringe was still desirable. Often, a separately made fringe piece was deliberately added to the garment to emulate the short weft effect.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From around 1500 BC, vertical looms came into use. The ground loom was still used,though with less frequency. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It amazes me that the ancients were able to weave such fine weaves on such looms. Some royal linens achieved a count of 60 threads per centimeter though more common counts were 20-50 threads a cm (Kemp and Vogelsang-Eastwood, 2001, pp100-103).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kemp, B. J. and Vogelsang-Eastwood, G. 2001. <i>The Ancient Textile Industry at Amarna</i>. The Egypt Exploration Society.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><p><br /></p></div><br />Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-27858019356366052972022-01-20T03:01:00.002-08:002022-01-20T07:31:42.305-08:00Spitting on linen<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0eG_YDwtaNYQEBhl25q0VJWrkSoKD4tHrE7sLREXTPApVBVfTZvmeNPYEbByYO4hJyxJXwTcA1G2y0S07Jcs_aC7vlc5E5RMRSraH9lnOfyLexyiSAqXTtoei-5RcwcGLJGeBV0uk6tbPOQqarTuQ6_Uzwx3ciyNlW2BsaLB-MQbo-WvneLtQHg=s738" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="738" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0eG_YDwtaNYQEBhl25q0VJWrkSoKD4tHrE7sLREXTPApVBVfTZvmeNPYEbByYO4hJyxJXwTcA1G2y0S07Jcs_aC7vlc5E5RMRSraH9lnOfyLexyiSAqXTtoei-5RcwcGLJGeBV0uk6tbPOQqarTuQ6_Uzwx3ciyNlW2BsaLB-MQbo-WvneLtQHg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />In the last post I looked at making singles of linen for plying. Plying involves twisting two or more single strands of fibre together to make the yarn stronger. And in a post, long ago, I explored twizzling that whirl to <a href="http://egyptcentre.blogspot.com/2021/07/high-whorl-of-low-whorl.html"><b>ply and looked at different whirl types</b></a>. But is there anything more we can say about plying?<p></p><p>Well, in ancient Egypt, and other countries in the ancient near east, there were these things (left). They are usually made of pottery, are bowl-shaped and have an internal 'handle' or loop.</p><p>The first two pictured here are from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (above is 15.3.99). The one above is actually made of limestone and was found in a grave (sometimes items found in graves which were normally made from pottery are made of stone- permanence for eternity).</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-t6rlhmkS7d1zVrLC_f4NwupCpE9Y3QACk5kglJgMAhvGDSMvgZgIi63yJ737q4Nlb9umvrVnfnp7cd0HzBEPt8vFkPEfEwk94OS1Gggzu1tUq_HWgCaaSkP9XkPYfk1MjJRmk4D8JUXQWZnxbwRVz-J94w58QS58HDGCW0LK1NYC_RA2kFMiuw=s1280" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-t6rlhmkS7d1zVrLC_f4NwupCpE9Y3QACk5kglJgMAhvGDSMvgZgIi63yJ737q4Nlb9umvrVnfnp7cd0HzBEPt8vFkPEfEwk94OS1Gggzu1tUq_HWgCaaSkP9XkPYfk1MjJRmk4D8JUXQWZnxbwRVz-J94w58QS58HDGCW0LK1NYC_RA2kFMiuw=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><p>These are commonly called spinning bowls. Many date to the Middle Kingdom (2400-1782 BC), but there are similar items from Tell el-Farkha which date to c. 3000 BC, and others like the one on the left are more modern. Those from Tell el-Farkha have grooves on the undersides of the loops. </p><p>Such items are commonly said to have held balls of linen yarn with the thread travelling under an internal loop and then out. They may have been used for keeping spliced singles of linen taught for plying.</p><p>Barber, referencing Tsoboi, also shows this illustration used in the manufacture of nettle fibre in Japan in the early 1980s.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJaLeCy4R5U8hxDEMm2norlE4M9sZVjTlWxSHSCTxtaSHjN27rVUk-1KDHcQdCO-h13LXZQjierKP1pm9HgcuXkhPAugxv4ZcdZpIhtGNbYU7c8Sk53MVTtzR-eIRGfm2gI8MT0HXxAGJI6wycV_l1DTiP2A316TdPjDMJr1ZDc-4sYTHDp7XKMA=s1280" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJaLeCy4R5U8hxDEMm2norlE4M9sZVjTlWxSHSCTxtaSHjN27rVUk-1KDHcQdCO-h13LXZQjierKP1pm9HgcuXkhPAugxv4ZcdZpIhtGNbYU7c8Sk53MVTtzR-eIRGfm2gI8MT0HXxAGJI6wycV_l1DTiP2A316TdPjDMJr1ZDc-4sYTHDp7XKMA=s320" width="320" /></a></div>As you can see it was described as a wetting bowl. It was important to keep the nettle damp when it was spun. So, the bowl contained a ball of nettle fibre and water. Again, it is possible that the ancient Egyptians used their similar bowls to keep fibre wet.<div><br /></div><div>There is more than one reason why one might want to ply wet. Firstly, it helps make sure the spliced strands stick together. Spinning flax wet also makes it easier to get a smooth finish to the thread, rather than a hairy one. Finally, linen is stronger wet than dry, allowing it to hold together more, especially if one wants to put a string twist in the ply. Ancient Egyptian yarns seem often to have had a high level of twist. A high level of twist is also important in natural pleating, a method probably used by the ancients. You can see a <a href="https://youtu.be/0PgOWckOJyM"><b>video explaining natural pleating here</b></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Indeed, modern spinners will wet their hands with water or spittle to keep the fibre moist. Wheels used for spinning flax often had a container of water on them, or the water might be kept by the wheel. Furthermore, it is said that saliva may be better than water as it contains an enzyme, amylase, which dissolves the starch in flax and then when the starch dries it forms a stronger bond. In <a href="https://youtu.be/nddeCS7nlHY"><b>this video</b></a> you can see women in the Pyrenees eating sloe berries prior to spinning hemp to help the production of saliva.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivMFkeq8ayvmUvZRQ8_tNVHWKzJoBunj0LCc_Jro_ek5PW0Chq74YTqdCdGtRKJ_KV8Z6doVCnBWhM52C46PxJRGHweUw0lfH5BGEe1YTnxljV4zh0GixESMd6FLKygSZxYxVSrydDp1dhHNzBAIpleRgDGsxW4tzOzbxVSoCW37I-RG6r6w_MqQ=s1280" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivMFkeq8ayvmUvZRQ8_tNVHWKzJoBunj0LCc_Jro_ek5PW0Chq74YTqdCdGtRKJ_KV8Z6doVCnBWhM52C46PxJRGHweUw0lfH5BGEe1YTnxljV4zh0GixESMd6FLKygSZxYxVSrydDp1dhHNzBAIpleRgDGsxW4tzOzbxVSoCW37I-RG6r6w_MqQ=w419-h236" width="419" /></a></div></div><div>There is also a Grimms fairy tale about three sisters who were spinsters. One had a foot made large from treadling, another had a large thumb from twisting the fibre and the third had a huge lip which hung down to her chest from constantly wetting the flax thread. You can see them here. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, returning to the spinning bowl, as well as water, the bowls may have held size to further strengthen the thread and to keep the thread smooth. These two factors would have been particularly important if the thread was used for warping a loom. The warp threads are those which are held under tension and can also be subject to the constant beating used in placing weft threads. The latter can abrade them. Size can be made of starch boiled to make a paste, it can be made of gelatine, and also from boiled flax seeds.</div><div><br /></div><div>Further Reading</div><div><br /></div><div>Barber E. G. 1991. <i>Prehistoric textiles: The development of cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with special reference to the Aegean</i>, Princeton and Oxford, (p. 73. Refers to Japanese bowls).</div><div><br /></div><div>Dothan, T. 1963. Spinning Bowls, <i>Israel Exploration Journal</i> , Vol. 13, No. 2 (1963), pp. 97-112.</div><div><br /></div><div>Richards, A. 2020. <i>Weaving Textiles that Shape Themselves</i>, Ramsbury, 44-46.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spinazzi-Lucchesi, C. 2020 ‘A Reassessment of Spinning
Bowls. New evidence from Egypt and the Levant’<i>. </i>Iamoni, M (ed.)<i> From
the Prehistory of Upper Mesopotamia to the Bronze and Iron Age Societies of the
Levant. Volume 1</i> 271-279.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.openstarts.units.it/bitstream/10077/30217/1/17_W%26E_2_BH5_I_online.pdf"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://www.openstarts.units.it/bitstream/10077/30217/1/17_W%26E_2_BH5_I_online.pdf</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-11912933409518937262022-01-13T05:26:00.004-08:002022-01-13T07:10:20.193-08:00Splicing and plying again<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2qFxTie16MhcRVSf0FHtNqD4WlVP_dY4hdM2YADwNWcsJuI3Rho7-d7uJchSr2Zc6ORGh4iRNSk0DGJpAnoN51NRZLo5hEImSS9DTsJxFdl1-1vxI_zP37Ph_kl-PPxzjQGIpAr6ZnaydfbgXabdvMG5SxyCGy8PTZR7n56ge4FRE_cPM5RykOw=s1015" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1015" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2qFxTie16MhcRVSf0FHtNqD4WlVP_dY4hdM2YADwNWcsJuI3Rho7-d7uJchSr2Zc6ORGh4iRNSk0DGJpAnoN51NRZLo5hEImSS9DTsJxFdl1-1vxI_zP37Ph_kl-PPxzjQGIpAr6ZnaydfbgXabdvMG5SxyCGy8PTZR7n56ge4FRE_cPM5RykOw=w180-h128" width="180" /></a></div> Way back in summer 2021, I did a post on splicing, you can read it <a href="http://egyptcentre.blogspot.com/2021/06/not-spinning-but-splicing.html"><b>here.</b></a><p></p><p>Then later the same year I did a series of talks exploring textiles in ancient Egypt. One of the sessions was on splicing and plying. It's usually believed that the Egyptians didn't join two pieces of yarn to make a single thread by spinning them together. Rather, they overlapped two pieces and twisted them together. Then, when strong warp threads were required for weaving two spiced threads may be plied together. There is more in my previous blog post and in the papers below. This happened throughout the dynastic period.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYqZd_q17OF1G_R-s_qv7b4aON5mjKXIbYi9xYlPp7PStNderjt_fBL1BadsrYpECDzHBy1qBq7EODEwpx3h-lkWpTVkZvbvKKAryqu2AW7R5afqC4na7eCwhexzrQGcnbFCjRUPzud3MlBy4zWuR03HO_xzU0duqe3fon_ow6n6tiXm8Iw38Zjw=s444" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="444" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYqZd_q17OF1G_R-s_qv7b4aON5mjKXIbYi9xYlPp7PStNderjt_fBL1BadsrYpECDzHBy1qBq7EODEwpx3h-lkWpTVkZvbvKKAryqu2AW7R5afqC4na7eCwhexzrQGcnbFCjRUPzud3MlBy4zWuR03HO_xzU0duqe3fon_ow6n6tiXm8Iw38Zjw=w200-h141" width="200" /></a></div>So here we have some spliced fibres from Lahun which are now in the Petrie Museum. They date from 1759-1850 BC.<p></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Kate de Buriatte, who attended the sessions tried out an experiment, which I thought I'd share with you. Looking at depictions of linen production in ancient Egypt, and with actual hands-on experiments, Kate, who is an experienced spinner, suggested that what is going on in the scene below, for example, from the tomb of Dagi, is not quite what Egyptologists assumed. But rather that the woman second from the left is rolling two pieces of flax on a stone. She is splicing, but the little hump shown isn't a heap of fibre, but is a stone on which she is rolling strips of fibre.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJZfwqX6YsEtuYarnMBj2sUxSO4Lgwfc5IzYBAmHZ1mF3dn6MR6H1I1w0IUpQm13-RWvhH80MuO94JsS98fYBtZJ3WBagsnznH6_eYZg3Eq54JT9aOfG50v1dAqznS515FQrOH2uvlgFJLCcmFrTCBY8KDpTg7uOAxHz56F2mZtVDiSdjwAIlDbQ=s1288" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1288" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJZfwqX6YsEtuYarnMBj2sUxSO4Lgwfc5IzYBAmHZ1mF3dn6MR6H1I1w0IUpQm13-RWvhH80MuO94JsS98fYBtZJ3WBagsnznH6_eYZg3Eq54JT9aOfG50v1dAqznS515FQrOH2uvlgFJLCcmFrTCBY8KDpTg7uOAxHz56F2mZtVDiSdjwAIlDbQ=w640-h222" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The woman on the right with raised leg is plying two pieces together.</p><p>And below is a depiction of a weaving workshop from the tomb of Mekhetre. Noted the seated women on the left.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9vXNJwaOVA_WMH5Pa3PY51h2DxERqNESJIEoPouYbrfCOyyjqIUerfL8fNZ-hWLnW5L6rz3E-eijr4IrSIc9t1ZpNTBKwyodrnVsd_j939JKvVS9U2D09Mr9mdeZ-NFaAxiU_CwiNZjRk4QQ3sLoV6a3exaeyeikOakEYgGA01uPSauzJZ04hrw=s1015" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1015" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9vXNJwaOVA_WMH5Pa3PY51h2DxERqNESJIEoPouYbrfCOyyjqIUerfL8fNZ-hWLnW5L6rz3E-eijr4IrSIc9t1ZpNTBKwyodrnVsd_j939JKvVS9U2D09Mr9mdeZ-NFaAxiU_CwiNZjRk4QQ3sLoV6a3exaeyeikOakEYgGA01uPSauzJZ04hrw=w400-h284" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Kate's suggestion seems very plausible to me.</p><p>We also discussed how splicing could be made easier if the linen was in its green state, and/or if a spinning bowl was used to keep it wet, and/or if the yarn was passed through a size.</p><p>Splicing fibre used in weaving would show areas of minimal twist in some areas and high twist in other, and this is indeed what we see.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcww9LDyaeu7GBIjVlQCD2rSBRAC5VGlL_mTc3xpLlKd0s3PFfdazq5pdQRkaZ9k9oAc8t5fOdpMSiGAHNp53YDHL5aR1403sZ640S30Q-0VsWv7157WFftyfC1Z_MyD9nKx4nHz-7hWqk9CadamlLmMrVfXy1i97ArSO755bWOXSZwb7H1BKiEg=s857" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="857" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcww9LDyaeu7GBIjVlQCD2rSBRAC5VGlL_mTc3xpLlKd0s3PFfdazq5pdQRkaZ9k9oAc8t5fOdpMSiGAHNp53YDHL5aR1403sZ640S30Q-0VsWv7157WFftyfC1Z_MyD9nKx4nHz-7hWqk9CadamlLmMrVfXy1i97ArSO755bWOXSZwb7H1BKiEg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The picture on the right is a piece of Egyptian textile which I have taken from Gleba and Harris.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>References and useful information</b></p><p>Gleba, M. and Harris, S. 2018. ‘The first plant bast fibre technology: identifying splicing in archaeological textiles’, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2019) 11:2329–2346.</p><p>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-018-0677-8.</p><p>Pointer, Sally. YouTube video on nettles and splicing onwards for splicing (but the whole video is good) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eq7fyLMu9I 13.37</p>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-70943604366268248612022-01-11T03:41:00.000-08:002022-01-11T03:45:30.084-08:00Happy New Year from the Egypt Centre<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGYjoKkg5NpcN1SIoolBezF-gscV9sQpCmCaz_YsqsBE_49CBRG0fX_cXSUyXl3tO_sJ4JOuFYqK93MYGRBeC4aqgptJdm6CRctXj69Fy7rCPQeyjFrJ0bUw3lqdmVCD-fhI4p2IZOcqD5d67N1dePtZpV-DdUM5wnnApmO42d8IPv3xEG7TV0-g=s1000" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="968" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGYjoKkg5NpcN1SIoolBezF-gscV9sQpCmCaz_YsqsBE_49CBRG0fX_cXSUyXl3tO_sJ4JOuFYqK93MYGRBeC4aqgptJdm6CRctXj69Fy7rCPQeyjFrJ0bUw3lqdmVCD-fhI4p2IZOcqD5d67N1dePtZpV-DdUM5wnnApmO42d8IPv3xEG7TV0-g=w194-h200" width="194" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3NZWhDV958ZPFGb3p_NGG4siFBdTI0xuI7P_muRYzEtaXzfXXUvkj3Qg3iWNnK5VDrmmbf1F7sV31gmlBAi38GO4_AZXgngG-rKT92XMBiKi7Fcipqm0OrY8JiEJo1R9fegoqJUP8ydscKbkLqlct2NIJXUWUpf5ohpUeT1wGini3BX3LiH3n1Q=s1000" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1000" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3NZWhDV958ZPFGb3p_NGG4siFBdTI0xuI7P_muRYzEtaXzfXXUvkj3Qg3iWNnK5VDrmmbf1F7sV31gmlBAi38GO4_AZXgngG-rKT92XMBiKi7Fcipqm0OrY8JiEJo1R9fegoqJUP8ydscKbkLqlct2NIJXUWUpf5ohpUeT1wGini3BX3LiH3n1Q=w200-h193" width="200" /></a></div><p>The Egypt Centre has several small faience vessels made of faience. Unfortunately, we don't have any complete examples of this type, but I can show you a neck part and body so you can see how a whole one would look.</p><p>This type of vessel was popular during the 26th Dynasty, during the reigns of Apries and Amasis (c.550BC).</p><p></p><p>So many things about this type of vessel suggest that it is to do with rebirth and revival, and there is specific evidence that it was associated with the revivification of the New Year. But guess what, as with many ancient items we can still only take a guess as to what it was specifically used for.</p><p><b>Hints of rebirth/revival</b></p><p>Some of these vessels are found in graves. While not everything found in graves if ancient Egypt is to do with rebirth and revival after death, a lot was. For example: grapes and wine suggesting revival are associated with tombs; scarab beetles associated with the daily renewal of the sun; images of the daily renewal of the sun; etc. are all associated with tombs.</p><p>Secondly, the overall shape of the body bit is a squashed circle, reminiscent of the sun coming up above the horizon. Notice that the ancients did not depict the sun here as a proper circle, but rather a squashed circle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSGCF9rrZz1pl2Ph-F05XT7zUM_ocAGKffMTEBK1zPtz8sk7R_DybTFp9-5qRk9KMgQCR9a4V4YvIWyHaOY0BH7LAduOXMo2-OknxkdhAdMMxjIIEn7PvSSEK7KYTHzCT8Xc7lAPWjhjEuw9rHVOzXGYfqRFhlfsHSIhJ2mw66Mkv-rQ6LwfkhLw=s376" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="376" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSGCF9rrZz1pl2Ph-F05XT7zUM_ocAGKffMTEBK1zPtz8sk7R_DybTFp9-5qRk9KMgQCR9a4V4YvIWyHaOY0BH7LAduOXMo2-OknxkdhAdMMxjIIEn7PvSSEK7KYTHzCT8Xc7lAPWjhjEuw9rHVOzXGYfqRFhlfsHSIhJ2mw66Mkv-rQ6LwfkhLw=w100-h100" width="100" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There are baboons each side of the neck of the vessel. The baboons could represent Thoth and the New Year myth of <i>The Return of the Distant One. </i>Briefly the myth tells of Sekhmet being sent out to kill mankind, of her being persuaded to come back to Egypt in peace by Thoth who could take the form of a baboon, and the ensuing drunken celebrations. At philae, dwarves and baboons are shown paired in celebrations for <i>The Return of the Distant One</i>. Baboons are also said the call and 'dance' in the morning as though welcoming the newly risen sun.</p><p>There are depictions of lotus flowers (water lilies) on the vessel. The sweet smell of the lotus was said to revive. The water lily also sinks down beneath the water and then rises up to greet the sun in the morning. It was said that in the beginning a water lily rose from the waters of chaos. When it opened up it gave birth to sun god Re who rose into the sky.</p><p>And a Happy New Year?</p><p>The big clue is that the sides of the vessel spell out in hieroglyphs wpt nfr rnpt (a good/beautiful/ new year.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj26LO_sy20NfXZoyUxXmCdpC5CiQF_yx6jqTnizXNKCJF9xG_ZSPAM1npOLjqR7HrBkdO3v2H0nW-xhcVbORP-Y58Jhb11NK5cTruYF5nBRnSkwO9ITEoooEAfRD9Rm1D6rijWpf0w_qjtqXLDoVTw-HA2Qk75PmIlIQ5xxPXcNHmXygtGaYEqrQ=s1000" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="706" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj26LO_sy20NfXZoyUxXmCdpC5CiQF_yx6jqTnizXNKCJF9xG_ZSPAM1npOLjqR7HrBkdO3v2H0nW-xhcVbORP-Y58Jhb11NK5cTruYF5nBRnSkwO9ITEoooEAfRD9Rm1D6rijWpf0w_qjtqXLDoVTw-HA2Qk75PmIlIQ5xxPXcNHmXygtGaYEqrQ=w141-h200" width="141" /></a></p><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnCr7uP0g0gW9IvV2EwI0ncwOdk48RrqCzn-CsRCmKziuxMvaSK0ZcTcnZKNGWICXmfmN14z9WxC48eXR9bXg9kLUm1DK8QMj433XqUeH4dnd1ia4f_P8m6ZSfZU5Ia1x-6FC9erLz2KOgB_2BIo8jRY_RTRUDHRWRTutxK45_4B5XjYS34b5zQA=s1000" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="716" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnCr7uP0g0gW9IvV2EwI0ncwOdk48RrqCzn-CsRCmKziuxMvaSK0ZcTcnZKNGWICXmfmN14z9WxC48eXR9bXg9kLUm1DK8QMj433XqUeH4dnd1ia4f_P8m6ZSfZU5Ia1x-6FC9erLz2KOgB_2BIo8jRY_RTRUDHRWRTutxK45_4B5XjYS34b5zQA=w143-h200" width="143" /></a></p><br /><p></p><p>Moreover, there are three lines symbolising water after the New Year message. For the ancient Egyptians the Nile was linked to the turning of the year.</p><p>New Year was heavily associated with the annual flooding of the Nile. And the annual flooding of the Nile was also bound up with the first sighting of the star, Sodep after its disappearance for around 70 days. The Egyptians believed the Nile to be the efflux (humours of the body) of Osiris, and the earth was fertilised by the flood, as Isis was her husband Osiris. The Nile's annual life-bringing flood was therefore seen as the union of Isis and Osiris, when they conceived their sun, Horus.</p><p>According to a text from Edfu (Edfu IV.3, 1-8), the New Year celebrations seemed quite fun:</p><p><i>There are all kinds of bread in loaves as numerous as grains of sand. Oxen abound like locusts. The smell of roast fowl, gazelle, or, oryx and ibex reach the sky. Wine flows freely through the town like the Nile bursting forth from the Two Caverns. Myrrh scattered on the brazier with incense can be smelled a mile away. The city is bestrewed with faience, glittering with natron and garlanded with flowers and fresh herbs. Its youths are drunk, its citizens glad, and its young maidens are beautiful to behold, rejoicing is all around it and festivity is in all its quarters. There is no sleep to be had there until dawn.</i></p><p>So what did the ancient Egyptians do with them?</p><p>We don't really know, but the fact that these are small vessels might suggest that they were used for holding samples of the new Nile water. In their size and shape these faience vessels are similar to later pilgrim vessels which later contained water from holy sites. Of course, a similarity in shape doesn't necessarily mean a similarity in use.</p><p>The New Year for the ancient Egyptians wasn't of course 1st January. Rather the Nile flooded annually around the 19th of July. Celebrations, continued over a series of days. So I may be late in wishing you a Happy New Year, but let celebration continue as it did for the ancients!</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span color="rgb(0, 0, 0) !important" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12pt;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial;">Further Reading</span></b><b style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial;"> </span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span color="rgb(0, 0, 0) !important" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial;">Blanquet, C-H, 1992, ‘Typologie de la bouteille de nouvel an’ in Cl. Obsomer, A-L. Oosthoek (ed) <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Amosiades Melanges offerts au professeur Claude Vanderslyen par ses anciens etudiant</i>, Louvain-la-Neuve, 49-54.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span color="rgb(0, 0, 0) !important" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Yamani, S. 2002, New Year’s bottles from Tell Marqula (Dakhla Oasis). <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Bulletin De L’Instit Français D’Archeologie Orientale</i>, 102, 425-436.</span></p><p><br /></p>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-61445946205770740552021-08-11T14:40:00.022-07:002022-01-27T03:57:22.614-08:00Did Tutankhamun wear socks with sandals?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">This week I have been largely distracted by socks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I rather like making socks myself, then I saw <a href="https://uwtsd.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=59e82044-f078-4a7d-9b97-a9dc00a89ecb">this lecture</a> by Anne Marie Decker and got totally distracted. Anne also has a <a href="https://nalbound.com/author/sigridkitty/">blog with useful information here</a>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz7B0zyxga6tdybzPCrJGutjnCZps82SezgSep1AcEOP065veEHhtQrlM9R6JhWAeToOh_88ZAvIUmQnYJRiXsFAyjZADkyxH38wdfem6ZbCjMmeGpMF06JcDCPfw1wo2eu1XXFsOgQ/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="National Museum of Scotland A.1911.315. Akhmim, 4th-5th century" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="495" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz7B0zyxga6tdybzPCrJGutjnCZps82SezgSep1AcEOP065veEHhtQrlM9R6JhWAeToOh_88ZAvIUmQnYJRiXsFAyjZADkyxH38wdfem6ZbCjMmeGpMF06JcDCPfw1wo2eu1XXFsOgQ/" title="National Museum of Scotland A.1911.315. Akhmim, 4th-5th century" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0auUdk7WBWnuTbYu8VvxK39z0zN0cM-LWt6KSxUDoHVFTjG-lU-_0Mw5H2jBbpi0H2b_KyIkwiI46KMabWS64gjrHC6bHn0SeL2h8To0rm753hTGH97ExN2bbjBdIWzBIme_QK5w5Q/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="34" data-original-width="453" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0auUdk7WBWnuTbYu8VvxK39z0zN0cM-LWt6KSxUDoHVFTjG-lU-_0Mw5H2jBbpi0H2b_KyIkwiI46KMabWS64gjrHC6bHn0SeL2h8To0rm753hTGH97ExN2bbjBdIWzBIme_QK5w5Q/" width="320" /></a></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">What a lot of interesting and pretty examples. The ones made for children, Anne states, are the most colourful. </span></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmQiHQdSqfpkMzV0Go48P9QbfeuIaPXhT9tkUQXt_R5iuCDKyV5yyTo1KowPu1K7YbdjW4OLetJEQZCbixisW7Y0V1k1kx0vz6ESQ-1hRMoK5XDiu9tI_pahHb_CETdu7b2AXY4lq9w/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="1220" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmQiHQdSqfpkMzV0Go48P9QbfeuIaPXhT9tkUQXt_R5iuCDKyV5yyTo1KowPu1K7YbdjW4OLetJEQZCbixisW7Y0V1k1kx0vz6ESQ-1hRMoK5XDiu9tI_pahHb_CETdu7b2AXY4lq9w/w400-h191/image.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Child's sock dyed with madder, woad and weld. A left-foot sock. Found in Antinopolis (el-Minya), dated c300 AD. British Museum EA53193</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They are not knit but made by making loops with a needle with eye, nalbinding. A video on the technique<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwccHsRRGlw"> can be seen here.</a> Note that these are two-toed to accommodate the wearing of sandals.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But when were the earliest Egyptian socks worn? There are probable socks from the tomb of Tutankhamun, though others believe they were riding gauntlets.(1). I tend to go with Vogelsang-Eastwood and believe they are socks. She believes that the socks were part of a charioteer's clothing and may have been a gift from Mitanni (northern Syria). The socks are made from woven linen with a fine linen inside and a coarser one outside. They have ties at the ankle. I'm afraid I couldn't find a copyright free picture but you could google them to see.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The earliest unequivocal ancient Egyptian socks date to the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD, that is the period during which the Romans had conquered Egypt. These were usually made using nalbinding technology though a slip-stitch crochet example is known:</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5bgyXArmJwxoAoWTPfO6ztwEOrk6TTmYRDEcYGsdIAjO9jnsnYEGiOeIN4tHmKzzcVzJV-n0cGpuNfu2_0Z4-fpdgkjWdWMjr4RSXlySugFDDdGEyVBr5ZGpiqrp_oEH-WYfC4-wlw/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="1126" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5bgyXArmJwxoAoWTPfO6ztwEOrk6TTmYRDEcYGsdIAjO9jnsnYEGiOeIN4tHmKzzcVzJV-n0cGpuNfu2_0Z4-fpdgkjWdWMjr4RSXlySugFDDdGEyVBr5ZGpiqrp_oEH-WYfC4-wlw/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slip-stitch crochet sock, George Washington Textile Museum 73.719</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A google search suggests that the first mention of socks was by the Greek poet Hesiod in the 8th century BC. In his poem </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Works and Days </i><span style="font-family: arial;">(536), he writes:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As for your feet, fasten onto them tight-fitting boots made from the hide of a slaughtered ox. Make them snug with felt on the inside.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Most of these Roman Egyptian examples are made of wool but a linen example has even been found.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNty2CAhfSpo-Err05POFuHyvfcIAJZdMjNXSzMJlDTG2uBUAVZni3gBOuFzPdvBjU0UANwc9cjvtoH9tVoKLamnaBo3TXcyiEWRqx2f8e521A-pOKqzNvNbxJ84E5aJak_gMmSeS12g/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="950" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNty2CAhfSpo-Err05POFuHyvfcIAJZdMjNXSzMJlDTG2uBUAVZni3gBOuFzPdvBjU0UANwc9cjvtoH9tVoKLamnaBo3TXcyiEWRqx2f8e521A-pOKqzNvNbxJ84E5aJak_gMmSeS12g/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linen sock, George Washington Museum 73.714</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I really like some of the even later examples, the Islamic Period ones like these. They may well be knitted. The earliest knitted examples date from the 11th century AD onwards.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgly_lCNnSTvPvTrI_a-S3NKwlwI0b51P2ghRp_f3h4aXxq1b3lfwQrrjmQyVAqdq9ovKuWspaqJInkeUSno8ClmMRXNHDFrlm1x2ObUU9-lgjttxjPYW7GoLyXSe4-8ULy1RrIsL-nMA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="1146" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgly_lCNnSTvPvTrI_a-S3NKwlwI0b51P2ghRp_f3h4aXxq1b3lfwQrrjmQyVAqdq9ovKuWspaqJInkeUSno8ClmMRXNHDFrlm1x2ObUU9-lgjttxjPYW7GoLyXSe4-8ULy1RrIsL-nMA/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Washington Textile Museum. 73.619. The Kufic script repeats the name of Allah. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tNIgESL7Iew2zH38X6uzo2E6Nt1IGpPdazmFA9tcPo7RELdae0zIJzqWosSlhzRNuk7khjVWZrBbJpg7DfkDjge9cMpyKFucGDWH2NGztV2A3iXWvZjTODejwx7RnMVGLTrvb5eKjA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tNIgESL7Iew2zH38X6uzo2E6Nt1IGpPdazmFA9tcPo7RELdae0zIJzqWosSlhzRNuk7khjVWZrBbJpg7DfkDjge9cMpyKFucGDWH2NGztV2A3iXWvZjTODejwx7RnMVGLTrvb5eKjA/" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooper Hewitt Collection. Again, the Kufic script repeats the name of Allah,</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Socks are not the only way to keep your feet warm. You could wear <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footwraps">footwraps</a>. These were used by several groups, including Russian armies, up until the mid 20th century and later. I wonder if some of the squares of linen found in Egyptian Museums might be footwraps?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you think they look odd (like I did) remember, that two-toed or tabi socks are still worn today. Here are a couple of examples. Perfect for wearing with thong-sandals.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15n6H092gKp6YiuXf0V1YSWA0SfEKZ1NrtqdOAMrLUUzs3zlvtftEDSzQA9-GReMQyzSHac12Sa7yEvxqpVFONUex1dWOwYizHwtLAqhMgHSBFVggrP42AZTx5LBTsRr2QN1mLFOGVg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="1140" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15n6H092gKp6YiuXf0V1YSWA0SfEKZ1NrtqdOAMrLUUzs3zlvtftEDSzQA9-GReMQyzSHac12Sa7yEvxqpVFONUex1dWOwYizHwtLAqhMgHSBFVggrP42AZTx5LBTsRr2QN1mLFOGVg/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Another great talk here:</span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCIV27RVA90"><span style="font-family: arial;">Talk by Barbara <span style="background-color: white;">Köstner </span>on socks from the <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto</span></span></a></div><div><br /></div><div>--------------</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Willeke Wendrich and Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Footwear, In Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood (ed.) 1999. <i>Tutankhamun's Wardrobe: Garments from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, </i>Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn and Co's Uitgeversmaatschappij, 68-77; Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Socks, In <span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> André J. Veldmeijer</span> (ed.) 2011. <i>Tutankhamun's Footwear. Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear, </i>Sidestone Press<i>, </i>165-168.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-66412001327588349832021-08-06T10:20:00.003-07:002021-08-06T10:28:03.785-07:00Eight-pointed Star (Octagram)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPfDVptXWOQdTdgyULaM7-gpY2AjB8D06G-B-OUfurfeMWFyjoJcmjXu6aEcEIMcdzHiUueTFE9SJj-oA25KFcFkdJhELnrHCV7MvRKcSYvLd009_i0jWm_r0Grv-KSDKkT09RUoZPw/s1149/EC606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1149" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPfDVptXWOQdTdgyULaM7-gpY2AjB8D06G-B-OUfurfeMWFyjoJcmjXu6aEcEIMcdzHiUueTFE9SJj-oA25KFcFkdJhELnrHCV7MvRKcSYvLd009_i0jWm_r0Grv-KSDKkT09RUoZPw/w189-h152/EC606.jpg" width="189" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5OUO6ged1lbJgEXDg7Q6ZSmDiih-eGb1gPtYTe5gOgLVpefkC0LvKbmFQp2ze3SyjElhwhRkwyhjaSKsnJLnnetrhhZsr3XbgJWfkXLKdvJlEtfOKWmvgBtz7Y3FypKVwuHaDqiicA/s588/W861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="588" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5OUO6ged1lbJgEXDg7Q6ZSmDiih-eGb1gPtYTe5gOgLVpefkC0LvKbmFQp2ze3SyjElhwhRkwyhjaSKsnJLnnetrhhZsr3XbgJWfkXLKdvJlEtfOKWmvgBtz7Y3FypKVwuHaDqiicA/w187-h171/W861.jpg" width="187" /><br /></a>The eight-pointed
star is a common design on Egyptian textiles from the 4<sup>th</sup> century
AD, often composed of two superimposed squares combined with interlace
ornament. We have several in the Egypt Centre.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYLJI6QSXv0HDFiXPRtIfYOltS59MnSCrYWkq_I7yNMsaO-JVBNHhMScddKfK2pc1hs8xRKKOF78uln6qzeD4d4CvRUGoWXIfdmYhrbqYtppCs5Tw36DENn6tCXj-8pA9se2MetuE-A/s576/W862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="576" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYLJI6QSXv0HDFiXPRtIfYOltS59MnSCrYWkq_I7yNMsaO-JVBNHhMScddKfK2pc1hs8xRKKOF78uln6qzeD4d4CvRUGoWXIfdmYhrbqYtppCs5Tw36DENn6tCXj-8pA9se2MetuE-A/s320/W862.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">In Egypt, the
motif may date from the 2<sup>nd</sup> century AD, as is shown by a mummy
portraits from Antinoe. <a href="#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></a>
Pharaonic Egyptians depicted a five-pointed star.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If you
google it, you will see all sorts of ideas on the meaning behind the eight-pointed star, from
a symbol of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar (who equates with the Greek
Aphrodite), the eight deities of the Egyptian Ogdoad to a Masonic symbol. An eight pointed star
is also used as a <i>rub el hisb</i> (Arabic, quarter-group), an ornament used
to mark the end of passages in the Q’uran. It seems to have been used by
several different cultures in different ways around the world.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>For information on its various uses see: <a href="https://lds-studies.blogspot.com/2011/05/seal-of-melchizedek-eight-pointed-star.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://lds-studies.blogspot.com/2011/05/seal-of-melchizedek-eight-pointed-star.html</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWMAijajklJjl-og548lnDoZ0mYWAgMftE6WU1o51sxvR7IqwFxwCWpc5elIHl-pn5dmWsrkqWyhu0dg2LHh6wJIT2LHdN01YgU-j7I4DUliBu0bKkKfYSxJFDFw7op_I2fK0cg3GpQ/s249/Vichten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="249" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWMAijajklJjl-og548lnDoZ0mYWAgMftE6WU1o51sxvR7IqwFxwCWpc5elIHl-pn5dmWsrkqWyhu0dg2LHh6wJIT2LHdN01YgU-j7I4DUliBu0bKkKfYSxJFDFw7op_I2fK0cg3GpQ/s0/Vichten.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It seems
most likely, given the dating, that in Egypt the design was copied from Roman
motifs. The star features, for example, on the 3<sup>rd</sup> century Vichten
mosaic, shown on the left here. Such designs were later reused in Islamic geometric art.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">On late
Roman/Byzantine/Coptic clothing such as that in the Egypt Centre, the
combination of the star with the vine leaf is common, perhaps an influence of Graeco-Roman Dionysian motifs.</p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><i>Les
Portraits D'Antinoe Au Musee Guimet</i>, Emile Etienne Guimet (Librairie
Hachette et Cie, Paris, France, 1912), Plate XLVI. (I am unclear if the date is
correct).<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><br />Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-59263055343915981522021-07-31T04:35:00.002-07:002021-07-31T04:41:11.394-07:00High Whorl or Low Whorl?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA1hY6FaY6uAYT6tKEHdHIDWYsCUQ-YzPvOibO1hcNW5s2BA-lb75TjTPhDveb1J_EtORWQo8FLjCexfKqqndJPlI_Uuv99gCmMmCJDYHfcSVESTqyxjbYT8YJHLoTeK2lffgboJYnQ/s864/Screenshot+2021-07-26+153118.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="661" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA1hY6FaY6uAYT6tKEHdHIDWYsCUQ-YzPvOibO1hcNW5s2BA-lb75TjTPhDveb1J_EtORWQo8FLjCexfKqqndJPlI_Uuv99gCmMmCJDYHfcSVESTqyxjbYT8YJHLoTeK2lffgboJYnQ/w153-h200/Screenshot+2021-07-26+153118.png" width="153" /></a></div>A drop spindle tends to be a simple device, though there are variations. One of the most obvious differences is in how far the weight, the whorl, is placed in relation to the spindle stich. At top or at the bottom. The picture on the right comes from the modern spinning magazine <i>Spin-Off </i>which explains that using either is often a matter of personal preference but generally the low whorl is easier for beginners. Low whorls have been traditionally used in the north and west of Europe.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgyG9qnW8_5i7brNlkLI7vXDbDbZOjPu7SwEiavpbcr7B_MyuDFjraUJRb3HEWeG_dwGD-mmOD4EfUVYhAf20j_q32Y7_oX_S907Jdkj0gaXyzmPuIoYWPSPVCqj0P06uGx3CqC-Vog/s939/Screenshot+2021-06-21+142847.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="559" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgyG9qnW8_5i7brNlkLI7vXDbDbZOjPu7SwEiavpbcr7B_MyuDFjraUJRb3HEWeG_dwGD-mmOD4EfUVYhAf20j_q32Y7_oX_S907Jdkj0gaXyzmPuIoYWPSPVCqj0P06uGx3CqC-Vog/s320/Screenshot+2021-06-21+142847.png" /></a></div><p></p><p>However, iconography and actual finds (<span style="color: #2b00fe;">1)</span> shows us that the ancient Egyptians preferred the high whorl on their spindles. That is, the weight was at the top of the whorl and not the bottom. Generally, one starts these spinning by twirling them against ones thigh:</p><div>You tube videos show spinning using a modern high whorl:</div><div><br /></div><div>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s99KZZOZ4q4</div><div><br /></div>Was there any reason for the high whorl preference other than simple following of tradition?<div><br /></div><div>Well, my hand spinning is pretty bad, and I prefer the Turkish spindle, which is slightly different again. So what do modern spinners say about the high whorl?</div><div><br /></div><div>They are <a href="http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/spindle-types.html">ideal for thin and fine fibres</a>. But then they are spinning and not plying, the figures here are plying. See <a href="http://egyptcentre.blogspot.com/2021/06/not-spinning-but-splicing.html">here for an explanation </a>of why I think that.</div><div><br /></div><div>You might notice that of you look at the items the <a href="https://egyptcentre.abasetcollections.com/Objects?SavedSelections=&Search=whorl">Egypt Centre has catalogued</a> as whorls, they are made of clay, or stone, whereas the examples from other collections are wooden. Maybe ours are late, or not Egyptian?</div><div><br /></div><div>And, related to this, Sam Powell, drew my attention to this figure in the Egypt Centre collection, W668:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kYpxh6jH1Qy8B5HAzDpUHUdHA_4ouIPNEOcpIJ0Did0OdzXIYuY6831yI5TkX19NszWLljBd9js2kx-SPc40oEV5w3y3BU8VHM3sCHNVxABM8zKZbonpMTuc8HCofTTuf7U_wsYb8A/s1248/InkedW668+%25281%2529_LI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1248" data-original-width="486" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kYpxh6jH1Qy8B5HAzDpUHUdHA_4ouIPNEOcpIJ0Did0OdzXIYuY6831yI5TkX19NszWLljBd9js2kx-SPc40oEV5w3y3BU8VHM3sCHNVxABM8zKZbonpMTuc8HCofTTuf7U_wsYb8A/s320/InkedW668+%25281%2529_LI.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Is he lifting her leg to ply on a high whorl spindle, like this depiction here from Beni Hasan:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNdzbHSvOmUVhN-IDNvOS38dKe1xuA8LNXXDaN5CcqkTcLSlNV8FvToBVlfxqj98ToNsvlxB9tOnH6zx_clpVtfnjbZQQJc6P9DmGf97nbDt6gJuwmOkcsE7q6tKBZdNp7E1d3px4Xw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="709" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNdzbHSvOmUVhN-IDNvOS38dKe1xuA8LNXXDaN5CcqkTcLSlNV8FvToBVlfxqj98ToNsvlxB9tOnH6zx_clpVtfnjbZQQJc6P9DmGf97nbDt6gJuwmOkcsE7q6tKBZdNp7E1d3px4Xw/w498-h247/image.png" width="498" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>1. A Roman Period wooden spindle and whorl now in the National Museum of Scotland can be <a href="https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/collection-search-results/spindle-whorl/300666">seen here</a>.</div><div>1850-1750BC and 1550-1069BC from Lahun and Gurob can be<a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/textil/tools.html"> seen in the Petrie Museum</a>.</div><div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-52595327733382723002021-07-22T08:57:00.002-07:002021-07-22T08:58:11.741-07:00Woad, not just for Celts!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, the ancient Egyptians used it too!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDVRFfOh74owrkuzGoFgl7Stk7klDW8GYKNMEZtA3FpLx18bFrmENNtGYLTlqqsxx7drh6bJiebXix66h7BNw3qnMbkgyYLq1Xj_KfYBIir3QcnBBL9GRKzF7x8YH9FRNYawHrhjv5Q/s1132/116221604_10159304103859749_7491926867448561198_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDVRFfOh74owrkuzGoFgl7Stk7klDW8GYKNMEZtA3FpLx18bFrmENNtGYLTlqqsxx7drh6bJiebXix66h7BNw3qnMbkgyYLq1Xj_KfYBIir3QcnBBL9GRKzF7x8YH9FRNYawHrhjv5Q/s320/116221604_10159304103859749_7491926867448561198_n.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />I have long wanted to dye with woad, having heard about how fabric soaked in woad changes colour when taken out of the dye vat. And, having tried it, it is rather magical. As you lift it out of the liquid, the yarn or fabric turns blue as it hits the air. The colour produced is, well, indigo, the same colour as indigo dyed jeans. (To the left is a pic of wool dyed with woad drying in my back garden). Woad and indigo actually have the same chemical dye, though indigo has it in greater quantities.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Dyeing is like magic, so it is apt that papyri from ancient Egypt dealing with dyes are sometimes called alchemic texts. Papyrus X Leidensis of the Roman Period also has recipes for changing the colour of stones and metals.<span style="color: #2b00fe;">1</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The only problem with woad dying is that it's a bit smelly. I dye in the kitchen but have the backdoor open. Indeed Papyrus Anastasia VII has a section in it declaring "The fingers of the dyer smell of rotten fish. His eyes are red from fatigue". <span style="color: #2b00fe;">2 </span>The use of woad as a dye requires the use of a fermentation vat. Traditionally, stale urine was used. Fermentation removes oxygen from the woad, making it soluable. Instructions on how to do it are given <a href="http://www.wildcolours.co.uk/html/urine_indigo_vat.html">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Woad, comes from the plant Isatis tinctoria L. which grows widely, including in Egypt and Britain. I am trying to grow some in my garden, but slugs keep eating it!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">PS, in September I am hoping to start a once a week, 10 week exploration of ancient Egyptian textiles which I hope others might like to join. We shall be looking at various aspects of textiles, including those in the Egypt Centre, and the intention is to have an experimental element. I anyone wants to keep in touch re. this, please email me at c.a.graves-brown@swansea.ac.uk</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. There were, and are, of course arguments as to what alchemy was/is. More recently, it seems to be associated with making precious metals, or is seen as the forerunner to chemistry. For a discussion on the connection between alchemy and dyeing see: Garcia, J. M. 2018. 'The art of dyeing in Greco-Roman Egypt', in Busana, M.S., Gleba, M., Meo. F and Tricomi, A.R. (eds.) </span><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Textiles and Dyes in the Mediterranean Economy and Societ</span><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">y. </span></span></i><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Proceedings of the VIth International Symposium
on Textiles and Dyes in the Ancient Mediterranean World
(Padova - Este - Altino, Italy 17 – 20 October 2016). </i>Libros Portico, 471-479.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. 'The Satire of the Trades'. It should be pointed out that some scholars see this text as referring not to woad dye but rather Tyrian purple dye, a dye produces from shellfish. However, analysis of purple dyes in Egypt show little use of Tyrian purple. Rather, purple dyes were more commonly obtained by overdyeing blue woad with red madder. The Papyrus dates to the 19th Dynasty.</span></p>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-89041258702298080742021-07-16T02:37:00.003-07:002021-07-16T02:37:53.710-07:00No Lasting Colour Without Alum <p><span style="font-family: arial;">Why didn't the ancient Egyptians commonly dye their most often used textile, linen?<span style="color: #2b00fe;">1</span> I can't answer that here, but thinking through possibilities, it is said in some publications that linen was harder to dye. This has always seemed unlikely to me. I can dye linen and I'm no expert. Yes, wool more readily takes up the dye but it seems difficult to believe that the ancient Egyptians did not dye linen because it was a little more difficult than wool. Secondly, woad can be used to dye linen blue without the use of a mordant. And, linen has often been dyed with woad, for example labourers' linen smocks of the 19th century were dyed with woad. Woad was used and grown in ancient Egypt. Though using only blue dye is a bit limiting colourwise, unless one is happy with the all-over jean look (tradionally jeans are dyed with indigo, chemically the same as woad). I will look a bit more at woad in the next blog post.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The beautiful vibrant colours of 'Coptic' Egyptian textiles of wool and linen owe themselves not only to the dyes but the mordant (fixative) which ensured that colour did not simply wash out of wool. The wool was dyed whereas the linen was usually left undyed. The word mordant means (bite) and so the colours "bite" and stay fast. In ancient times, as today, alum was commonly used as a wool mordant. Recipes of the time state that wool needed to be washed and then treated with a mordant before the dyeing process. The mordant was alum. In the dyeing process, the mordant is vital, and sometimes more difficult to obtain than the dyes themselves.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTbo4xxesv_URohha25nlcZyNzz3hgAnRClU0waJFxkFf8PoGB1M8onww3UgSjkf3o5w2Ai7A4oVmgwc-K4qRCvo-E_nWSn8w7yqnWu-1LVc9B1HxnRojSBshGXZ7LNvZNM3ANJY9hg/" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="250" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTbo4xxesv_URohha25nlcZyNzz3hgAnRClU0waJFxkFf8PoGB1M8onww3UgSjkf3o5w2Ai7A4oVmgwc-K4qRCvo-E_nWSn8w7yqnWu-1LVc9B1HxnRojSBshGXZ7LNvZNM3ANJY9hg/" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Top, alum mines </span></p><p><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Bottom, handspun linen thread dyed by the author using madder mordanted with tannin (from brewers supplies) and aluminium sulphate, and then washed. As can be seen it did fix, it doesn't wash out. However, it hasn't penetrated the thread near the knot. Wool tends to take up dyes more easily. </span></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrUuISv8ulKHJ9tkppAqp89qOsx9EJ6niJxVs1xOhWjoU-3Vpb-If1kN3PZahLnLOq5P7-F5tD6RcjeMJAXZofbcmYhrwtsJS45fXvlVN4WB7FW-peHc9c5j64-RrwKoVGkricO0u5Q/s2600/IMG_20210714_145330196+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="2600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrUuISv8ulKHJ9tkppAqp89qOsx9EJ6niJxVs1xOhWjoU-3Vpb-If1kN3PZahLnLOq5P7-F5tD6RcjeMJAXZofbcmYhrwtsJS45fXvlVN4WB7FW-peHc9c5j64-RrwKoVGkricO0u5Q/s320/IMG_20210714_145330196+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>But why wasn't alum used for linen? It is possible that alum was hard to get hold of, though by the 1st century AD, when the Coptic textiles were produced, their bright coloured dyed wools suggest that this was not the case.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Alum only occurs as a natural mineral in a few restricted regions. Luckily for Egypt, it was possible to obtain the mineral within the country. Several alum mines have been identified in the western deserts of Egypt; in the Great Oasis at Dakhla and Kharga, and the Small Oasis at Bahariya. These appear as shallow hollows. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">A specific type of alum was also used to produce a blue pigment in glass making and glazes from the New Kingdom. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century AD, states that Egyptian alum was highly prized in the Roman world and exported and used as a dye mordant, though Pliny states that it was a wool mordant.<span style="color: #2b00fe;"> 2.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Why was it not used for linen?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Perhaps the important alum resource was deliberately restricted by the government? </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Alum mines were so valuable that in Roman times they were government controlled. It is not clear if this was the case earlier, but we know that other forms of mining came under royal control before the Roman Period.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Around 2,500 BC, we can see that linen was produced in small factories or workshops. By 1500, if not earlier, it seems that there was a great deal of domestic production with the women of the house heavily engaged in this. Unless wealthy, with connections to the royal family, perhaps they did not have access to alum? It does seem that most of the extant dyed linen comes from royal contexts (Goyon 1996). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Against the idea that linen was not dyed because alum was restricted, the colours of 'Coptic' Egyptian textiles of the 1st millennium AD show that when given the choice, linen was left plain and only the wool was dyed. But, the amount of colour does not suggest a huge alum shortage. Perhaps, indeed, the difficulty of dyeing linen meant it was usually left plain.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are alternative suggestions. Perhaps the alum mined in Egypt was the wrong type to be used as a mordant for linen. Alum has several uses and as well as its use as a mordant, it can also be used for tanning leather, as a medicine, and, as stated above, one of the types of alum from with Egypt (cobaltiferous alum) was used to colour glass. Today's dyers of linen tend to use aluminium acetate</span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">(it can be bought online), though tannin with aluminium sulphate can be used (see image above). Now the paper by Bogenspeger, below, is great with lots of detail, but perhaps because I'm not a chemist, I'm not sure what types of alum were available within Egypt. Cardon (2007, 21-23) says the type of alum found in Egypt is a hydrated sulphate of potassium and aluminium. Is this the same as the aluminium sulphate one can by from modern dyer's supplies? If anyone can help me out, I'd be grateful. Perhaps the alum which I had used to dye linen is not really so accessible in Egypt and to use other types of alum for linen really was more difficult.</span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And other suggestions as to why linen wasn't commonly dyed, maybe the Egyptians simply preferred the look of the plain material, and, it had associations of divinity and purity. The ancient Egyptian could appear a very conservative lot, unwilling to change. But, if it works and has important connotations for you why change? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1. Linen was dyed, for example, linen used to wrap mummies was not infrequently dyed red, and several dyed textiles have been found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. According to Pliny, in the 4th century BC, the generals of Alexander the Great competed in dyeing the sails of their ships. Of course this may have simply been a fanciful story and it is clear that the dyeing of linen was not common. See Goyon 1996.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Chapter 52 in his 35</span><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> book of his </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Natural History</em><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> lists alum uses as: wool dyeing, leather tawing, leather tanning, for creating special metal and glass finishes, for medicinal and cosmetic uses. According to Pliny, alum, ‘… has the effect, also, of checking and dispersing perspiration, and of neutralizing offensive odours of the arm-pits.’</span></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">References and Further Reading</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Bogensperger, I. 2018. 'Alum in Ancient Egypt: The written evidence', in Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck and Petra Linscheid (eds.), <i>Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries. Proceedings of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27–29 November 2015</i>. Tielt: Lannoo Publishers. pp. 255-263. This can be downloaded from here: https://www.academia.edu/40968832/Alum_in_Ancient_Egypt_The_written_evidence (accessed July 2021).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Cardon, D.2007. <i>Natural Dyes. Sources, Tradition, Technology and Science.</i> London: Archetype Publications.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Goyon, J.-C. 1996 “Le lin et sa teinture en Égypte. Des
procédés ancestraux aux pratiques importées (VIIe siècle
av. J.-C. à l’époque récente)”, in <i>Aspects de l’artisanat
du textile dans le Monde Méditerranéen (Égypte, Grèce,
monde Romain). Collection de l’Institut d’Archéologie et
d’Histoire de l’Antiquité, Université Lumière Lyon</i> 2, vol.
2, Lyon, p. 13-22</span></p>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-3336100332749656452021-07-10T00:14:00.001-07:002021-07-10T00:14:46.236-07:00The thread of life, women and textiles<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Archaeologists
have historically divided time into the ages of "hard technology" with such terms
as “Stone Age”, “Bronze Age” and “Iron Age”. These technologies, it is claimed were fundamental to human ‘progression’. Of course, Egyptologists have seen
kings and dynasties as more important and so use these to break up
periods of time.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But, what if we explore replacing the three age division of stone, bronze and iron
to: something like the ages of “pottery” and “flax”?<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
An interesting idea. But just how important were textiles? Here I only look at ancient Egypt.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DFa6ByvJ5-FczslekgoamMtKb2o5fl-VG995GeWezZpjjP87yUA2RO5JHnB1vz-lU8nK2mATmpbH45AHTKyPgpapSDjzpzpNjX-fpqEhOHXQ5VHplDn1vc-lTwP321u73I-A9JjWnw/s1363/PM7+%2528combined%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DFa6ByvJ5-FczslekgoamMtKb2o5fl-VG995GeWezZpjjP87yUA2RO5JHnB1vz-lU8nK2mATmpbH45AHTKyPgpapSDjzpzpNjX-fpqEhOHXQ5VHplDn1vc-lTwP321u73I-A9JjWnw/s320/PM7+%2528combined%2529.jpg" /></span></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">We know that textiles were used for clothing, furnishings burial
wrappings, votive offerings, sails, and much more. Linen was important in the
deification of the deceased and the gods carry cloth reinforcing that idea. </span><span>Wages were paid in food, but also in metalwork and textiles. Textiles</span><span lang="EN-US"> kept the Egyptians warm, were important in religion, allowed them to sail
the Nile, were used as items of prestige and social display.</span><span lang="EN-US"><span> Cloth</span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> was valuable, mended and re-mended.</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Amulet (c. 4cm high showing Imsety holding a piece of cloth. Egypt Centre collection PM7).</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There is evidence that the Egyptians themselves recognized the
importance of textiles.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Hella Küllmer has written on the phenomenon of
women of early Bronze Age Egypt being rewarded for their weaving.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref1" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The
hieroglyph for weaver, which represents a sceptre, designates the weaver as
‘one who is adorned’ or ‘rewarded’ and suggests the high status of weavers. Women are shown being given costly ornaments for their
services, something which does not appear in later representations. It has been
claimed that the depictions of women
weavers receiving necklaces were a public recognition of their worth, and
furthermore that the payment of weavers
can be equated to payment given to tomb workers of this date. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQB8WhXCStMxXRi6OedObocODoNOBA_ty6umFfNNAOfuT7WxeeE_gzGIIY05M14F8BHXoVTASQBJEndQeoarNzYZ2Bg2uCXZvo-KxIB00enCK_aXYygYBa4GWb9ZermzF5b5LTlWOQlg/s1430/Picture1.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1430" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQB8WhXCStMxXRi6OedObocODoNOBA_ty6umFfNNAOfuT7WxeeE_gzGIIY05M14F8BHXoVTASQBJEndQeoarNzYZ2Bg2uCXZvo-KxIB00enCK_aXYygYBa4GWb9ZermzF5b5LTlWOQlg/w640-h480/Picture1.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tomb of Akhethotep. In the second and third sections down, women weavers are rewarded with necklaces for their work, 2400-2300BC </span><span style="font-size: small;">(see </span><i style="font-size: small;">Junkeriza V: Die Mastaba des Snb (Seneb) und die </i><i style="font-size: small;">umliegenden</i><span style="font-size: small;"> figs. 8-12) </span></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Women engaged in
such activities would have had a certain amount of financial independence and
thus have been more able to build their own tombs. Even in
domestic production. Around 1900, a male head of a household, Heqanakht, was
able to rent fields with income from cloth woven in his household and
presumably also supply the household with cloth.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span></span></a> Around 1500BC, one woman accumulated enough surplus to buy goods such as
slaves.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But, we
don’t usually think of textiles as being central to historic development. Could this be because, before c.1300BC, it was women of ancient Egypt who tended to do most of
the spinning and weaving? Around this date the vertical loom, a more complex affair than the horizontal loom, was introduced. Years of practice manipulating warp and weft in using the horizontal loom gave way to more emphasis on controlling a machine. Arguably, the new did not make fancy weaving more possible, but rather made it a little easier. Women did use these new looms, but men were now introduced into the weaving process.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In many societies textile production has been the female
preserve, particularly spinning, less so weaving. The world over, deities associated with spinning and weaving have been female. And, traditionally, women's work is not so valued as that of men; though rewards such as those given to female weavers discussed above, show it was not always so.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb shows us Howard Carter disappointed that a certain casket contained not rolls of papyri but linen; that opening the king's sarcophagus was at first disappointing because the body was shrouded in linen.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref4" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 19.26px;">[6]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ancient Egyptian tomb robbers, however, frequently took the expensive linen from tombs. And in the tomb of Tutankhamun, statues, as well as the mummy were made sacred with mummy wrappings.</span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="font-size: large; mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Y</span>es, time is a continuum, but we
often have to use a name to refer to a period so that other people know what we
mean.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> https://lithub.com/what-if-we-called-it-the-flax-age-instead-of-the-iron-age/?fbclid=IwAR1_Ey5fEROYzvHRtdPV-K5sCJQrKOoC-2eDg1l5ND_zri9Bi89R6BYPxoA</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn1" style="font-family: arial;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;">[3]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 32px;">Küllmer, H. (2007), ‘Marktfrauen, Priesterinnen und, Edle des Königs’ Untersuchung über die Position von Frauen in der sozialen Hierarchie des Alten Ägypten bis zum Ende der 1. Zwischenzeit’, Unpublished PhD thesis, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Hamburg</st1:placename></st1:place>.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Wente, E.F. (1990), <i>Letters from
Ancient <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region></i>.
<st1:city w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:city>: Scholars Press. pp. 58–9. </span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 19.26px;">[5]</span></span></span></a> Eyre, C.J. (1998), 'The market women of pharaonic <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>', in Grimal, N. and Menu, P. (eds), <i>Le commerce en Égypte anciene</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Cairo</st1:city>: Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, pp. 173–92.8,</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">178</span><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carolyn/Documents/Work/Chats/Textiles/women%20the%20textile%20maker.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 19.26px;">[6]</span></span></span></a> St Clair, K. (2019), <i>The Golden Thread. How fabric changed history.</i> London: John Murray. pp. 37–39</span><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
</div>
</div>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-58197814258549132712021-06-25T08:30:00.004-07:002021-07-31T04:36:27.727-07:00Not spinning but splicing<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3DECVFCYw6XsZoUr0OHlg8P_p8kjWBpEfZIZOJ1LZ7Hq4-BwpQDkyc2R0ewc35QFlveMjyfA7P2sNiBE6rLmvfcMJVyRxoRmfe1ayjLrVvqVZ4SA6ZabrRE8_yh4nuW4FeTwFgGm4g/s1200/main-image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1200" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3DECVFCYw6XsZoUr0OHlg8P_p8kjWBpEfZIZOJ1LZ7Hq4-BwpQDkyc2R0ewc35QFlveMjyfA7P2sNiBE6rLmvfcMJVyRxoRmfe1ayjLrVvqVZ4SA6ZabrRE8_yh4nuW4FeTwFgGm4g/w528-h345/main-image.jpg" width="528" /></a></div><br /></div>As a person with little knowledge of textiles, but learning about them, I had assumed that the pictures such as that shown above, from a Middle Kingdom tomb at Beni Hasan (c.1900BC), showed the person on the right spinning linen from flax fibres. There are quite a few scenes of spinning using spindles in the pharaonic period. In more modern times, in spinning flax, the fibre is separated from the plant and then the strands of fibre spun together to form a "single". In order to strengthen the thread, two singles are then plied together. What is happening here, as in most other pharaonic spinning scenes is the plying of two already created singles. The person on the right holds two threads from two bowls, plying them together to make a stronger thread.<div><br /></div><div>Spinning single threads does not seem to have happened at this date. So how did the ancients make long thin strands prior to plying? It now seems that for most of pharaonic Egypt linen thread was not spun in singles, but fibres joined to make a long thread by splicing.<br /><p>You can see a demonstration of splicing done by Sally Pointer on nettle <a href="https://youtu.be/5Eq7fyLMu9I">here</a> (21 minutes in) , though flax would be spliced in the same way. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JKdygtuLgSC7Gn-9_9TUZDhGU7HhtuRzZ4GLQPvquGlf0nn0bWbeEvUn1yz-vihO2y9QNivIqxlNemgRfhvz-tzF4BGgFcAGnDZ8jwz2ZUeHXEF2rxNF16AFv0XTRCSc2du38k3QKA/s844/Screenshot+2021-06-21+144206.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JKdygtuLgSC7Gn-9_9TUZDhGU7HhtuRzZ4GLQPvquGlf0nn0bWbeEvUn1yz-vihO2y9QNivIqxlNemgRfhvz-tzF4BGgFcAGnDZ8jwz2ZUeHXEF2rxNF16AFv0XTRCSc2du38k3QKA/s320/Screenshot+2021-06-21+144206.png" /></a></div>From the same tomb scene, to the left of the plying woman, there appears to be a kneeling woman, whom I assume is splicing.<p></p><p>You can read more about the scenes <a href="http://atnfriends.com/download/ATN41Final.pdf">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div><div>The Petrie Museum has some linen cloth from Lahun, <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/textil/tools.html">some of which is spliced</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now I have wondered if splicing enabled the Egyptians to get finer thread than by spinning singles. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is another aspect to this, with splicing the fibre doesn't have to be processed quite so much as it does with spinning singles. The bits of plant which are not fibre can be beaten out after weaving. Was this a job carried out by men? Perhaps the male 'washermen' whom we know from text, by the river were also fulling linen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just thoughts. Comments welcome.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><p><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The first picture is from a facsimile by Norman de Garis Davis in 1931. The second is a copy of the same, but enhanced to make it clearer (from Rooijakkers 2005).</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="nova-v-person-list-item has-image" data-testid="research-header-author-item" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-flex: 1; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; background-color: white; color: #111111; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; position: relative;"><div class="nova-l-flex__item nova-l-flex nova-l-flex--gutter-xs nova-l-flex--direction-row@s-up nova-l-flex--align-items-stretch@s-up nova-l-flex--justify-content-flex-start@s-up nova-l-flex--wrap-nowrap@s-up" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: start; align-items: stretch; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-flow: row nowrap; justify-content: flex-start; margin: -5px;"><div class="nova-l-flex__item nova-l-flex__item--grow nova-v-person-list-item__body" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-basis: auto; flex-grow: 1; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px;"><div class="nova-v-person-list-item__stack nova-v-person-list-item__stack--gutter-s"><div class="nova-v-person-list-item__stack-item"><div class="nova-v-person-list-item__align" style="-webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; display: flex;"><div class="nova-v-person-list-item__align-content" style="overflow: hidden;"><div class="nova-e-text nova-e-text--size-m nova-e-text--family-sans-serif nova-e-text--spacing-none nova-e-text--color-inherit nova-e-text--clamp nova-v-person-list-item__title" style="font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">Rooijakkers, T. 2005., "Unravelling Beni Hassan: Textile <span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 0.875rem;">Production in the Beni Hasan Tomb Paintings" </span></div><div class="nova-e-text nova-e-text--size-m nova-e-text--family-sans-serif nova-e-text--spacing-none nova-e-text--color-inherit nova-e-text--clamp nova-v-person-list-item__title" style="font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 0.875rem;">Arch</i><i style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 0.875rem;">aeo</i><i style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 0.875rem;">logical Textiles Newsletter </i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 0.875rem;">41 (Autumn 2005), 2-32.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-91844189029517155302021-06-18T13:20:00.002-07:002021-06-18T13:20:55.493-07:00Tents, Tombs and Textiles<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRATNBLQ8YgZIyHdxXw7iDMe0GXcONLKXRouDfNCygIAZ52t0ItxWqlPT04-0_DZPSOCnpKdUxnEUYur1o1Ju2UF6W0q50LgZS3B6WdlPos0BCF_ulC5zZgM_dsDsyA4O_qc91UZzqVw/s1200/1200px-Tent_on_shore_of_abu_galum_04.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRATNBLQ8YgZIyHdxXw7iDMe0GXcONLKXRouDfNCygIAZ52t0ItxWqlPT04-0_DZPSOCnpKdUxnEUYur1o1Ju2UF6W0q50LgZS3B6WdlPos0BCF_ulC5zZgM_dsDsyA4O_qc91UZzqVw/s320/1200px-Tent_on_shore_of_abu_galum_04.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Bronze Age Egypt was an international hub, exchanging goods and ideas with the Mediterranean and beyond. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I have
recently been reading an article by Elizabeth Barber. You can download it here:
<a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/188080805.pdf">https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/188080805.pdf</a></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>She
suggests, quite convincingly that fabric from the Aegean was used to decorate tent
interiors in Egypt in the New Kingdom (around 1500-1300BC). While we don’t actually have many ancient Egyptian tent fragments what we have are tomb ceilings, which show what you
would see when you looked up (the other designs of stars seem to suggest that).
We also have pictures of Minoan textiles fragments.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>International links are <a href="https://egyptcentrecollectionblog.blogspot.com/2020/08/egypt-and-its-neighbours-object-centred.html?fbclid=IwAR3RLF4rqA0rAt-gdg9rY8Piwwc8AGjFNKiZsf1CFHZ9tVgWwSlBpwPZCC0">close to our hearts at Swansea Uni</a>.</b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Those interlocking
spiral designs do look a bit Cretan. Is this a coincidence? What do you think?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is a close up of a Cretan textile.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bAF5Wnyd2_wq6nN1EECcm7Z_hIOatnseYBR38LyLZdGfE-LUSVBm7UvSjbpnIMaM5vZBoE7_pbADTWmGVjxk1bsHwYFTIpvfKNIEqCaer10JlzptKP0Yl5RkE6SKI2-7gJ_3c-Ning/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="400" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bAF5Wnyd2_wq6nN1EECcm7Z_hIOatnseYBR38LyLZdGfE-LUSVBm7UvSjbpnIMaM5vZBoE7_pbADTWmGVjxk1bsHwYFTIpvfKNIEqCaer10JlzptKP0Yl5RkE6SKI2-7gJ_3c-Ning/" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>You can find out more about it here:</b></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/aegean-dyes/">https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/aegean-dyes/</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">More can be found online.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here are some New Kingdom tomb ceilings:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeSh8_mkeEFXD6LjSksfE3xAQ44dxP53_UUB5rOTLsf65M_mIfAX5nV7DMHem043gSpPjLuuTtw1YOQnTOXRASmIpvpDD8AcZJEgV-twJmxpwMPg60Oeit6U0G0ActYgR2bcG_wo3Jw/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="203" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeSh8_mkeEFXD6LjSksfE3xAQ44dxP53_UUB5rOTLsf65M_mIfAX5nV7DMHem043gSpPjLuuTtw1YOQnTOXRASmIpvpDD8AcZJEgV-twJmxpwMPg60Oeit6U0G0ActYgR2bcG_wo3Jw/" width="159" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">TT51</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And some more you can look at online:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Menna (TT69):</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><a href="https://www.arce.org/project/tomb-menna-theban-necropolis">https://www.arce.org/project/tomb-menna-theban-necropolis</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><a href="https://www.crooktree.com/p/33658bbf/915363019/egypt-egyptian-ancient-luxor-tombs">https://www.crooktree.com/p/33658bbf/915363019/egypt-egyptian-ancient-luxor-tombs</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kenamun (TT162)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <a href=" https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548305"> </a><a href=" https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548305">https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548305</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Google will bring up more</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">I am hoping to do an Egypt Centre discovering textiles series of talks and demonstrations. If you are interested and want to keep in touch with what else we do <a href="https://a6e3ecf8.sibforms.com/serve/MUIEABNbh5CMxHfn-lW1QsNaO1yaKm21Ix6VPIpMv083cDTQ-Ahx5wXqETAX7HZsb7b8H2Vx9Zx7l8wqt2CL3n8_J3w3MpLbwtAaGzOgmxoeqvJJZKS7KJSfSa23tSZas5-fiigdSeRve7dAss_btBZWNJsDGZtal8-xsEVzt7RyCxOCxAP1D58LJI04oxV6ypJbnkIvMSbFcMae">sign up here</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Reference</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Barber, E. 1990. '</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Reconstructing The Ancient Aegean/Egyptian Textile Trade', <i>Textile Society of </i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>America Symposium Proceedings</i>. 593.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-19761080022093729682017-12-01T03:43:00.003-08:002017-12-01T04:16:09.487-08:00Curses, Aleister Crowley and Tutankhamum.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
now for this week’s news from the Egypt Centre: a story of curses, Aleister
Crowley and Tutankhamum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Whilst
trying to document more about our collection I noticed that we had some objects
which once belonged to Richard Bethell (1883-1929). ‘Who was he?’, I
thought. Bethell was Lord Carnarvon’s half-brother, Howard Carter’s
secretary and a member of the Burlington Fine Arts Club. The latter were
instrumental in categorising ancient Egyptian artefacts as art in the late 19<sup>th</sup>
century. Interesting stuff on the history of art there, but I digress. Richard
Bethell was also the son of the Third Baron Westbury.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Author Mark Beynon claims he was murdered by, or at
the behest of, the famous </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">satanist Aleister
Crowley<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8333053237759761763#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference">[i]</span></a>. </span><span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Richard
Bethell, was found dead in his bed at Mayfair's exclusive Bath Club aged just
46. Bethell was said to have been in perfect health. Crowley had only recently
returned to London and was often a guest of novelist W. Somerset Maugham at the
club. Or so Beynon claims.</span><span style="color: #282828; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Beynon attributes seven deaths on
Crowley.</span><span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Actually, a</span><span style="color: #282828; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">t the
time, the press seemed to have blamed the 'Curse of Tutankhamun' for the deaths
and speculated on the supernatural powers of the ancient Egyptians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Certainly there were links between the elite,
Egyptologists and Crowley. These are commonly known and have given rise to all
sorts of strange and often false theories. For example, I once attended a
lecture where the presenter claimed that the then British Museum Egyptologist, Wallis
Budge, got ideas about a headless god through talking with Crowley. Actually,
simply by reading Budge’s work it is easy to find out that this is not the
case, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">So how much of Beyon’s story holds weight? </span><span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Many people regularly dined at the Bath Club. Maybe
Somerset Maugham was the killer! We don’t actually know what killed Bethell. He
could have had a heart attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">And the Curse of Tutankhamun story, the claim that
those who disturbed the king’s tomb died from unnatural causes, is also highly
speculative. The vast majority of those involved in the excavation lived out a
natural lifespan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Nevertheless, the link between Bethell, and Carter,
and the Burlington Fine Arts Club is all very interesting. And we have some of
Bethell’s objects. I haven’t seen it, but according to an online catalogue
there is a letter in Griffith Institute, Oxford which relates to Bethell
claiming to have to sell his Egyptian collection due to lack of money (</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Griffith Institute</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">File NEWB2/068). A bit sad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">We have 21 items associated with Bethell. These are
interesting, but perhaps not great works of art. They include fragments of New
Year vases, dress ornaments and a Coptic cross. And, a faience inlay and
fragments of fish dishes from the royal site of Amarna (the place where
Nefertiti lived over 3000 years ago).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I have been particularly interested in the fish
dishes. The pieces are very pretty and there isn’t much known about them. I
haven’t been able to find any complete examples in any collections. Basically
what are these for?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">A bit more about them here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="http://egyptcentre.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/faience-fish-dishes-cosmetic-palettes.html">http://egyptcentre.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/faience-fish-dishes-cosmetic-palettes.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Both
the objects and their histories, the people who were associated with them, are
all interesting. At least I think so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Carolyn</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8333053237759761763#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference">[i]</span></a><span style="color: #282828; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> Mark
Beynon. <i>Murder, Black Magic and Tutankhamun in the 1920s West End</i>. The
History Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-76740055539446294432017-11-24T05:03:00.001-08:002017-11-24T05:03:06.139-08:00Notes from the curator 24.11.17<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Notes from the curator 24.11.17<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">It seems a bit mad here. That’s the refrain, one I also hear from elsewhere in the University, so we are not alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Lauren who runs our shop, held her annual Christmas Gift Shop sale on 16<sup>th</sup> and 17<sup>th</sup> November with 10% off exclusively for staff and students. This was very successful with lots of goodies bought! We would like to thank you all for your continued support as every purchase in our gift shop helps support our museum!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">We continue to work around the construction in the Taliesin and have school parties visit. We are fully booked up until Christmas, a good thing, but puts pressure on a need for well-trained volunteers and especially ones who are available outside University term time. Term-time is slightly easier because of student volunteer availability. Standards are expected even from volunteers, and ours are marvellous! Success is difficult </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Our volunteers and staff have won several awards. Again! First for the Out of School Hours Awards. The Young Egyptologist Workshop staff were shortlisted in the Learning Outside the Classroom Innovator category in the national Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC). The awards recognise those people who have had a significant impact on the lives of children and young people through their commitment to providing exciting and inspiring learning outside the classroom (LOtC) opportunities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Since January 2002, The Egypt Centre has been running the Young Egyptologist workshops for children who would not normally visit a museum, let alone one on a university campus! 14 children each month are offered a place on the Young Egyptologist 2-day fun-packed course. Schools from Community First Areas, with a high number of children who are disadvantaged socially or economically, are targeted which supports the Welsh Government’s Anti-Poverty agenda. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The workshops were used as an example of good practice of tacking social injustice as a case study by Baroness K. Andrews, <i>Culture and Poverty: Harnessing the Power of the Arts, Culture and Heritage to Promote Social Justice in Wales</i>. The museum aims to break down barriers that hinder such children taking part and so provide transport to collect the children from school and return them and also provide a buffet-style ‘party’ lunch for each child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The two-day workshop is free of charge and children get a coloured folder of their completed work, a photograph of their group dressed up as ancient Egyptians, and all art and craft materials are provided by the museum. The course aims to motivate children to foster a love of learning, to increase self-esteem and confidence through a greater sense of achievement, as well as developing literacy and numeracy skills. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The museum’s child/teacher evaluation shows that self-esteem is built and many children have made repeat visits with family members to show off their knowledge. Children gain skills as well as gaining knowledge of the subject of ancient Egypt. The culmination of the course is the Award Ceremony to which teachers, family and friends of the children are invited to see the children being presented with a certificate of their achievement. Each child has their ‘moment of glory’ and schools have reported that the children’s attitude to learning was transformed with an increase in motivation and attention and the quality of the children’s work improved. The impact has seen children volunteering at the museum, going into higher education and being the first in their family to gain a degree and move away from Swansea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Our workshops staff includes a Leader and three Workshop Assistants, some of whom have learning disabilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">And then there’s the Diana Awards. Given out in Diana, Princess of Wales’ name, the <a href="https://diana-award.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">award </span></a>is presented to young role models who are selflessly helping to transform the lives of others, going above and beyond to make a positive change in the world. As a result of their dedicated work, eight of the museum volunteers, together with Syd, the volunteer manager, travelled to Cardiff to receive the Diana Champion Volunteer award from <a href="http://gov.wales/about/cabinet/cabinetm/carwyn-jones?lang=en" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">Rt. Hon Carwyn Jones</span></a>, First Minister of Wales. We are incredibly proud of our volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">And on some other good news Wendy, the assistant curator, got a really nice email from another museum whom she’d helped with advice. This resulted in them getting a grant for a project. It is so nice when people say thank you rather than just taking your ideas and taking the credit. So thanks for thanking us. It gives us a lift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I have been taking pictures of artefacts for a book on daemons in the Egypt Centre. We have several lurking! Taking decent pictures of them has been taking more time than I thought. For the ancient Egyptians daemons weren’t quite the same as what some of us moderns might expect. Daemons could be either good or bad, they were very similar to the dead, and… well you’ll have to read the book if it’s ever finished. One of the most popular daemons then and also popular with our volunteers was Bes who looked after women and children and was connected with sexuality and the solar. This bandy-legged, leonine creature was often depicted with a sticking out tongue. He apparently liked to party, or at least is often shown celebrating, playing a hand-drum and dancing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The daemon publication is intended to be for both the general public and for academics. When we take on projects we try to cover as many of our core functions as possible, ours being widening participation (getting as many as possible involved in the university), preventative conservation and education (education in its widest sense, not just learning skills and facts). Of course sometimes these things contradict one another, for example widening participation includes allowing as much access as possible to the collection to all, including handling and that goes against preventative conservation. But then, in order to keep objects safe they would need to be kept in the dark in environmentally controlled conditions rather than not put on display.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A sort of aside but related. Several years ago we had a lady in who wanted to free the souls of the deceased who ‘haunted’ the objects in the Egypt Centre. So, with widening participation in mind we decided she should be allowed access to the store to carry out her wishes. A few incantations later and she went away happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And up and coming, Saturday we have our Murder Mystery masterminded by Sam, our education officer. The outline of the story being: it’s 1922 and Henry Wellcome has just discovered a new tomb of a previously unknown Pharaoh with rare and beautiful artefacts now destined for display at the grand opening of his new museum. As the archaeological team and their honoured guest gather to celebrate their historic discovery and the upcoming opening of the new museum, a mysterious death shatters the evening’s festivities!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Did Henry Wellcome discover more than a long lost tomb?<br />Could this be the Pharaohs Curse?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">While this news update seems to have much to do with daemons and the dead, I want to say loudly- <u>the Egypt Centre is not scary</u>. Please visit. Yes the things belonged to long dead people, and a lot of our stuff is from tombs (much food for an ethics debate). But as is often said, it’s the living you need to fear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-67784727972910345182017-10-13T05:20:00.002-07:002017-10-13T06:25:27.705-07:00What we did 13.10.2017<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monday. Wendy spent the day getting ready for Tuesday and importantly preparing the condition reports for the student handling session next Monday. The preparation always takes much longer than the actual session. Five objects have been chosen, each of a different material, illustrating technology and material culture of ancient Egypt. The handling sessions and close examination of the real objects is always a favourite session for students and the reason some come to Swansea to study! We had a group of MA Egyptology students round and I gave them a tour of the Egypt Centre. I say tour but as I tend to burble on a lot they only heard about 4 objects. They did hear about the love story between the previous curator and a deceased head of Classics at Swansea, which is integral to how the Egyptian collection came to Swansea. Yes really! I am hoping the students were enthused enough to come back and visit us and learn about more objects. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Started tidying up the collections part of our website and sending stuff off for Welsh translation. This bit of the website with associated links:</span> <span style="line-height: 115%;">http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/the-collection-2/the-collection/<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also answered requests from a student from Leiden who is doing research on coffins. She started with the Vatican Coffin Project then moved on to us. Yes, the Pope has an Egyptological collection and we were pleased to have been considered as important enough to be second! Anyway, she wanted information on some of our Third Intermediate Period (c. 1000 BC) coffin fragments and particularly the complete one which we have on display downstairs. The complete one is ‘fun’ as it has pictures on it all about how to get to the afterlife. It belonged to a lady musician who worked in the temple at Thebes, a well to do woman. It has lots of pictures of strange goings on including a judgement scene. One of the ideas the Egyptians held about the afterlife was that your heart would be weighed against the feather of truth to see if you were deserving of an afterlife. If your heart was heavy and full of lies it would be eaten by the devourer who was part hippopotamus, part lion and part crocodile. Without a heart heaven was a no go! I’ve got very interested in this coffin over the years so you can read more about it here: http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/the-collection-2/the-collection/w1982/<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tuesday. Wendy and I staffed the Egypt Centre stall at Staff Benefits Roadshow, Swansea University and we met lots of people we hadn’t met before including ISS staff. It was worth it to meet you all. We do try and benefit staff in having events for adults (including wine tasting a murder mystery and a photography event) and we keep the children of staff amused through events for children. And, I don’t know about you, but I find it therapeutic to visit museums. It gives a sense of perspective. That lady musician who lived 3000 years ago loved and laughed, sang, had hopes and fears, just like all of us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But back to normality, when we got back to the museum apparently the school had come and gone. They arrived at the Centre an hour late as they had confused us with Swansea Museum. This happens all the time. Our advertising budget is small and Swansea Museum is the longer established institution, in fact the oldest museum in Wales.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Matching orphan labels to objects (warning, nerdish stuff). Wellcome label 243552 was found separate from its object (Henry Wellcome’s agents gave artefacts accession numbers but some of these have been separated from artefacts). But the Wellcome Institute in London has useful documents. Back in 2000 I visited there and made a few notes. Looking back over those notes I found a reference to a 1930s notebook (‘Miss Borer’s notebook’) which states that Lot 52 was a Black basalt mould measuring 4 ½ by 2 inches purchased at Sotheby’s on 22/10/1934. We have six basalt moulds in the collection. But only one with that measurement-result! EC656. When we look at photocopies of the sale catalogues of that date (some of which we have in our museum library) we see that this had been the property of Mansoor Abd Essayid. The catalogue says he was an official of the Egyptian state railways, Cairo. Unfortunately we don’t know where he obtained his moulds.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Went to two very good talks this week. One by Dr Kasia Szpakowska on a journey through the afterlife, which was given to the Friends of the Egypt Centre on Wednesday night. You can find out more about the friends lectures here: http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/about/friends-of-the-egypt-centre/<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The other, held on Thursday early evening, by a student who is doing a PhD in both Swansea and in the Sorbonne. It was all about a little known woman called Ahhotep. She was a ‘warrior queen’ who drove off the enemies of Egypt around 1550 B.C. Most literature on her states she wasn’t involved in the warfare itself despite the fact that her son credited her with driving off the enemies of Egypt. The usual thinking seems to ignore the facts and just assume that there was no way Egyptian women did such unladylike things! This talk gave a different view. More about that lecture programme here:</span> <span style="line-height: 115%;">https://inepww.wordpress.com/<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, if anyone is interested you can attend these lectures. The Friends lectures have a small cost, the latter are free.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our Museum Volunteer Manager Syd Howells gave a successful talk on the history of the Egypt Centre and the collections' origins to a church group in Tycoch on Thursday evening.<span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our volunteers have been super busy this week with large school groups almost every day and of course, all schools chose the mummification activity. We really couldn’t manage without our volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quote from a child visiting the Centre on being helped to take his coat off ‘I like it here, it’s like a five-star hotel’.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-30820662419973349882017-10-13T03:00:00.000-07:002017-10-13T03:52:49.515-07:00What we did-Curator's notes 6.10.17<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear all, we thought you might like information from us, telling you a bit about what we do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, hello there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are now open again and have had a really busy week with around 60 children per day. This was from a school who had never visited us before. We are taking tons of school bookings, into next year, from as far away as England!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are also taking lots of bookings for ‘Frightful Pharaohs’ Halloween Half Term workshop, a great opportunity for children aged 6-10 to learn and have fun in a museum setting: <a href="http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/whats-on/">http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/whats-on/</a> So book now if you want your child to take part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">On Monday Wendy and Syd had a meeting with </span>Human and Health Sciences<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> regarding a proposed joint project on health and well-being. Watch this space!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our very own Lauren gave a talk at Bristol all about her experiences as a volunteer at the Egypt Centre. For those that don’t know Lauren she originally came to us as a work experience student from school, went on to Swansea to study Egyptology, then did the MA in Museum Studies at Leicester (very prestigious) and is now employed as our shop manager.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started the week with taking a picture of a weird looking bit of flint and then posted this piece about it: <a href="http://egyptcentre.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/a-hollow-scraper-from-armant.html">http://egyptcentre.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/a-hollow-scraper-from-armant.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Wednesday Sam had a very successful meeting with the Student Union. We are hoping to work with them more in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday Syd went over to the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology and told them all about the Egypt Centre. He was so persuasive that several have agreed to volunteer. We are really short on volunteers to deliver activities with schools, so if you know anyone who would like to volunteer please contact us. Full-training is given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">One of our amazing international volunteers Paulina is back. She is starting a PhD at Swansea. If you want to know more about her look no further than:</span> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><a href="http://egyptcentre.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/paulina-sutorovamy-experience-at-egypt.html">http://egyptcentre.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/paulina-sutorovamy-experience-at-egypt.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">I have been ploughing through some orphan labels- mainly Wellcome labels and also lot numbers which have got separated from their objects sometime between 1971 when the collection came to Swansea and 1997 when I started here. The Wellcome numbers are those which were given to the items years and years ago by Sir Henrey Wellcome, who was the original owner of the bulk of the collection. He bought lots of objects at auction, hence the lot numbers. This will take forever, but the intention is to do a bit at a time. If I find anything interesting I will let you know. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ken Griffin who used to be an undergraduate volunteer with us but then rose to the dizzy heights of lecturer has just had his article which includes one of our shabtis. The citation is: Kenneth GRIFFIN. – ‘The Ushabtis of the Divine Adoratrice Qedmerut’ in Benoît LURSON, 2016 <i>De la mère du roi à l'épouse du dieu, Von Der Koningsmutter Zur Gottesgemahlin</i>, pp. 145–155. And if you want to know what a shabti/ushabti is, it is a servant figurine to do the work for you in the afterlife. Well who wants to work when they’re dead? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Expect more news anon and if you do want to visit we are open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm. We can also arrange special tours and events for you by appointment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-16290817203969387552017-10-12T08:12:00.001-07:002017-10-12T08:12:06.761-07:00The Amduat in the Egypt Centre<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">nspired by Kasia Szpakowska's talk for the Friends of the Egypt Centre last night, I thought I would introduce one or two artefacts in the Egypt Centre which may have Amduat influences. Kasia's talk was all about the Amduat, the ancient Egyptian afterlife book which shows the journey of the sun-god Re through the afterlife of the Duat. The earliest complete depiction known is from the tomb of Tuthmosis III (1479-1425 BC). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, we don't have any pure Amduat scenes in the Centre but during the Third Intermediate Period (1069-747 BC), Amduat scenes influenced the afterlife scenes shown in tombs, coffins and papyri. We do have some coffin fragments and a complete, coffin with Amduat influence.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WOc-KcDLLdNnMIYHFR9gollXFbLnF-JVQr-JtvzD9llsy6NCxK7W4UYOJZ086N0YNIfTEXkfqxepSfx2dVHqCnqxvKOg2X-ozHoTuffSYegxsckG5ZoZa-sefbiABt2Ij5IbMRyWwA/s1600/W648d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="1600" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WOc-KcDLLdNnMIYHFR9gollXFbLnF-JVQr-JtvzD9llsy6NCxK7W4UYOJZ086N0YNIfTEXkfqxepSfx2dVHqCnqxvKOg2X-ozHoTuffSYegxsckG5ZoZa-sefbiABt2Ij5IbMRyWwA/s320/W648d.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, here we have W648: It shows the sun-disk in the morning embracing the scarab. Very similar scenes are shown on New Kingdom copies of the <i>Book of the Dead</i> Spell 15, but there a female figure usually embraces the sun-disk. By the Third Intermediate Period, it is the male god Osiris with elements of Shu from the <i>Book of Caverns</i> who does the embracing. And, by this date, Osiris is more closely linked with the scarab. In Amduate texts it seems that Shu is the god who reaches towards the scarab.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibX7oplITC_J-WemzEXNoDzRIpMCeadFYufuUd6hN4ytEETRwuB4qnaOvO97HGKTMUkaQjqF9tj4jXjyQFld__vNdKvDwIgIJorVgaEdabzJGVtJotTpS8hfjOOcRsGF99BBAdJGn5nQ/s1600/EC1053%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1600" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibX7oplITC_J-WemzEXNoDzRIpMCeadFYufuUd6hN4ytEETRwuB4qnaOvO97HGKTMUkaQjqF9tj4jXjyQFld__vNdKvDwIgIJorVgaEdabzJGVtJotTpS8hfjOOcRsGF99BBAdJGn5nQ/s320/EC1053%25287%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And here is EC1053: a piece of cartonnage showing Re in his night boat (you can see the stars), waiting to be reborn. He is shown as a child in a red uterine disk. It isn't entirely Amduat but does echo the idea of Re travelling through the Duat to be reborn,</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx6-nfXvZTdGygORg3dzRlByGJJsJYH2jhV24ZjFNqEDwcI-m7_FQ6n5HEgzR3b8KUtnQD-JyRXirtw5_3w4X7ptPry_mTbRYEOewXBusRUKp1na6n-zPE9eGsABfBCNX5JTeYwqH_g/s1600/Figure+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="617" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx6-nfXvZTdGygORg3dzRlByGJJsJYH2jhV24ZjFNqEDwcI-m7_FQ6n5HEgzR3b8KUtnQD-JyRXirtw5_3w4X7ptPry_mTbRYEOewXBusRUKp1na6n-zPE9eGsABfBCNX5JTeYwqH_g/s320/Figure+51.jpg" width="167" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is my favourite character from the complete Third Intermediate Period coffin in the Egypt Centre showing</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Hepet-hor, She Who Embraces Horus. This divinity is almost inseparable from Osiris, guarding his judgement hall. She also tends to appear where Osiris and Re 'get together' in order to renew Re. She does appear on an <i>Amduat</i> Papyrus in the Nelson Atkin Museum of Art, Kansas City, where she holds up Osiris.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then there is the mound scene on our coffin, not unlike the <i>Amduat</i> mound of Sokar with the snake and rebirth connotations. And, Sokar was very much associated with Osiris. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCdDNRaYIMynXmQEXuxoyL_BsXPFH1CvAwkcHBdqw_UViUAXqwaOLubqHnfBuTFcSe9BpKgz07osrzGDkN1ENyfe97PxFjVCLrQPM3i7Oo8nsAkNY7pXfoZxc4A6M_WyvByxyJ4N7KQ/s1600/Figure+52a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCdDNRaYIMynXmQEXuxoyL_BsXPFH1CvAwkcHBdqw_UViUAXqwaOLubqHnfBuTFcSe9BpKgz07osrzGDkN1ENyfe97PxFjVCLrQPM3i7Oo8nsAkNY7pXfoZxc4A6M_WyvByxyJ4N7KQ/s640/Figure+52a.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While these examples are not entirely <i>Amduat</i> inspired, and several also have <i>Book of the Dead</i> or other Otherworld book influence, they also have some similarities with the <i>Amduat</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Any mis-attributions, mistakes etc. are of course mine, not Kasia's!</span><br />
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Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-73174412990214183892017-10-02T08:01:00.000-07:002017-10-02T08:01:18.374-07:00A hollow scraper from Armant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVya3TZT9M9MBHOYSKRaiz0THDD6IXlbMbNN2rpiRrT_B-G9oq9uOq8jHKWKqVhs17PJYGML5kShPbfLcxHlKgHlYOYR3uCDsqfV7hd05iyFN_bGf-DzYzL3mzTQFvdjoNUYsCmWF6w/s1600/DSC_0244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="1600" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVya3TZT9M9MBHOYSKRaiz0THDD6IXlbMbNN2rpiRrT_B-G9oq9uOq8jHKWKqVhs17PJYGML5kShPbfLcxHlKgHlYOYR3uCDsqfV7hd05iyFN_bGf-DzYzL3mzTQFvdjoNUYsCmWF6w/s320/DSC_0244.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWL8KjL7kpdnnwRuHG6SGv-V7voNcvOvFOKI9tDmSVbWDVBxq636Cp9Lp4NgKtuHp-WE-OHOLV2YB4o1urP-cejJsSFfswGvhei48UYlNnt-jiSxbmG3g33zEaO9YXHQNj5ynapuwlYw/s1600/DSC_0246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWL8KjL7kpdnnwRuHG6SGv-V7voNcvOvFOKI9tDmSVbWDVBxq636Cp9Lp4NgKtuHp-WE-OHOLV2YB4o1urP-cejJsSFfswGvhei48UYlNnt-jiSxbmG3g33zEaO9YXHQNj5ynapuwlYw/s320/DSC_0246.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This large crescent-shaped piece of flint is flaked all
over. It has one concave edge 100 mm across and some cortex (the outside of the
original flint pebble or slab) is visible. Hollow scrapers are usually found in
the Thebes area and seem to be Middle Palaeolithic (around 300,000 years old). This
example is from Armant, 12 miles South of Thebes. The brown patina shows it to
be Palaeolithic. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHU7bzp8fLmf8zKwtRXzEkkCxbJz0UhRDCqB3ZQyC3zHBLx3mM5CL3QEH9v85iLHlsS3NRWREyrCKgdTkgsAhN-W7QfIEGcxP4Q0YSLhOOOnpMpufN7ZCPx3NaBfnhKSRYUcCZezS2A/s1600/selig.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="464" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHU7bzp8fLmf8zKwtRXzEkkCxbJz0UhRDCqB3ZQyC3zHBLx3mM5CL3QEH9v85iLHlsS3NRWREyrCKgdTkgsAhN-W7QfIEGcxP4Q0YSLhOOOnpMpufN7ZCPx3NaBfnhKSRYUcCZezS2A/s400/selig.png" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From
Seligman 1921, p. 124</td></tr>
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Such items were described by General A. H. Lane Fox
Pitt-Rivers in 1882. In 1921 Seligman suggested that these were probably
prepared cores with the hollow retouched. One can imagine that they may have
been used to scrape cylindrical hafts for other artefacts. However, what these
were actually used for and why they have only been found around Thebes remains
a mystery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrX3Wbb5lOjKPgK0ppr4ROSSFmXSFMMQ1f1OEtXp6424IIpsbOHD4zrL6U70Fxh1ibCPXTL_DyQmr-9MHWiwxigFaX3K0dreuUVc_FNUOa0LeWF5bSTmtu0Wf-nFIsSDP6TJ3zP2xi0w/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrX3Wbb5lOjKPgK0ppr4ROSSFmXSFMMQ1f1OEtXp6424IIpsbOHD4zrL6U70Fxh1ibCPXTL_DyQmr-9MHWiwxigFaX3K0dreuUVc_FNUOa0LeWF5bSTmtu0Wf-nFIsSDP6TJ3zP2xi0w/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hérisson et al 2016, fig. 22</span></span></td></tr>
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Outside of Egypt there is a similar example from the
Acheulean of La Grande Vallée at Colombiers (Hérisson et al 2016, fig. 22).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>References<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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David Hérisson, Jean Airvaux, Lenoble Arnaud, Daniel Richter,
Emilie Claud and Jerome Primault ‘Between the northern and southern regions of
Western Europe: The Acheulean site of La Grande Vallée (Colombiers, Vienne,
France)’ <i>Quaternary International</i>,
2016, 108–131.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pitt Rivers, L. F. 1882, ‘On the Discovery of Chert
Implements in Stratified Gravel in the Nile Valley Near Thebes’, <i>Journal of the Anthropological Institute of
Great Britain and Ireland</i>, 11, 382–400.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Seligman, C.G. ‘The Older Paleolithic Age in Egypt’, <i>Journal Royal Anthropological Society of
Great Britain and Ireland</i>, 1921, 51, 115–153.<o:p></o:p></div>
Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-47641943694124080972017-06-20T02:12:00.001-07:002017-06-20T02:15:01.151-07:00Student Volunteer Paulína Šútorová<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Paulína Šútorová:
My experience at the Egypt Centre<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3x64on9nwvJlvPv7rlW3QCFEWLeA7u9mMTY6dNdmuEXbXQcEdpRvwa-mXH2FxodziLuDosBTa6qMKc6a2EesOQcLnIgUBdkyFEKGMV4iBz2-J2GOvu0Q4PvE2iFB0mcPI_SHam7MbZw/s1600/DSC05615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="897" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3x64on9nwvJlvPv7rlW3QCFEWLeA7u9mMTY6dNdmuEXbXQcEdpRvwa-mXH2FxodziLuDosBTa6qMKc6a2EesOQcLnIgUBdkyFEKGMV4iBz2-J2GOvu0Q4PvE2iFB0mcPI_SHam7MbZw/s640/DSC05615.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Paulína
Šútorová has completed her BA and MA degrees in Egyptology at the Department of
Arts and Humanities at Swansea University and is shortly to undertake a PhD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">“My love and fascination for the
history of Ancient Egypt started at an early age, when during my holiday in
Egypt I had the chance to see the most famous ancient treasures, which the
country has to offer. By the time I graduated from high school, the chance to
study Egyptology at university became the only logical solution to satisfy my
growing passion for this subject, and that is how I ended up here at Swansea
University.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> During my undergraduate studies in
Egyptology I realised, that one thing is to study this subject in theory and
another is to put all your knowledge into practice. For that reason, in my
second year, I decided to join the Egypt Centre as a volunteer on the 8<sup>th</sup>
October 2014. From then on I mostly volunteered during Wednesdays and when my
university duties allowed me to spend more time in the museum, I was always
happy to come in whenever it was possible. From the two galleries, the House of
Death became my home, my shelter, my “House of fun” (©Yuval), where I met many
nice and sweet people both local and international. As I like to say, I found
my second family here, who broadened my knowledge of Ancient Egypt even more
not only by introducing me to the objects of both galleries, but also by
training me in the three major activities of the Egypt Centre – the
mummification, senet and material board. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> For more than three following years,
I worked as a Gallery assistant. My main job was to greet visitors and to show
them around the galleries. Furthermore, I assisted our Educational Leaders,
mainly the Wonderful Roger Jones, whom I shadowed when he taught schools
various lessons about Egypt. His hilarious jokes such as “Gudja, gudja”
(Roger’s sacred words, which according to him should be recited by the
sem-priest during the Opening of the mouth ritual) became popular and I also started
to use these jokes now myself, when I demonstrate the activities. Together we
started to be recognised as the “Dream team”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> After finishing my Masters, I
decided to apply for a PhD course here also due to the availability of the
Egypt Centre, which has been my constant motivation to improve my academic knowledge
and museum skills. Until my degree starts in October, I have taken up many opportunities,
which the museum offered me in order to fill my free time. For example, gaining
so many new contacts at the Egypt Centre brought me the opportunity to teach
senior volunteers some basic hieroglyphs. Our weekly lessons made me practice
my teaching skills and I am eternally proud and grateful to my amazing students
for their serious on-going interest in my classes and for doing their homework
without further comments. I also made a decision to catch up all the museum training
and activities, which I have not managed before due to my university responsibilities.
So far I have become a mentor for couple of new volunteers, where I have done
their induction and showed them around the museum. Moreover, I have participated
in creating entertaining and useful activities for the upcoming work placements
of 14–15 year olds. I also undertook
several trainings of the activities, which are done in the shared area and in
the House of Life, working with school groups who have visited the museum. I
can honestly claim that I cannot wait what the Egypt Centre has in store for me
next.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-69948223082164398322017-03-14T04:44:00.000-07:002017-03-14T04:44:30.634-07:00Pig fat in Early Dynastic Egypt?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUk5X1mIFq1wdKr1cnvsonrB07NmaBSwqKPdQvfBDBWF15foDW7GSzFQ7YDjgp9ejMLwQs5t_ZrYyPZCEtLPjBjtw7ZrukPeOMlXu8ojkpYjdBBjgoLaUTgSSgkEDRk-FhXB8_tjUIzA/s1600/AB98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="499" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUk5X1mIFq1wdKr1cnvsonrB07NmaBSwqKPdQvfBDBWF15foDW7GSzFQ7YDjgp9ejMLwQs5t_ZrYyPZCEtLPjBjtw7ZrukPeOMlXu8ojkpYjdBBjgoLaUTgSSgkEDRk-FhXB8_tjUIzA/s640/AB98.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is a grotty (sorry) picture of one of our Early Dynastic pots (AB98). It came to us from Aberystwyth University in 1997, is 45.5cm high and is oozing 'oil'. Recently the oil has been analysed by Andrew Hardy and Paul Finch. It was found to contain non-ruminant (i.e. not cow or sheep/goat) animal fat, probably pig fat. There were also traces of grasses which possibly scented the oil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We do not know where this vessel came from, though it is likely to have come from a tomb.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Apparently Early Dynastic (3100-2686 BC) Egyptian royal courts had departments which dealt with the raising of pigs and a separate department for rendering cow fat (Wilkinson 1999, 110). Oil was used in food but also for anointing and for cosmetics. Many hundreds of such jars have been found in the tombs of the elite.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The results have been published in <i>Pharmaceutical</i> Historian 47/1 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">References</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Wilkinson, T.A.H., 1999. <i>Early Dynastic Egypt</i>. London and New York.</span>Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-45845527606957191052017-02-08T03:01:00.001-08:002017-02-08T03:01:56.032-08:00Photography and EgyptologyOn Friday 18th December the Egypt Centre opened its cases to photographers. Or rather, we took objects off display and invited people to come and photograph them. We know have an exhibition of some of the resultant work which is on display in the Taliesin bar area.<br />
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The point of this was to see if photographers would view our artefacts any differently than Egyptologists might. Well you can decide for yourself.<br />
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<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Exhibition
will run in the Taliesin from 4th Feb—10th March before touring to the
following destinations: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 113%; mso-ligatures: none;">The Grand Theatre from Swansea 21st March <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 113%; mso-ligatures: none;">Carmarthen Museum from 11th April <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 113%; mso-ligatures: none;">Cynon Valley Museum from 25th May<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 113%; mso-ligatures: none;">Here are just a couple to wet your appetite (for the Egyptologists you can click on the accession numbers to find a bit more about the objects). The top is <a href="http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/cymraeg-w379/">W379</a> and the bottom,<a href="http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/w307/"> W307</a>.</span></b></div>
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Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-51284462192664834162016-07-06T01:38:00.000-07:002016-07-06T01:38:23.672-07:00My first week at the Egypt Centre/ Mi primera semana en al Centro Egipcio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Guest blog from Juan Dawber, MA student on placement from the
Department of Languages, Translation and Communication at Swansea University</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I must say this first week at the Egypt Centre has been a
great experience for me. I have
met very nice friendly people and have
been very happy with my internment choice. Since an early age I have been very
interested in History despite the fact that my Master´s degree here in Swansea
is in a different subject (MA Translation and Interpreting), so the opportunity
presented to me of learning more about the History of Ancient Egypt has been
most interesting as it is a subject to a large extent hitherto unknown to me.
My only source of information had been films and things I had read in books,
but that has been nothing compared to the detail I have learnt here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My work
colleagues have shown me all the objects and material on view to the public, the
work involved such as checking that everything is in its correct place,
especially the books, for example, and keeping everything neat and tidy and
getting a general idea of where everything is in the Museum. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">They also showed
me on the very first day the mummy Bob on which the mummification process was
done by them a couple of times so as to have a general idea how was done, and
this without taking into account the ones I have observed and looked after (studied)
throughout the week. I also liked the Hall of Death on the lower floor very
much where you can find everything related to the Gods, the religions, the tombs
and the funeral rituals. All this latter being more related to the everyday
activities through all the periods of Egyptian life; the dynasties, the
scriptures, the war weaponry etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> I must say in general
it has been a very positive experience for me and I would like to thank my
colleagues in the museum for being so friendly and helpful. And with very special
thanks to Syd for accepting me and letting me have the opportunity to work in
the Museum.</span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">TRANSLATION</span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;">MI PRIMERA SEMANA EN EL CENTRO EGIPCIO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Debo decir que mi primera
experiencia en el Museo egipcio ha sido muy positiva, la gente y mis
compañeros todos muy agradables y una
buena atmósfera de gente, por lo que estoy muy contento a día de hoy con este
periodo de prácticas. A pesar de que el Máster que curso aquí es de Traducción
e Interpretación, siempre me ha interesado la historia desde pequeño y aunque
esto sea un campo algo distinto a lo que estoy estudiando en la universidad, me
alegro de poder saber algo nuevo que es la historia del antiguo Egipto la cual
es desconocida para mí. Lo único que he oído o visto sobre ese periodo
histórico ha sido a través de películas, algunos libros y durante mi periodo de
educación básica en el colegio, pero sin especificar de la manera como se hace
aquí. Los compañeros del museo me han ayudado y también enseñado todo el
material y los objetos expuestos al público, así como los chequeos que se van
realizando durante el horario de trabajo donde nos aseguramos de que todo esté
ordenado y en su sitio, como por ejemplo los libros, que todo esté limpio y una
idea general de donde está todo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;">El mismo día que empecé también
me enseñaron el muñeco momia Bob en donde me
hicieron la demostración del proceso de momificación como un par de
veces dos compañeros míos, sin contar tampoco las veces que tuve que ejercer de
asistente a lo largo de la semana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Me gustó mucho la Sala de la
muerte, donde además de la momia Bob, se encuentra todo lo relacionado con la
religión, dioses, lápidas, tumbas y rituales funerarios a los muertos. Después
tenemos la Sala de la vida en el primer piso, en la que se encuentra todo lo
relacionado con las actividades generales diarias a través de los distintos
periodos en el antiguo Egipto, ya sean dinastías, escrituras, armas de guerra,
artesanía etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;">En general esta primera semana ha
sido una experiencia positiva para mí y me gustaría agradecer a mis compañeros
por el apoyo y la ayuda recibida. Y en especial agradecer a Syd por darme la
oportunidad de poder hacer mis prácticas aquí.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES;">JUAN DAWBER<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333053237759761763.post-25763432144730755792016-06-23T05:54:00.002-07:002017-10-13T03:06:58.653-07:00A head, a collector, leeches and dwarves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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W351<br />
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I photographed this object on Monday in advance of a talk, and have just found out a little bit more about its history which I would like to share.<br />
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It is a head part from a Third Intermediate Period coffin (so around 3000 years old). It's made of wood and is around 24cm high. The wood is covered with plaster and then painted. The yellow colour suggests that this was from a woman's coffin, as women tended to be painted with yellow paint.<br />
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It has a label on the back showing that it was part of the Wellcome collection. Most of the objects in our museum are part of that collection, collected by Sir Henry Wellcome, the pharmacist. <a href="http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/the-collection-2/collectors/wellcome/">More about him here</a>. But where did he get the object from.<br />
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Well apparently it was given to him in 1927 by someone who was well known as an Egyptologist, though had never been to Egypt, Warren R. Dawson. Warren Dawson (1888-1968), was encouraged by the curator of the British Museum, Wallis Budge, to study Egyptology. If you google his name, you will see he wrote various articles including the curiously titled <i>Magician and Leech: A Study in the Beginnings of Medicine with Special Reference to Ancient Egypt, </i>a paper on pygmies and dwarves and also material which he published with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_Elliot_Smith">Grafton Elliot Smith</a>, well known to students of the history of archaeology. Obviously a scholarly gentleman, who knew several other scholarly gentlemen, he was also interested in science and medicine.Carolyn Graves-Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11712819566934073118noreply@blogger.com1