Ancient Egypt

What I Learned This Week

Egypt was the first known major civilization. This is because it was located on the Nile River. The river was used for many things including agriculture, transportation, communication, and trade. This allowed them to get more materials then they could have gotten normally. For example, they had timber imported from Lebanon in types they would not have had otherwise. They imported ash, yew, ebony, elm, boxwood, and linden to go along with their local wood which consisted of acacia, palm, and sycamore. Other locally grown materials included lotus blossoms, reeds, and the open flowers and bud of the papyrus. They also used mud for wall bricks and stone.

Egyptians developed the method of joinery to attach their furniture together. Types of joinery included mortise and tenon, dovetail joints, and the use of dowels. They also used a post and beam system to create their buildings. Their houses varied on what level they were on the Hierarchy, but the better ones included a loggia which was a room open to the air on at least one side. The fact that food and shelter was so readily available and secured allowed Egyptians to focus their energy on other things such as art. Their art can be seen in frescoes on the walls and in the many artifacts they created. Many of these artifacts are still in existence today due to Egypt's climate and the fact that they were buried with the dead. It is also notable that their religion affected much of their art and furniture.

My Favorite Furniture

This piece of furniture was the most interesting to me. It is just so strange to me that the Ancient Egyptians thought using a headrest like this was a comfortable way to sleep. It just seems like your neck would hurt a lot in the morning.

This is a bed. I really like this because it is shaped like a couple of cats. The ancient beds are also incredibly interesting to me because only the rich had them and they were extremely uncomfortable. Probably even more so than the straw mats the poor slept on.

This is a footrest. I love the beautiful inlaid gold designs. It's interesting to me how much Ancient Egyptians used furniture to show status. If you were higher up in the hierarchy, you would almost certainly have gold on your furniture. In these days we would never imagine of using gold on something so silly a footrest.

Current Applications of Ancient Egyptian Design

This is a table created by Brueton that was inspired by Ancient Egyptian design.

This is a bathroom that was designed in a style reminiscent of Ancient Egypt.