egyptian decorative art. a course of lectures delivered at the royal institution

8/12/2019 Egyptian Decorative Art. a Course of Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution

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EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ART


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EGYPTIANDECORATIVE ARTA COURSE OF LECTURES

DELIVERED ATTHE ROYAL INSTITUTION

W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE, D.C.L.EDWARDS PROFESSOR OF EGYPTOLOGY, UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE, LONDON

SECOND EDITION

METHUEN & CO, LTD.36 ESSEX STREET, W.C.LONDON


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font Published Oitohei iSttor.d EtUiott , igio


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CONTENTSCHAPTER I

SOURCES OF DECORATIONPAGE

EGYPTIAN TASTE FOR DECORATION . . IDECORATIVE WRITING OF HIEROGLYPHS . 3ORIGIN OF PATTERNS ..... 5PROBABILITY OF COPYING 6GEOMETRICAL ORNAMENT 9NATURAL ORNAMENT IOSTRUCTURAL ORNAMENT . . . . IOSYMBOLIC ORNAMENT II

CHAPTER IIGEOMETRICAL DECORATION

THE LINE AND ZIGZAG . . . .12THE SPOT 15


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vi CONTENTSPAGE

THE WAVE .... l6THE SPIRAL . . . * * . . 17THE CONTINUOUS SPIRAL ... 21SPIRAL SURFACE PATTERNS . . . .28QUADRUPLE SPIRALS . , - . 3 1FRETS........ 35GREEK SPIRALS ...... 38SPIRAL BORDERS ...... 40CHEQUERS ....... 44STITCH PATTERNS . . . . .46CIRCLES ..... -47

CHAPTER IIINATURAL DECORATION

FEATHERS 50ROSETTES ....... 56DISC AND SPOT PATTERNS . . . . 60LOTUS FLOWER .... . 62LOTUS BORDERS ..... .64LOTUS PLANT 66LOTUS DEVELOPMENT .... 68LOTUS, ASSYRIAN AND GREEK . . . 72LOTUS WITH PENDANT . . . -73PAPYRUS ....... 75LOTUS AND PAPYRUS COLUMNS . . . 76


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CONTENTS viiPAGE

THE PALM 78THE VINE ....... 79THE CONVOLVULUS . . . . , 8 1THE THISTLE 82GARLANDS ....... 82CAPTIVES ....... 85THE IBEX 87BIRDS ........ 87STARS ........ 88GRAINING AND MARBLING . . . . 8q

CHAPTER IVSTRUCTURAL DECORATION

STRUCTURAL FORMS SURVIVING . , . QIROPE PATTERN ... . 92BASKET-WORK ...... 93WOODEN FRAMING . . . . '94PANELLING 95SLOPING WALLS ...... 96TORUS ROLL....... 97PALM CORNICE ...... 98PAPYRUS CORNICE IOIBINDING PATTERNS . . . , .103


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viii CONTENTS

CHAPTER VSYMBOLIC DECORATIONPAGE

THE URAEUS . . . . . . I 07THE DISC AND WINGS 108THE HORNS . . . . . . .110THE VULTURE . . . . . . IllTHE SCARAB . . . . . .IllTHE LION 112THE GODDESS MAAT . . . . .114.THE GODDESS HATHOR . . . . .114THE GOD BES . . . . . .115HIEROGLYPH SYMBOLS Il6CAPTIVES . . . . - . .122INDEX 123


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ABBREVIATIONSC M Champolhon, MonumentsDuem. Duemtchen Hist. InschrF P coll. Flinders Petne collectionGoodyear. Grammar of the lotus.H S. Historical Scarabs (Petne).I Illahun (Petne)K. Kahun (Petne).L. D Lepsius DenkmalerP. and C. Peirot and Chipiez, Egypt.P. and C Ass. Perrot and Chipiez, Assyria.P I. Petne, Illahun.P M. Petrle, Medum.P. ( Prisse, Art , numbers refer to numbering in EdwardsPrisse. 1 Library copy, plates being issued unnumbered.P Mon. Prisse, MonumentsR. C. Rosellmi, Mon. CiviliR S. Rosellim, Mon StonciSchuck. Schuckhardt's, SchhemannT A Tell el Amarna (Petne)Tanis Tanis (Petne)W M. C Wilkinson, Manners and CustomsThe shading of the figures is according to heraldic colours :red, = blue, \ green, /' purple, Q yellow


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CHAPTER ITHE SOURCES OF DECORATION

T N dealing with the subject of decorative* art in Egypt, it is needful to begin bysetting some bounds to a study which mightbe made to embrace almost every example ofancient work known to us in that land. TheEgyptian treatment of everything great andsmall was so strongly decorative that it ishard to exclude an overwhelming variety ofconsiderations. But here it is proposed tolimit our view to the historical developmentof the various motives or elements of deco-ration. The larger questions of the aestheticscheme of design, of the meaning of orna-


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2 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTment symbolic or religious, of the valueand effect of colour, of the relations of parts,we can but glance at occasionally in passing ;in another branch, the historical connectionof Egyptian design with that of other coun-tries, the prospect is so tempting and sovaluable, that we may linger a little at eachof these bye-ways to note where the turningoccurs and to what it leads. As I have said,all Egyptian design was strongly decorative.The love of form and of drawing was pef^haps a greater force with the Egyptians thanwith any other people. The early Baby-lonians and the Chinese had, like the Egyp-tians, a pictorial writing ; but step by stepthey soon dropped the picture altogetherin favour of the easier abbreviation of it.The Egyptian, on the contrary, never lostsight of his original picture ; and howevermuch his current hand altered, yet for fouror five thousand years he still maintained his


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THE SOURCES OF DECORATION 3true hieroglyphic pictures. They were modi-fied by taste and fashion, even in some casestheir origin was forgotten, yet the artisticform was there to the very end.

But the hieroglyphs were not only awriting, they were a decoration in them-selves. Their position was ruled by theireffect as a frieze, like the beautiful tileborders of Cufic inscription on Arab archi-tecture; and we never see in Egypt thebarbarous . cutting of an inscription acrossfigure sculptures as is so common in Assyria.The arrangement of the groups of hiero-glyphs was also ruled by their decorativeeffect. Signs were often transposed in orderto group them more harmoniously togetherin a graceful scheme ; and many sounds hadtwo different signs, one tall, another wide,which could be used indifferently (at least inlater times) so as to combine better with theforms which adjoined them. In short, the


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4 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTEgyptian with true decorative instinct clungto his pictorial writing, modified it to adaptit to his designs, and was rewarded by havingthe most beautiful writing that ever existed,and one which excited and gave scope to hisartistic tastes on every monument This isbut one illustration of the inherent powerfor design and decoration which made theEgyptian the father of the world's orna-ment.

In other directions we see the sameability. In the adaptation of the scenes ofpeace or of war to the gigantic wall surfacesof the pylons and temples ; in the grandsituations chosen for the buildings, from theplatform of cliffs for the pyramids at Gizeh,to the graceful island of Philse ; in the pro-fusion of ornament on the small objects ofdaily life, which yet never appear inappro-priate until a debased period ; in all thesedifferent manners the Egyptian showed a


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THE SOURCES OF DECORATION 5variety of capacity in design and decorationwhich has not been exceeded by any otherpeople.

The question of the origination of patternsat one or more centres has been as disputedas the origination of man himself from oneor more stocks. Probably some patternsmay have been re-invented in different agesand countries ; but, as yet, we have far lessevidence of re-invention than we have ofcopying. It is easy to pre-suppose a repeatedinvention of designs, but we are concernedwith what has been, and not with what mighthave been. Practically it is very difficult, oralmost impossible, to point out decorationwhich is proved to have originated inde-pendently, and not to have been copied fromthe Egyptian stock. The influences of the


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6 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTmodes of work in weaving and basket-workhave had much to do with the uniformity ofpatterns in different countries ; apparentlystarting from different motives, the patternswhen subject to the same structural influ-ences have resulted in very similar orna-ments. This complicates the question un-doubtedly ; and until we have much moreresearch on the history of design, and anabundance of dated examples, it will beunsafe to dogmatise one way or the other.So far, however, as evidence at present goes,it may be said that in the Old World atleast there is a presumption that all theornament of the types of Egyptian designs islineally descended from those designs. Mr.Goodyear has brought so much evidence forthis, that whether we agree with all hisviews or not his facts are reasonably con-vincing on the general descent of classicornament from Egyptian, and of Indian and


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THE SOURCES OF DECORATIOJM 7Mohammedan from the classical, and even ofEastern Asian design from the Moham-medan sources. A good illustration of thepenetrating effect of design is seen in a mostinteresting work on the prehistoric bronzes ofMinusinsk in Central Asia, near the sourcesof the Yenesei river, and equidistant fromRussia and from China, from the ArcticOcean and from the Bay of Bengal. Herein the very heart of Asia we might look forsome original design. But yet it is easy tosee the mingled influences of the surroundinglands, and to lay one's finger on one thingthat might be Norse, on another that mightbe Chinese, or another Persian. If, then, thetastes of countries distant one or two thousandmiles in different directions can be seenmoulding an art across half a continent, howmuch more readily can we credit the descentof design along the well-known historicallines of intercourse. The same thing on a


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8 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTlesser scale is seen in the recent publicationof the prehistoric bronzes of Upper Bavaria ;in these the designs are partly Italic, partlyMykenaean. If forms were readily re-in-vented again and again independently, whyshould we not find in Bavaria some of thePersian or Chinese types ? Nothing of thekind is seen, but the forms and decorationare distinctly those of the two countries fromwhich the ancient makers presumably obtainedtheir arts and civilisation. Yet again, to cometo historical times, the elegant use of the

angle of a third of a right angle so generallyia Arab art, is very distinct and characteristic.Yet if patterns were continually re-invented,how is it that no one else hit on this simpleelement for thousands of years ? The veryfact that the locality and date of an object ofunknown origin can be so closely predictedby its style and feeling in design, is the best


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THE SOURCES OF DECORATION 9lution of ornament, and how little new inven-tion has to do with it in short, how difficultit is to man to be really original.Now we can see a source for most of ourfamiliar elements of design in the decorationwhich was used in Egypt long before anyexample that is known to us outside of thatland. And it is to Egypt then that we arelogically bound to look as the origin of thesemotives. If, then, we seek the source ofmost of the various elements of the decorationwhich covers our walls, our floors, our dishes,our book-covers, and even our railway stations,we must begin by studying Egypt.

As our object is the history and evolutionof the various elements of decoration, wemay classify these elements under four divi-sions. There is the simplest geometricalornament of lines and spirals and curves, and


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io EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTof surfaces divided by these into squares andcircles. There is the natural ornament ofcopying feathers, flowers, plants, and animals,There is structural ornament which resultsfrom the structural necessities of building andof manufacture : these often result in theperpetuation of defects or copies of defects,like the circle stamped in the plain end ofmeat tins which is made to imitate thecircular patch soldered on to the other end,so trying to establish a balance of appearance.Many architectural devices and difficultiesare perpetuated for us in this way long afterthe original purpose has passed away ; suchas the cylindrical bosses projecting from thewalls in Moslem architecture, which imitatethe projecting ends of pillars torn from ruinsand built into the wall, though rather toolong for the position. The origin and theimitation can be seen side by side at Jeru-salem. Structural ornament is therefore


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THE SOURCES OF DECORATION noften of the greatest historical value aspointing to a condition of things that hassince vanished.

Lastly, there is symbolic ornament.Some now claim most decoration as havingsome symbolic or religious meaning ; ofthat I shall say nothing, as it is but anhypothesis. But there is no question of thesymbolical intention of many constantlyrepeated ornaments in Egyptian work, asthe globe and wings, the scarab, or thevarious hieroglyphs with well-known mean-ings which are interwoven into manydesigns.


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CHAPTER IIGEOMETRICAL DECORATION

The Line./~\NE of the simplest and the earliest^-^

kinds of ornament that we find is thezigzag line, which occurs on the oldesttombs, 4000 B.C. So simple is this, thatit might be supposed that every possiblevariety of it would be soon played out.Yet, strange to say, two of the simplestmodifications are not found till a coupleof thousand years after the plain zigzaghad been used. The wavy line in curvesinstead of angular waves is not found tillthe XVIIIth dynasty, or about 1500 B.C. ;while the zigzag with spots in the spaces


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 13is equally late, and is generally foreign toEgypt.The plain repeated &&&&&&&&&

zigzag line is used x'T^vTd^do'wn to late times, but generally withvariety in colour to give it interest. Fromthe earliest times this was symmetricallydoubled, so as to give a row of squareswith -parallel borders; ^^^^^^^^^or with repeated zig-zag borders in alter- 2.__IV. dyn., Mery, Louvre.

K nate light and dark colours.This same type lasted on-

^ ward to the XlXth dynasty^ (belt Ramessu II. C.M.X.), and^ is found, with the addition

of spots in the outer angles,in the foreign dress of ShekhAbsha, at Benihasan, in the

IIth dynasty.A later stage was to repeat the squares

Ptah-otep,perrotxin.


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4 __Pnsse> Art . 84

14 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTwith varieties of colour,and also to introducedetails into the squares,and so make them com-pound patterns, as inthe XVIIth dynasty atEl Kab, where thesequence of the blue, green, and red linesmakes a brilliant effect from these simpleelements. Not only a square, but also ahexagon, was worked into the same design.This, from the nature of it, suggests arush-work screen, andprobably it was plaitedwith rushes in threedirections, and hencethe production of thisparticular angle. Theprevious zigzag pat- 5. L D , u. 130terns all suggest weaving ; and in some inPtah-hotep's tomb (Vth dyn.) closely woven


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATIONand complex zigzag patterns are shownwhich are evidently copied from textiles,as we shall see further on in the chequerpatterns.The use of spots for filling in corners was

foreign to the Egyptian. We first find it in thegarments of the Amu, or people of northernArabia, in the XI Ith dynasty. Till then a spotis never seen, except for the centre of a square ;but the Amu dressesare covered with spotsin every space, andeven along the bars 6 _X1L dyn . Amu dressand stripes of colour. The same is seen onthe later dresses of the Amu in the XlXthdynasty, and also in thedress of the Phoenicians, 7 xvm , Keft dressC M cxclor Keft people. It re- ^y^./y/curs on the foreign vases g xx. vase, c M. >^ |~* ^^' ^r*'*^^^^'complete lop-sided 4I _p.p 42 F.P.

spiral groups are joined by long false linksaround the outside. Anotherdevice which often occurs is alsocompounded of lop-sided groups,or rather of a cross group, likeFig. 43, with four false linksjoining in the middle.

Some other devices did notprofess to cover the wholefield, as in Figs. 44 and 45 ;and sometimes two separate

favourite

43 -F.P.

44. I. x 144.


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28 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTlines of design

were superposed, a singleelement of the same design being foundas late as Tahutmes III.

The spiral had thus been greatly de-veloped as a detached ornament for a smallsurface ; but in architecture and furnitureit was required as a continuous decorationon borders and on large surfaces. Henceits development was in many ways different,and so far as we know later by a wholecycle of history than the development onthe scarabs. On those small objects itstarted in the Vth dynasty, became fullyelaborated in the Xllth, is common in theXlllth, and only very occasionally foundin the XVIIIth, disappearing altogether inthe XlXth. On walls and furniture it israre in the Xllth dynasty, becomes usualin the XVIIIth, flourishes in the XlXth


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 29and XXth, and is decadent in the XXV Ith.The simplest form in which it is found

is as a chequered pattern series of Sspirals, apparently on cloths thrown overboat cabins. On Hat-shepsut's boat the spi-rals are close together(Duem. XXL) ; butrather later, on theboat of Neferhetep, they are spread withchequers of red and blue between them(W.M.C Ixvii.).About the same period they appear as

a continuous coil pattern in relief on thecolumns of the harimwell at Tell el Amarna.The spiral in reliefbeing in yellow, it pro- Flg

49

bably was copied from a jewellery patternin which a strip of gold was twisted intospirals, and the spaces filled with squares


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30 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTof coloured stones or pastes, judging fromthe analogy of the inlaid capitals. Thisexample being earlier than most of thespiral decorations of surfaces may thusopen our eyes to the meaning of somesuch designs; and, in general, a close con-tinuous coil returning on itself may wellbe a copy of a strip of sheet metal,doubled, and rolled up.The next stage is where continuous lines

of spiral pat-terns are placedside by side,and other pat-terns developedin the spacesbetween them.Sometimes the

5o.-p.ss i. interveningpatterns become so complex as to over-shadow the mere spirals, as in the splendid

4 JKjP^ffsS>?^-:. -=J^r


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 3*ceiling of Neferhotep, in the XVIIIthdynasty. And in this the far more com-plex quadruple spiral begins to appear, aswe shall see presently.The lines of spirals were not only placed

parallel, but were also \^iy^N^iyN^crossed. For somereason this type wasnever well developed,but remained one ofthe coldest and mostmechanical of all, look- 51. ting in the later stage of the XXVIthdynasty like a mostdebased wall paper.But the glory of

Egyptian line decora-tion was in the*quad-ruple spiral, of whichthe most elementary ^. CM. cciv.example is on a boat cover as late as the


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32 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTXXth dynasty (Ramessu IV.) ; though ithas passed through this stage long beforethat time if indeed this may not be re-garded as a degraded simplification of itIt is also sometimes rhombic in plan.

From this was de-veloped a peculiarpattern by the omis-sion of the lineswhich define the spi-rals, thus reducing itto a system of rowsof hollow-sided quad-rangles without anyapparent connection.The main develop-ment of the quad-

ruple spiral was withrosettes or lotus fill-

53.-P 86.

54 Xllthdyn R C.ing the hollow squares.

This became a stock subject with the


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 33Egyptian, and from thence a main patternin other lands. The fill-:ng in was either a flowerpattern or a rosette, whichnight be either a flowerDr a leather pattern, as weshall notice further on.The insertion also be- Fig 55.

:ame more complex, four lotus flowers beingplaced in each angle of the hollow square;ind the spirals beingoiore heavily developed,n order to gain enoughspace for complexity in:he squares between:hem. Such a system:ould hardly be carried 56 p 86.urther, but reached its limits ; like theimit of size in the Great Hall of Karnak,Adhere the columns occupy too large anwea in proportion to the clear space.


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34 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTIn another direction, however, the spiralblossomed further, in

the parallel lines ofspiral pattern. Thesebecame developed byintroducing link linesso as to form a quin-

57 ~p so tuple spiral, whichwas further complicated by lotus flowersand buds in the hollows and recesses.

In this direction, again, the Egyptianshad reached the limit beyond which moredetail would be merely confusing. By care-ful use of colour to separate the variousparts, these complex patterns remain clearand pleasing in spite of their richness ofdetail.

The quadruple spiral had, however,another development, of Q links, which israther too formal to be beautiful, and lacksthe flambovant srace of the chains of


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 35spirals. Still it has a simple dignity,related to the scarabspirals rather than theflowing surface patterns.This became formalisedinto a torturing kind ofdesign, which can onlybe described as cur- 58 -P. s5sedly ingenious. By simplifying the pre-vious pattern, a wavewas invented whichwas equal in eachdirection, and four ofthese were crossed ina manner which noth-ing but bold colouringcould make intelligible.

59,-p. 83 .

The fret patterns are all modifications ofcorresponding spirals. The cause of such


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36 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTchange is obviously the influence of weav-

ing. As early as theVth dynasty we finda fret of rhombic formin basket-work in thescreen behind the figure

v of Ptah'bau'nefer, at60, L.D. n. 57, Gizeh. The angles

show that the plaiting was in three direc-tions, as we saw in the basket-work pat-tern at Benihasan (Fig. 3). But frets ingeneral are very rare until a late period,and they doubtless depend on the adapta-tion of spirals to textiles. We see notrace of the fret in the Mykenaean art, thespiral there being figured on stone ormetal, while the women wore flounceddresses with scale pattern. But in thepre-Persian age fret pattern weaving inborders was the standard design, as wesee on the coloured robes of the Par-


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 37thenon statues; and immediately after thatthe stiffest of square frets swarms overGreek art, to the exclusion of the gracefulspirals and scroll borders.The chains of links were copied in the

m1. P 82, 62. P. 83.fret pattern with no difference except insquaring up thecurves. The sameis true of the quad-ruple spirals, whichappear likewise modi-fied; and this changeseems to have led to , _ ft63. P. 83another simplified form, which is on the


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38 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTsame idea as the torturing design (Fig.59), but which is less ingenious, and isstill possible as an ornament.So far we have viewed only the course

of Egyptian design, nor can we travel faroutside of it within these pages. More-over, as it is dated before any other suchdecoration in other countries, it is well toview its course as a whole without confus-ing it with the various fragments borrowedfrom it by other lands. Yet we may wellturn now to see the beginning of thecourse of European decoration at Mykenae,

and observe its close con-tact with that of Egypt.The spiral is the mainelement of pre-historicdecoration in Greece;the parallel chains of links

64 -s'chuck 255. occur almost exactly as

we have already seen them in the pattern


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 39of Neferhotep, but omitting the Inner de-tails added in the spaces.The quadruple spiral is splendidly shown

in the ceiling of Orchomenos, with a lotusflower in each space ;also as a simplerform without any fill-ing in of the squareson the grave stele(Schuck. 146). Whileeven the ox head * 65 -Schuck. 290with a rosette between the horns, in thegrand quintuple spiral pattern (Fig. 57),is strangely paralleled by an ox head ofsilver with a large rosette on the fore-head found at Mykenae (Schuck. 248).

In observing these equivalents it mustbe noted that whole patterns with theirdetail are taken over complete from EgyptThere are none of the series of inter-mediate steps which we have traced in the


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40 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTmother country; and where a simpler forrroccurs it is known to be later, the grav^steles being after the age of the greatceiling. Thus there is the surest sign ola borrowed art, apart from the facts of theexact resemblances we have noted. Oicourse the Mykenaean designs are mostlyinfluenced by the taste of the race. Manyof them are strongly European, and mightbe of Celtic or Norse work, as has beenshown by Mr. Arthur Evans ; but thesource of the designs lies in the twothousand years' start which Egypt hadbefore Europe awoke.

A separate form of the spiral pattern isthat used for borders, otherwise called thewave or maeander, which merged into theguilloche. Although the chain of coils onthe scarab borders in the Xllth dynasty


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 41

may be regarded as a wave border, yet noexample is known of this border on otherobjects until the XVIIIth dynasty. Atthat time it appears as often on foreignobjects as on Egyptian, and the only in-stance of the guilloche is on foreign dress,Hence this development of the spiral ideamay well be due more to the Aegean civili-sation than to that of Egypt. This willagree with the oc-currence of the guil-loche on black pottery Fl ^from Kahun, which class, wherever it canbe dated, is found to belong to theXllth-XIIIth dynasty. The metal vasesshown on the monuments of the XVIIIth-XXth dynasties are ^^f^s^6^?^^mostly foreign tri- 67.-Rx.ivhbutes, and on them the wave border is

68.-P 97IoS . 69.-R.Clm


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42 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTcommon, merging into a twisted rope bor-der, which is also

7o R c UH found though rarelyon scarabs of the Middle Kingdom.In Egyptian use this border is seldom

found. A box in the Louvre had a lineof long links ; and a scroll edge appears to

Fig. 71 Fig. 72.

the standard of Ramessu II. But moreusually the scroll is associated with thelotus, as in these

73. P. 8974 P 89

The innumerable adaptations of this inGreek and later designs are familiar enoughto us.The influence of weaving has been very

great upon these wave borders. As I


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 43have before noticed, the woven borders,reducing the pattern to a fret, are shownon the pre-Persian statuary at Athens, andprecede the most common and oft-repeateduse of the fret or key pattern borders inGreece, and thence in all classical, medi-aeval, and modern times.Another type of border, which may be

connected with this, is found in the Ra-messide age. As it occurs as stitching onleather, and is welladapted to quilting or 75- R.c.sewing bands together, it may well havebeen derived from that; but it is alsofound on metal work, with which it doesnot seem to be connected by origin.

76. R C. U. 77. P 103


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44 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTThe source of chequer patterns is unmis-

takably in plaiting and weaving. On theoldest monuments the basket sign, neb, ischequered in different colours ; so arealso the baskets of farm produce carriedby the servants, as shown in the tombs.The modern Nubian basket-work is wellknown for the many patterns which itbears like the ancient Egyptian. Thechequer pattern is found in every periodin Egypt, and is perhaps most common inthe latest forms on the sides of thrones inthe Ptolemaic age. In the Old Kingdommany varieties were in use. The plain

chequers of red orblack with white, thesquares filled withblack and red crosses,on a green and yel-low chequer; or dia-

78,-p. and c. xni. gonal square patterns


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46 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTrate decoration. A pleasing variety wasformed by lengthening the squares, achange doubtless copied from weaving,where oblong squares serve to break themonotony of the pattern.

In later ages of the Saitic and Greektimes the chequer is a common resource,

but is seldom treatedwith originality orgrace, and we do notfind any new depar-ture or advance inthe mechanical execu-tion of the later ex-

amples. One slight novelty was thealternation of whole and divided squaresof colour, under Claudius.Somewhat analogous are the net-work

patterns. They seem to be probablyderived from stitch-pattern over dresses.Though found in the Xllth dynasty they


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 47are not usual until the XVIIIth

dynasty,and they are generally on the dressesof goddesses. A simple example is ona horse-cloth of Ra-messide age, whichshows that these can a* R.S.hardly represent long beads, but ratherstitching or quilting.A more elaborate formis on the dress of SS.C.M. ccxiuBast in the tomb of Seti I., in hexagons.

But this design rose to importance whenit was introduced asan architectural ele-ment in the decora- Fig. 86.tion of columns at Tell el Amarna. Thereit is coloured yellow, and the spaces arealternate red and blue.The Egyptians never used circles freely in

decoration ; no examples are known beforethe XVIIIth dynasty, and but few then.


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GEOMETRICAL DECORATION 49The circle, however, never became of im-

portance, probably because it was too stiffand mechanical for the Egyptian, who de-lighted in the waving spiral patterns andthe unlimited variety of lotus develop-ments. It is remarkable that there is nota single example of the circle divided intosix, or with six segmental arms, which isso common a motive in Assyria and Syria,and which results so readily from steppingthe radius around the circle. This seemsto show that the Egyptian did not usecompasses at any time, but always workedwith a string and points. The absence ofa simple and self-evident motive like thesixth of the circle is almost more strikingthan a peculiar motive being present.


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CHAPTER IIINATURAL DECORATION

HOUGH it might be supposed that* the imitation of natural forms would

be the earliest form of decoration, yet thisis not the case. On the contrary, we findthe geometrical forms of wave lines, andchequers copied from weaving, and thevarieties of the spiral, were the first orna-ments of importance in Egypt ; while- thenatural forms of feathers and flowers werenot generally imitated till a later time.One source of simple pattern that hasbeen little noticed is the feather, and thevariety of its forms. Fortunately we have


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NATURAL DECORATIONthese different forms shown unmistakablyas feathers on the coffins of the Antefs Inthe Xlth dynasty, before we find them incommon use elsewhere. Hence we canhave little doubt as to their real origin.On these coffins the royal mummies arefigured as swathed around in protectingwings, representing those of I sis at thesides and of the vulture of Mut on thehead. The feathers have different formsaccording to the part of the wing whichthey occupy. Thus on one coffin we findall of the following types of feathers :

Fig. 90. Fig 91 Fig. 92 Fig 93 Fig. 94.

Now when we have thus been shownthe conventional types which were used torepresent feathers, we can identify theseagain in many other places, where pro-


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52 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTbably the original idea of feather workwas entirely lost; and we have a newlight on some representations not yetunderstood.On the kings of the XVIIIth-XXth

dynasty we often see a wide beltcovering the whole stomach, whichis decorated with what is commonlycalled scale pattern. But this occursin scenes which are not at all war-like, and where no defensive scalearmour is likely to be shown

Amenhotep I. is seated as a god receiv-ing adoration after hisdeath; Amenhotep II. isrepresented adoring Ra.And in the second casethe pattern is identicalwith the feathers on theAntef coffin. The only96. Amenhotep II. R,S,conclusion is that these


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NATURAL DECORATION 53represent belts of feather work wornaround the body to prevent chill, like thevoluminous waist shawl of modern Ori-entals. Such a feather belt would beadmirable for lightness and warmth, butthat it is not scale armour is seen fromthe absence of it in fighting scenes. Onthe contrary, in the royal campaigningdress another form of feather work isseen in the large wings of feathers whichencircle the shoulders (Ramessu II., R,S.Ixxxi.).

This feather pattern is also very usualon the sides of thrones, from the XVIIIthdynasty down to the latest times. Hereagain it is evident that it cannot be scalearmour; and a feather rug thrown acrossthe seat, in place of the for rug otherwiseused, is a very likely thing to find in sucha position.We may, then, take this pattern, when


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54 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTused on dress or on thrones, to representfeather work. But in later times it isalso used on very incongruous objects.As early as the XVIIIth dynasty thefeather pattern occurs around columnsas an architectural ornament (Tell elAmarna), and with the characteristic mark-

about the XlXthfWWV x ,AjTAX/ dynasty (P. 79) ; also on metalwork (vase, P. 97), where it

97 p. 79 . must be purely an artificialmarking.

It became elaborated underSeti I., with markings upon it,both on a dress of a god and

98-p.R.hx on a throne-cover. And it be-came degraded into an unintelli-gible pattern under Ramessu II.,when it appears as the dress ofthe god Amen.

In, later times the same pattern was


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NATURAL DECORATION 55used on columns at Philae, in aninverted and very corrupt form.The other forms of feather

pattern shown on the Antef I0 ~^-D- r -coffin were also found later. But theymerge so readily into mere line patternsthat it is not likely that they were re-garded as feathers in their later use.The V pattern is found on the columnsat Tell el Amarna, on belts of the kings(L.D. in. i), on painted wooden columns(P. 73), on the harps of Ramessu III.(P. 114), and many other places.

The use of flowers for ornament is sonatural that their occurrence in theearliest times is what might be expected.Yet but few flowers were adopted fordecoration. The lotus is far the com-monest, after that the papyrus, the daisy,


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56 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTand the convolvulus, together with thevine and palm, almost complete thematerial of vegetable designs. There isalso, however, what may be called ageneric flower ornament the rosettewhich is treated so conventionally thatit can hardly receive any precise name.Sometimes in the XVIIIth dynasty it isclearly a daisy, very seldom has it thepointed petals of the lotus ; and it fluc-tuates between the geometrical and thenatural so as to defy details. One causeof this is the evident effect of leatherwork. The coloured leather funereal tentof Isimkheb, found at Deir el Bahri,opens our eyes to a great deal. Wethere see an elaborate design, descendingto long inscriptions of small hieroglyphs,all worked by cutting and stitching ofleather. After this we can see in manyof the Egyptian designs the influence


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NATURAL DECORATION*of leather work; and nowhere is thisplainer than in the rosettes. The earliestrosettes we know, those on the head-band of Nefert, at the very beginningof monumental history, are plain discs ofcolour divided into segments by whitelines across them. These are discs ofleather secured by radiating threads; andthe same are seen in the XVIIIthdynasty, more varied by concentriccircles of colours, probably succes-sive superposed discs stitched downone over the other.

Another stitch ornament is seen on thestuffs used for coveringthrones in the XXthdynasty. There starand cross patterns areused which are evidentlystitch work or embroi-dery ; and in the spaces

102 P, Il6

103 P 116.


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58 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTare discs of colour with white spotsaround, probably pieces sewn on bystitches round the edge. On a dress of^%%%% Ramessu II. also are littleIOI.-?R.S ixxxm six-pointed stars, which were

doubtless stitch work.There can be no doubt of the effect

that stitching has had on the use ofrosettes, but other varieties are probablyindependent of that. The great series ofrosettes is in the moulded glazed wareof Tell el Amarna ; there several dozenvarieties are found, varying from fourpetals to thirty-two. The more elaborate

of these have an unmistakabledaisy centre of yellow in the

105. midst of white petals, and thisindicates what was probably the flowerin mind for most of them.The rosette is found in varied use.

On metal vases it is very general, and


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NATURAL DECORATIONS 59may either be a separate ornament ofbeaten work riveted on, like the rosetteson the silver ox head at Mykenae, or elseembossed repousse in the metal. Carvedin wood or ivory, rosettes decorated thefurniture ; and they are constantly foundas centre ornaments in square patterns,and along borders with the lotus or othersubject.

In patterns a fre-quent form is onlyfour petals, or a cruci-form flower, as atB enihasan in theX 1 1th dynasty ; andthis is varied by alter- pIO7. A . C4.nations of square and diagonal arrangement.A graceful, simple

form, which again re-calls leather appliqute, isyellow on a blue ground.

108 P 84.


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60 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTAn allied pattern is the disc surrounded

by spots. This is very usual on earlyGreek pottery, and is found on the Aegeanpottery also. This is very rarely seen in

pure Egyptian design, and only in theXVIIIth dynasty, when Mykenaean in-fluence was strongest. On Nefer-hotep's ceiling two forms are found,

Fig I09 an odd number ; and they were at

last evolved to a fan of petals, inwhich the treatment of the dish offruit just shown is exactly repro-duced, a side view of the flower

being crowned by a top view of it show-ing the radiating petals in the interior.So far we are on clear ground. Now

we come to a more complex form, whichhas also not yet been explained. In theXVIIIth dynasty (from which we mustmainly draw, as we have the long series


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NATURAL DECORATION 71of varieties in the glazed ornaments ofTell el Amarna) a strange formappears, with reversed curling armsabove the calyx. Now we haveseen that a third sepal is shown T.A. 375from the back of the flower, and thefourth is omitted which lay in front. Butthis was an imperfect flower, and so adiagonal point of view was taken, in whichtwo sepals lay nearest and were seen inside view, and the two behind them wereseen over them. Sometimes theyare curled alike, but more generallythey are curled different ways, the __nearer ones downwards, the further ^ones upwards. Hence we get this verymechanical form, which was greatly de-veloped in Assyrian and Greek types ofthe pattern. If it can be proved that theAssyrian tree pattern is earlier than thisdevelopment, we could then grant what


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^2 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTseems a likely influence on the develop-ment of this pattern. It was so

far removed from a natural viewthat it soon became greatly varied

us- and amplified, as on a bracelet inthe Louvre.

In Assyria this became a staple design,in which the top was greatlyincreased at the expense of thelotus sepals below ; but still thefour sepals, two front and two

back, are shown. In the Greek designs,however barbarous they may seem in com-parison, owing to their hopeless divergence

from any rational type, yet thesame elements remain, and the

i43.Tanisir. xxxi. four sepals can be traced below

the view of the petals in theflower. Thus the anthemionvvith its double curves is fully

7 i accounted for, the lower and

142 Pand C. Ass.127.


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NATURAL DECORATION 73upper sepals being still distinguishable inthe two spirals on each side at the baseof it. The later changes of this neces-sarily belong to Greek art, and we cannothere follow them out.A late development of the lotus in

Ptolemaic Egypt was with acentral spike through the face ofpetals. As this spike rises fromthe base, it appears to be the *Fig 145.front sepal rising before the petals.

Another variety in this pattern remainsto be noticed. On very many compoundlotus patterns there is a pen-dant from each end of theside sepals. This does notappear until t'he XVIIIth I46*~~R r'dynasty on the monuments : it is thensometimes single and sometimes double.But here, as in the spirals, the scarabtype is an earlier stage than the archi-


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NATURAL DECORATION 75We have now traced the evolution of

the various forms of the lotus pattern inEgypt, and seen how the main Assyrianand Greek types of the palmetto and theanthemion arose, which were confoundedtogether owing to their similarity.

Other plants were often confounded withthe lotus in decoration, by the ancients aswell as by moderns. We have noticedsome examples of this; and it is wellshown in the group of boat-builders, towhom, apparently, bundles of papyrus withlotus flowers are being brought, in theIVth dynasty tomb of Shepseskau (L.D.n. 12).Much use was made of papyrus in the

floral work of Tell el Amarna. On thepainted pavement groups of papyrus withlarge red fluffy heads of seed vessels arefigured; and on the coloured tiles thelandscape view of the papyrus plant in


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NATURAL DECORATION 77

Fig. 150 Fig 151

which otherwise seems to be an unac-countable sport.

In the figures ofwooden columns inthe Vth and Vlthdynasties, the lotusform prevails, as wehave already noticed, and here repeat.

In the Vth dynasty, in thetomb of Ptahshepses at Abusirthe clustered papyrus stems area new feature ; at Benihasanthey are well developed; andthey continued in use to the Fig. 152.XVIIIth dynasty. But a diffe-rent type then arose into predominancein the wide bell - topped lotus capitals,and with long sheath - leaves around theroot ; and this continued for severaldynasties. But this was displacedby the elaborate composite capitals of


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78 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTPtolemaic and Roman age, which weremade up of varied elements of incon-gruity.- The palm, though the most importanttree of the country, has had but littleeffect on the architecture. There is nota single example of columns copied froma palm stem; and the only instances ofthe imitation of the stem are in two orthree instances of copies of roofing beams.

The branches are notcopied on columns untilother subjects were wellused. In the Xllthdynasty the imitation ofa bundle of palm branches

Fig. 153- was made in the capitals,and it became common in the XVIIIth.Perhaps, however, as we shall see inconsidering the hieroglyphs, the palmcolumn originates with a bundle of palm


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NATURAL DECORATION 79sticks bound

together.It is

strangethat the simple element of groupingbranches round a post should not havebeen a very usual early motive. Wasthe palm really common in early Egypt ?It does not enter into the hieroglyphs,and it is seldom shown on monumentstill the XVII Ith dynasty; while grapes,figs, and pomegranates all seem to havebeen commoner than dates.

In late times not only the branches butthe fruit was sculptured ; and at Esnehand other Roman temples the bunches ofdates are carefully rendered.The vine is one of the oldest culti-

vated plants in Egypt, and all the designscopied from it are based on the idea ofits climbing and trailing over the houses.It appears mainly in the florid workof the XVI I Ith dynasty. The ceiling wasoften painted of a golden yellow, with


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So EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTvine leaves and bunches of grapes hang-ing from a trellis pattern which coversit. At Tell el Amarna some fragments

found were very freeand natural, but inthe XXth dynasty itbecame a stiff andformal affair. (Tomb of

i 54 -P 86. Aimadua, Ramessu X.).Bunches of grapes also formed favourite

pendants ; as such theyare painted in rows

155 -P. 79. hanging from architravesof wooden buildings (tomb of Ra, Amen-hotep II.); and frequently in blue glazed

ware bunches of grapes arefound of varying sizes, withhalf of the upper part cut

^g. 156. away so as to affix them bya peg-hole to a square wooden beam ofthe ceiling.


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NATURAL DECORATION 81In the Greco-Roman decoration of capitals

the vine and grapes also appears, and isoften very beautifully treated, as at Esneh,though essentially as a mere surface decora-tion, and not as an organic element.The convolvulus has scarcely, if at al ,

been acknowledged as an Egyptian orna-ment. Yet it often occurs during theXVIIIth and XlXth dynasties. On acoffin in the Ghizeh Museum a long trailof convolvulus is beautifully modelled andpainted ; and during the tide of naturalismunder Akhenaten the wild flowing stemswere a favourite element of decoration.

Subsequently the convolvulus isoften shown as a climber on thelotus or papyrus stems in bouquets ;and though its leaves then havebeen miscalled lotus buds, or tabs,yet they are clearly intended for anatural leaf of this climber, which

7


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82 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTis so common in the Egyptian fields.Another field plant which played agreat part in the glazed decorations was

the thistle. This is natu-rally painted on the glazedtiles ; and the glazed pen-dants of necklaces andwall decoration showed anabundance of thistles with

158 -Tp 9i. green calices and purplepetals. But this, like the convolvulus, wasrarely used except during the beautifulperiod of naturalism which was most de-veloped by Akhenaten.

Artificial combinations of flowers alsobecame used decoratively. We have justinstanced two examples from the greatbouquets or staves of flowers which theEgyptians used in ceremonies.The garlands of flower petals which are

seen on the heads of women, or as collars,


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NATURAL DECORATION 83in the XVIIIth-XXth

dynasties were alsoplaced around the water-jars; and hencea painted pattern of garlands came to beused on those jars.

In architecture also the garland cameinto use, sometimescarved on the stonearound the columns, sometimes madein coloured glaze and inlaid in the sur-face.Wreaths of lotusflowers and buds werealso represented around 160. T.A. ithe columns at Tell el Amarna.The great pectorals, or breast-plates, of

successive strings of flowers and leaveswere prominent in the personal andreligious decoration- The sacred barksof the gods were adorned with large andcomplex breast- plates, probably made ofbronze, gilded and inlaid (L.D. in, 235).


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NATURAL DECORATIONshows a similar break. Amenhotep IL ap-pears on his nurse's knee with an emblematicgroup of foreigners under his feet, while hegrasps cords tied to their necks ; and inthe same spirit he is shown, when grownup, as smiting at one blow a whole bunchof captives whom he holds in his lefthand (L.D. in. 62; L.D. in. 61).Tahutmes IV. similarly is seen seated onhis tutor's knee, with his feet on a foot-stool ornamented with prostrate captives(L.D. in. 69), Amenhotep III. appearswith figures of a negroand a Syrian bound tothe sam sign on thesides of his throne, andhenceforward theabasement of captiveswas an essential idea 162. L.D. m. 76.to Egyptians* But it should be remem-bered that common as the notion was in


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86 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTlate times, it is originally Asiatic and notEgyptian ; the king trampling on thenations and making foes a footstool areideas not found in Egypt until the Semiticconquests of Tahutmes III., though theearliest figure of a sphinx trampling on acaptive is under the Xllth dynasty.

Under Akhenaten six various races arerepresented on the sides of his greatbalcony (L.D. in. 109), and the alternatenegroes and Syrians are painted on thepassage floors of his palace, or carved inblocks of alabaster to be trodden under

foot. Down the various ages thissymbolism recurs in decorationuntil in Ptolemaic and Romantimes every decent Egyptian hadcaptives painted on the soles ofhis sandals in which he wasburied, so that for all eternity

he might tread down the Gentiles.


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NATURAL

Among animals a favourite in decorationwas the ibex, but itwas not introduced tillthe XVIIIth dynasty.It often appears onthe finger - rings ofAkhenatens time, andlater upon the funeral Fig 164.tent of Isiemkheb, ingeniously adapted tofill a square space.The bull or young calf was more fre-

quently introduced ; on the wooden boxesand trays it is shown as bounding in themeadows, and it is continually used in thegroups of the painted pavement at Tell elAmarna.

Birds are also a common subject fordecoration, though only dating from thesame period as the other animals. Besidesthe symbolic or sacred use of the hawkand vulture, the very secular duck was a


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88 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTfavourite bird. On the great pavementsof Akhenaten it appears above every groupof plants.

On rings it is often engravedfluttering above its nest; and inthe decadence of Egyptian artin the XXth dynasty the incon-gruous idea was adopted ofbirds, eggs, and nests all upon

********:****

The natural ceiling pattern adopted fromthe early days of Egyptian art was of

golden stars on a deep blueground ; not a dark daylightblue, as in modern imitations,

but a black night blue. These are alwaysfive-pointed stars, with a circular spot,usually of red, in the centre.

It is noticeable that the Egyptian views


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NATURAL DECORATION 89a star as surrounded by long streamers oflight ; because to a long-sighted person, orany one with proper spectacles, the starsappear as points of light without radia-tions. Hence it seems as if the Egyp-tians were short-sighted people from theearly ages.

Lastly we may notice the base imitationof nature in copying the grain ofwood, which we find done in theearliest times of the IVth dynasty,and continued down to the periodof the Empire. Stones were also Fig 167.-imitated by painting, and red granite L D I9*is frequently copied in the earlier days, onthe recessed doorways of tombs. In latertimes vases of valuable stone wereimitated by painting over a pottery-vase, and such cheap substitutes Flg * l68were commonly placed in the tombs.

These base imitations are of aesthetic


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90 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTInterest as showing in what a differentmanner the Egyptian viewed his materialsfrom that of our standpoint. He stuccoedand painted over his hard stone statues ;it was enough for him to know that thestone was hard and imperishable he didnot need to see it always exposed. Theimitation of nature was the standpoint fromwhich he started, and he had no objectionto carry out that imitation with paint orotherwise; our abstract standpoint of anartistic effect which must never involvefalsity, but which may have little or nothingto do with nature, was altogether outsideof his aesthetic.


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CHAPTER IVSTRUCTURAL DECORATION

T N the persistence of certain forms which* were the direct result of the structure ofa building or object, we have a very con-siderable source of decoration. In Greekarchitecture many of the details are entirelythe product of wooden construction trans-lated into stone. The triglyphs, the imita-tion of nail heads, of the ends of the polessupporting the roofing, of the crossing ofbeams at the coffers, are all details whichare retained as decoration long after theyceased to have any structural meaning, owingto an entire change of material. Such is


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92 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTstructural decoration in its best known forms.But the same principles equally apply toEgyptian architecture ; there the originalmaterial was not sawn wood as in Greece,but rather the papyrus and palm branch,with the ever-present mud plastering andmud bricks. The decorative details of thestone architecture have come down fromthis stage of building, translated point forpoint into stone, just as the Greek trans-lated his wooden architecture into marble.

But pottery preceded stone in Egypt,and one of the simplest of ornamentsarose from structural necessity. To thisday may be seen in the Egyptian potteryyards bowls and jars held together by atwist of rough palm fibre cord, while theydry in the sun before baking. This acci-dental marking by the rope in the wetclay is seen on the pottery of all ages;but it became developed as a pattern ap-


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STRUCTURAL DECORATION 93parently in the twist or guilloche, which

169. H.S 383. 170 Kahun Pot

may perhaps be rather derived from thisthan from the chain of coils or wavepattern.

Basket-work was elaborately developedin the Old Kingdom. There were beauti-ful screens represented behind the figuresof the owners of the early tombs ; theymight in some cases be matting insteadof basket-work, but others of the patternsappear certainly to be of a rigid material.In no case are they likely to be matson which the kings stand, as styledby Owen Jones. Among the [various patterns of platting E Kwhich are readily developed, =squares, waves, zig - zags,chequers, &c., there are some


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94 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTmade by binding the fibres into bundles,

: and so making a kind of openwork, which may well have ledto the pattern of connectedrhombs which is so usual on

Oriental pottery.One of the most familiar early motives

is wooden framing. This is continuallyimitated in the stone figures of doorwaysin the tombs. The details of it showthat a frame or grate of joinery must

have been used for theporch of large houses,so as to admit lightand air while the doorwas fastened. The*prevalence of such

I73.-L D. ii. 17. wooden frames or lat-tices in modern times in Egypt knownas mushrabiyeh work shows how suitedsuch a system is to the climate. Long-


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STRUCTURAL DECORATION 95after the use of stone was general theframes were imitated, and the pattern sur-vived as a decoration. The same styleof framing was used in the upper part ofa house, with decora-tive uprights of thehieroglyph tat, andwas copied as afancy decoration infurniture, as seen in a beautiful ivory carv-ing in the Louvre. This style surviveduntil the XVIIIth dynasty, when it isseen in a tomb at Thebes (AmenhetopII., Prisse Art) and at the temple ofS edeinga underAmenhotep III.

Much akin to this Fig. 175wood framing is the panelling of the brick-work which is seen in the earliest examples


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96 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTin Egypt, and is identical with the panel-ling of walls in early Babylonia, one ofthe indications of a common civilisation ofthe two great valleys. This panelling

does not seem to havelasted beyond the Old

. Kingdom ; there wasno trace of it found at Kahun or Gurob,in the buildings of the Xllth and XVIIIthdynasties, nor does it appear in any draw-ings or imitations of buildings.One of the best known characteristics of

Egyptian architecture is the sloping faceof the walls and pylons. This is directlycopied from brickwork. In order to givemore cohesion to a wall it was the custom

to build it on acurved bed, so thatthe courses all sloped

- 177- up outwards ' at theouter corners. Thus the outer faces sloped


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98 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTplastering in

order to preserve it frombreaking away. Such a construction wasan ugly necessity at first; but when stone-working arose it had become so familiarthat it was faithfully copied in stone as adecoration, and continued to be so copiedfor more than four thousand years, as longas Egyptian architecture lasted.

The well-known Egyptian cornice hasbeen so long taken for granted that it

might seem never to haverequired an origin. Yet inthe villages of theFellahinpalmbe179-

of development.

to-daycornices may

seen in courseA fence is Fig 180formed of palm-sticks, placed upright, andstripped of leaves for some way up. The


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STRUCTURAL DECORATION 99tops are left bushy, and serve to preventmen or animals climbing over the court-yard wall. The upright sticks are tiedtogether by a rope near the top, or lashedon to a cross line of sticks. The fenceis stiffened below by interweaving otherpalm-sticks in both directions ; and thenthe whole is plastered with mud up to thetie level. Here we have the cavettocornice being formed by the nodding topsof the branches ; and to clinch the matter,the earliest representations of that corniceare on figures of buildings which showthe crossed sticks of the fence belowthe cornice. The ribbing of the corniceis seen on the earliest examples, on Men-kaura's sarcophagus in [the IVth dynasty (Per-ring), in the Vthdynasty (L.D. u. 44)and the Vlth (L.D.

r8i. L.D. ii. 112.ii. 112), and


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STRUCTURAL DECORATION 101or to ornament/' and therefore refers tothe position of the decoration and not toits origin. The clue to the real nature ofthis decoration is given in a tomb of theIVth dynasty (Ptah-hotep, L.D. n. 101.b.), where we see the kkaker ornamentnot as a mere painting, but represented asstanding up solid around the tops of thecabins of boats. It cannot therefore beanything very heavy or solid, such asspear-heads, as has been proposed. Itprobably results in some way from theconstruction of the cabins.They must have had roofsof very light material.Papyrus was generally usedfor building boats, andtherefore for cabins also,most likely. This gives usthe clue to interpret it. Suppose a screenof papyrus stems ; the roofing stems tied


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102 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTon to the uprights ; and the loose wiryleaves at the head tied together, to keepthem from straggling over and looking

untidy. Here we have all the de-tails of the khaker ornament simplyresulting from structural necessity.The leaves are gathered together atthe lower tying ; there the end viewof the concentric coats of the papy-

185. stems of the roof are seen asconcentric circles; above which the leavesbulge out and are tied together near thetop. Though this structural decoration isseen on the top of boat cabins as earlyas the IVth dynasty, yet we have notfound it as decoration on a flat surfaceuntil the Xllth. Then it is very com-mon ; but its meaning became confused inthe XVII Ith dynasty, and in Ptolemaictimes it is seen in absurd positions, ason a base, and on architraves above an


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STRUCTURAL DECORATION 103empty space, where no stems below itwere possible.

We have just mentioned one use ofreeds or papyrus in the torus roll on theedge of buildings ; but on interior decora-tion we meet again with the same motive.The borders of Egyptian scenes from theearliest times are framed with a variety ofbindings ; and so suitable did such border-ing seem that it was continued with butlittle variation throughout all the history.The oldest forms areplain binding

a diagonal binding,186 L.D 11.43.

187 LD ii 44.or

and crossed binding.188. L D. ii 44

189. L.D. ii. 54


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104 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTThe latter became ê^Gee^H^^ÛiûîQOOOOOOOgXiXgooOQOocmodified into r~r

190. L D. ii. 148.by the Xlth dynasty, showing that itsmeaning was already becoming forgotten.

But a modification of the tower endsof this pattern in the Xllth dynastyis difficult to understand ; unless wecan look on it as an irregular wind-ing of the ends of the cord aroundthe reed bundle in place of the

JLjT regular crossing which is shown-i132 above it.

The modification of colours and arrange-ment in the plain binding is interminable.In the XVIIIth dynasty _..._^^_^^^

192. L.D. in 115

in the XlXth ifi~193 L.D ii 136

in late times194 p 72 76.


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STRUCTURAL DECORATION 105and in all ages a binding with a numberof lines between coloured spaces wascommon ~~j

Fig- 195-

and on borders of architecture and statuarythrones r

[TTj fTTj

Fig. 196.


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CHAPTER V.SYMBOLICAL DECORATION.

r I ^HE Egyptian who expressed all his^ thoughts by a symbolical writing,full of determinatives, was naturally muchgiven to symbolism in his decoration.Not, however, that all his decoration wassymbolic in a recondite sense ; the ever-present lotus ornament was merely a thingof beauty ; the lotus was not a sacredplant, it is not associated with any divinityin

particular, and only in one unusual in-stance does it ever occur in the hiero-glyphs. The fanciful habit of Europe, inseeing a hidden sense in every flower, was

106


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SYMBOLICAL DECORATION 107not akin to the simple and elementarymind of the Egyptian. But certain strik-ing emblems he used continually; and oneof the earliest of these is the uraeus snake,or cobra in his wrath, reared up with ex-panded body ready to strike. The dignityand power of the animal made it to bean emblem of the king, or rather perhapsof the royal power of death. That capitalpunishment was used in Egypt is seen inthe Westcar Tales, which probably datefrom the Old Kingdom, where a condemnedmalefactor is ordered to be brought forthfor a magician to try his power in bring-ing him to life when slain. The king, ashaving the power of death, bore the uraeusalways on his head-dress ; and from theearliest days (at Medum) the royal courtof justice was adorned with a cornice ofuraei, implying that there resided theroyal right of judgment and of condemna-


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io8 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTtion. This cornice seems, however, tofT(f(f(T(T have been regarded as merely|| || royal in later times, and was

Fig. 197. freely used to adorn any royalstructure, even a wooden summer-house(Amenhotep II.); or the uraei formed aband around columns (Akhenaten), or ap-pear as supporters of the royal cartouche

(P. 72), either plain (Ramessu

I98. P 72. ^iiurcm- Fig. 199.heb) L.D. in. 122).A symbolism closely connected with this

is that of the globe and wings. This cer-tainly dates to the beginning of the monu-'=9pMR^ mental age, as it is seen above

2oo.-Khufu. the figure of Khufu seatedbefore a table of offerings s^HK^MKion an amulet. In that in- 201. Unas.stance it is on too small a scale to show


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SYMBOLICAL DECORATION 109the details ; but in the next dynasty itappears above Unas at Elephantine, withthe globe flanked by two uraei and twowings. What the symbolism of it was wehave no direct information. But when weconsider that the wings are those of thevulture spread out, as it appears on theroofs of the passages as a protecting andpreserving maternal emblem, and the uraeusis associated with it, we can hardly view itas other than the same idea of the powerof life and death, of preservation and de-struction. But in this emblem it is notthe king who wields these powers, but Rathe Sun, whose disc appears in the midstThat the wings have thus themeaning of protection is shownby the globe with droopingwings embracing the royal name, express-ing the protection given by Ra to theking, without associating the deadly or

IIX -


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no EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTpunitive power of the uraeus. A curiousform of this emblem which

was common in the earlypart of the xVIIIth dynasty

is with only one wing.One of the most perfect and beautiful

examples of thewinged disc is on 204. P. 72the temple of Tahutmes III., but it con-tinued to be used down to the latest timesof Egyptian architecture as a lintel decora-tion.

In the XlXth dynasty an addition tothe symbolism appears; the horns of aram are added to the wings ; sometimeswithout the uraei (Ramessu L, L.D. in.131), sometimes with the uraei (RamessuIL, L.D. in. 204). These rams 1 hornscan hardly be other than those of theram-headed god Khnum, the maker*' or modeller of men. The idea then of


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SYMBOLICAL DECORATION illthe wings and horns is that Ra makes aswell as protects ; and where the uraeus isadded it implies that Ra is creator, pre-server, and destroyer.

The vulture alone as the emblem of pro-tection is frequently figured with out-stretched wings across the ceilings of thepassages, particularly those of the royaltombs of the XlXth dynasty. There isperhaps no sight in the animal world moreimposing than one of these birds, stretchedout with a span of some nine or ten feet,hanging in the air close overhead ; it isnatural that it should have excited theadmiration of man, and not being hurtfulit readily came to be honoured as a typeof maternal care.The scarab was another such typical

animal, rolling the pellet containing an egg


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H2 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTto a safe place where it buries it. Thoughvery common as an amulet for the livingand the dead, yet it is not often seenin symbolical or decorative use otherwise.With what idea the amulet was used wedo not know for certain. The scarab itselfis often figured as holding the disc of thesun between its claws ; and it is at leastpossible that the symbolic idea of thescarab as the maker or creator arose fromthe burial of its ball being an emblem ofthe setting of the sun, from which newlife will arise in due course. It occurswith the wings extended and the disc

between theclaws as acentre figure

205. p si 2


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SYMBOLICAL DECORATION 113

207. R C

is occasionally met with later in decoration.The lion as a noble and royal animal

frequently figures inthe XVIIIth dynasty.The Egyptians, withtheir marvellous in-stinct for taming everyanimal they could find, actually trainedlions or leopards to live as domesticated

animals, with the same sortof allowed wildness as modernhunting dogs. The lion ac-

208 p 7 8. companied the king in battle ;but in camp it lay

down as peaceably asan ox. It was fre-quently carved onthe sides of thethrones of theXVIIIth - XXthdynasties, and also 209. L D. m. 100.seated in pairs, facing or backing, on the

9


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H4 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ART

temple walls, a usage reminding us of thelion gate of Mvkenae of the same age.

Some of the Egyptian divinities also ap-pear as symbolic orna-ments. The figuresof the goddess Maatwith spread wingsadorned the ark ofAmen-ra under Ta-

210 L.D. in. 114 hutimes II. ; and inearlier times similar cheru-bic figures stand guardingthe name of Antef V. ona scarab.

Hathor also appears on various objects.A mirror handle carved in wood duringthe Xllth dynasty has the head of Hat-hor (P. i. xiii.) ; columns with heads ofHathor, crowned with a shrine occupied


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ri6 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTIn later times his figure is frequently seen.At Tell el Amarna ornaments for neck-laces made in glazed pottery followed twotypes of Bes, the god dancing with thetambourine seen in side view, and theearlier grotesque front view, with armsakimbo. These familiar little figures con-tinued to be made till late times ; and inthe Roman age Bes was elevated toarchitectural dignity on the dies abovethe columns at Dendereh in the smalltemple of the Mammeisi.

Another and more artificial mode ofsymbolical decoration was by means ofthe hieroglyphic signs. Having a modeof writing in which a single mark couldexpress an abstract idea, it was possibleto adapt writing to a purely decorative


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SYMBOLICAL DECORATION 117design.

Even with alphabetic charactersthis has been done, as in the elaboratecrossing patterns of the earlier Arabperiod in Egypt, in which no untrainedeye would see anything but a complexornament

Four of the hieroglyphs most usuallyworked into ornamental designs arethe ankh, a girdle, or symbol of life ;the thet, another form of girdle, with

213longer bow-tie in front, which, as Ankh >always identified with Isis, may havebeen a primitive feminine girdle,the ankh being masculine; the 2 L7.

3gz uas> a stick of authority, orjn symbol of power; and the^ dad, a row of columns, or216Dad. Symbol of stability.As early as the Old Kingdom

we find wooden framings, or lattices*ornamented with dad signs; and


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ooo118 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTthis continued at least as late as Amen-

hotep II. The dad also appearsin what is probably copied frompierced woodwork, in a relief

iir7iL3iU ' at Qurneh of Ramessu I.

The combination of thet dad uas, and ofankJi dad icas, is found in the XUth dynastyat Benihasan, appa- - ^-^ * - . ~rently carved in relief, fiff TTSg^r > Ion the wooden panels Fig. 218of a litter (R.C. xciii.). The same occursimilarly carved on the ebony doors ofHatshepsut at Deir el Bahri Thegroup begins to appear as an archi-tectural design early in the XVIIIthdynasty, and continues down to Romantimes, especially on bases of scenes andgroups, thus forming a continuous borderof good wishes. The hieroglyphs, ankh>dad, and nas, are all found on pendants fornecklaces, in the blue glazed pottery of


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SYMBOLICAL DECORATION 119the XVIIIth

dynasty,and also combined

in one as a ring bezil. And the thetgirdle tie of I sis appears repeated as apattern, probably of pierced woodwork,along the sides of a shrine of TahutimesIII. at Semneh, and on the base of acouch in the birth scene of AmenhotepIII. (R.S. xxxviii.). As funeral amuletsthe thet, dad, and ankh occur commonly,but that branch is outside of the subjectof decoration.Another hieroglyph often appearing as an

ornament is the sam, or symbol of union.The origin of it is yet unexplained. Itcertainly is a column of some kind;it has a well-marked capital and anabacus. The capital is formed muchlike the palm-leaf capital ; and the ^ ltem is clearly bound round, andmust therefore be composite. Thissuggests that it might be a column of


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120 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ART

palm sticks bound together, with sometops left projecting for ornament. Suchmight well be more conventionalised atthe beginning of Egyptian sculpture inthe IVth dynasty than the other kinds ofcapitals ; and the immigrant race camefrom the region of the palm, while thelotus and papyrus only were reached bythem in Egypt itself. The base is amain difficulty to explain. It might beconventionalised clods of earth, with twocurled-over side branches of the palm ;but it has been so modified that we mustawait more evidence. In any case thestem is formed of several parts bound to-

gether, and hence it wasvery naturally adopted asa symbol of union. It wasfurther grouped with twoplants, the stalks of which

around it. It is always220 Khafra

were linked


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SYMBOLICAL DECORATION 121

supposed that these symbolise northernand southern Egypt, and that the groupmeans the union of all the land. Still itis yet uncertain what plants are intendedto be represented, though on the throneof Tahutimes IV. they are clearly lotusand papyrus ; but the evidence is too lateto be of much value. This group was afavourite decoration from beginning to endof Egyptian history. At the beginning ofthe Xllth dynasty an addition was madeby placing a figure of Hapi or the Nileon each side of the group (Tanis i. i.),each figure holding one of the two plants.As these figures wrere crowned, one withthe sign of south the other of north, theypoint to the plants being emblems of thesouth and north also. This group withthe figures is found as late as the XXthdynasty (L.D. in. 237). Another designcame into fashion during the great foreign


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122 EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ARTwars of the XVIIIth dynasty, represent-ing two captives, one negro, one Syrian,bound back to back against the sam ; thusit symbolised not only the union of upperand lower Egypt, but also of the northernand southern races outside of Egypt.Later on, four or even six such racialtypes are figured as bound together.


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INDEX.7AGZAMU dresses ... ... ... ... ... 15Ankh girdle ... ... ... ... .. 117Anthemion ... ... ... ... .. 65, 72

Assyrian lotus ... ... ... ... ... 72BARKS of gods ... ... ... ... ... 83Basket-work screens ... ... . . 14, 36, 93Bell capital ... ... ... .. ... 76Bes, god of dance ... ... ... . 115Binding patterns. , ... .. ... ... 103Birds 87Boat covers ... .. ... ... ...29,31Borders, spiral ... ... . .. ... 40

., lotus ... ... ... ... ... 64Borrowed art ... ... ... .... ... 40Brickwork panelling ... ... ... ... 95curved courses ... .. ... 96

C-SPIRALS... ., ... ... ... . . 34Calf 87Captives ... ... ... ... ... . . 84bound together ... ... 85, 122

painted on sandals ... ... ... 86Cavetto cornice ... ... ... ... ... 98Chain of spirals ... ... ... ... ... 20Chequer patterns ... ... ... ... 44Circles, not usual ... ... .. ... 47

,, not divided by six ... ... ... 49Classes of ornament ... ... ... ... 9Cobra 107


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124 INDEXPAGE

Coils ... . .. 20Continuous spirals . ... ... . 20Convolvulus decoration . .81Cornice, palm ... ... ... ... . 98Dad columns .. ... . . 95, 117Daisy ... 58Decoration, classes of . ... 9Decorative instinct of Egyptians .. 2Descent of patterns ... . ... 5Disc with spots . . ... . . . . 60

and wings . . ... . ... . 108Duck ... 87ENDLESS spirals ... ... ... ... ... 21Feather patterns ... ... . ... ... 50

types of 51belts . . ... ... .. 52

Fleur de lys type... .. ... ... ... 68Flower ornament... ... ... ... 55Framing of wood ... ... ... ... 94Fret patterns ... ... ... ... ... 35Greek 36,43GARLANDS ... .. ... ... .. 82Geometrical ornament . . .. ... ... 9, 12Girdles ankh and thet .. ... ... ... 117Globe and wings .. . ... ... 1 08Graining of wood . . ... .. . 89Grape pendants .. . . . .. .80Greek fret ... . . ^6, 43

,, lotus . . 72architecture, structural . .. ... 91,


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INDEX 125PAGE

Guilloche 4

HATHOR head ... ll^capitals - 5Hawk *'

Hexagon pattern. . ... I^Hieroglyphs decorative

... ... 3symbolic ... - - - II6Hooks * - 20

Horns - ' JIIBEX 7Imitation of wood ... -

stone * * 9Isiemkheb, tent of ... 56 8?

KAHUN, guilloche at ... - ^ IKeft dresses ... ^Kkakher patternTJ-I r ....- IO5Khufu

1 u - iooLACHISH, slabs .Leatherwork . 5 59

rosettes 57Line decoration '

Links ...Lion - 61Lotus patterns ... * ^tied - ,^

capitalsbordeiplantborder 66


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126 INDEXPAGE

Lotus friezes ... ... ... ... . 67flower developed ... .. ... . 70flower with pendants ... ... ... 73column .. ... ... ... ... 76

MAAT goddess ... ... ... ... . 114Maeander ... ... ... ... ... 40Minusinsk art ... ... ... ... ... 7Mykenaean spirals ... ... ... .. 38borrowed art ... ... ... 40

ox head ... ... ... ... 59disc and spots ... ... ... 60

NATURAL ornament ... ... ... ...10, 50Network patterns ... ... ... ... 46Nile figures ... ... ... ... ... 121ORCHOMENOS . ... ... ... ... 39Origin of patterns ... ... ... ... 5Ornament, classes of ... ... ... ... 9PALM capital ... ... ... ... ... 78

not common ... ... ... ... 79cornice ... ... ... ... ... 98column ... ... ... ... ... 120

Palmetto... .,. ... ... ... ... 65Panelled pattern ... .. ... ... .. 95Papyrus ... . ... ... .. ...61,75cornice ... ... ... ... ... 101Patterns not re-invented . ... ... ... 8Pectorals .. . ... ... .. ... 83Perspective, Egyptian .. .. ... ... 69Plaiting patterns ... .. 14,36,44


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INDEX 127PAGE

RA, creator, preserver and destroyer ... . . 111Roll on buildings .. .. ... 97, 103Rope borders . .. ... . .. 42

pattern ... .. ... ... ... 92Rosette .. ... .. .. .. 56, 58Rushwork plaiting ... ... . 14, 36, 93Sam column ... .. ... ,.. ... 119Scale pattern really feathers .. . . ... 52Scarab spirals ... ... . ... 18

symbolical ... ... . . . . 112Scroll pattern ... ... ... ... . 17Siloam tomb ... . ... .. 100Sloping faces of buildings ... ... ... 96Spiral or scroll ... ... ... . . . 17

origin of ... ... .. . . . . 18sole patterns . . .. ... . . 24earlier on scarabs... ... ... ... 28surface decoration 29with lotus,.. ... . ... ... 30crossed lines ... . . . . 31quadruple .. . . . . . 31quintuple . .. 34developed to fret ... ... ..- . . 36late 23Subdivisions*coils 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 40hooks ... 19, 20, 22links . 19, 20, 21, 29, 42chain ... ... ... ... ...20, 21continuous ... ... ... ...20, 25endless 21, 23


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128 INDEXPAGE

Spiral false links . . ... ... ... . . 26lop-sided . .... 27

Spots, not Egyptian .. . ... ..15, 60Star patterns ... ... ... 57, 58, 88Stitch patterns . ... . . ... ..43,57Structural ornament ... ... ...10,91Styles, ch

egyptian decorative art. a course of lectures delivered at the royal institution

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