CLOTHING
Though leather hides, with the hair on, are found over bodies in
the earliest graves, yet linen cloth was introduced early in the
prehistoric times, and is frequently found wrapped around the bodies.
On reaching the first dynasty the weaving is seen to be very fine
and regular, though we only have some of the stuff used for mummy
wrappings, from the tomb of King Zer. The threads are very uniform,
and there are 160 to the inch in the warp and 120 in the woof. Modern
fine cambric has 140 threads to the inch, so it was quite equalled by
hand work at the beginning of Egyptian history. A group of a dozen
different cloths on one mummy of the XVIIth dynasty show 138 x 40 and
128 x 56 as the finest, and 21 x 15 as the coarsest mesh. The greatest
disproportion of the threads is 138 to 40, or 3½ to 1, and the least
is 70 to 62, or 9 to 8; it is recognised as a principle of Egyptian
weaving that the woof was not beaten up as closely as the lay of the
warp. Unfortunately we have scarcely any cloth except mummy wrappings,
and it is not to be expected that the finest work would be thus used.
The size of the looms was considerable. The cloths on the mummy just
named are up to five feet wide; and one edge has been torn off that
amount, so it was originally more. The pieces are up to sixty feet
long, and yet not complete. The looms were horizontal on the ground for
coarse work, such as mats; but fine work was done on a vertical loom,
and from the ease of displacing threads in tapestry the warp threads
were separately weighted and not fastened to a beam. Loom weights of
baked clay or of limestone are common.
[Illustration: CLOTHING
139. Coloured tapestry (XVIIIth dynasty)
140. Cut leather net]
A few pieces of woven tapestry have been found in the tomb of Tahutmes
IV, and part of one is given here full size in fig. 139. The colours
used are red, blue, green, yellow, brown and grey. The coloured
threads pass to and fro over the space assigned to them, thus entirely
parting the warp threads from the neighbouring ones, so that a slit is
left along the vertical margins of the colours. This was remedied by
stitching; but the same weakness is seen in the Roman and Coptic woven
tapestries. These are known from the pagan period, as there are many
mythological subjects; but the greater part belong to the Christian and
Mohammedan ages.
The Roman and Coptic tapestries are placed upon garments as derivatives
from darning, or from patches put on the garments to prevent them
wearing through. The positions are broad stripes over the shoulders
where any object would rest when carried, circular patches on the
breasts and on the knees. On referring to the hundreds of figures in
Roman dress from the third to fifth centuries (in Garucci, _Vetri
ornati di figure in oro_), embroideries or tapestries are unusual in
Italy. A dozen robes with scrolls or foliage patterns are shown, but
only three with knee patches, and one of those (xxxi, 1) is a female
servant holding an Egyptian fan, probably therefore an Egyptian slave.
It seems, then, that this system of circular patches on the wearing
parts is not Roman but Egyptian. Beside the woven tapestries, which
are nearly all in purple, embroidery was done with the needle in white
thread on the purple ground.
Leatherwork was of importance in Egypt in all ages. The two principal
arts in it were the appliqué work in colours, and the cutting of
network. The great example of the appliqué work is the funeral tent
of Queen Isiemkheb, about 1000 B.C. It was eight feet long and seven
feet wide, with sides over five feet high. Six vultures are outspread
along the top, and the sides have a long inscription. The whole of
the figures and signs are cut out in variously coloured leather, and
stitched on to the crimson leather ground. This work we can trace in
the style of earlier decorations, back to the head fillet of Nofert,
fig. 24. It is also continued down to the present day in the appliqué
work in coloured stuffs on the inside of Egyptian tents.
The cutting of leather nets was an art of great skill. Rows of slits
were cut, breaking joint one with other, so that a piece of leather
could be drawn out sideways into a wide net. One of the most delicate
of such nets is partly shown in fig. 140. The square patch left in
the middle of the net was for the wear of sitting on when the net was
put over the linen waist cloth. Such nets over the cloth are shown in
the figures of the harvesters, fig. 70, with the slit network and the
square patch. To cut the leather in such extremely fine threads must
have required great skill and care; and not only is the leather slit,
but considerable slips have been removed so as to produce an open net
close up to the edge band of solid leather; on some edges an inch or
two is cut away to form one side of the rhombic opening.
* * * * *
In many directions we have now traced the outlines of the artistic
skill of the Egyptians, but only outlines, which point incessantly to
the wide spaces that need to be filled in by further detail. Much of
that has yet to be discovered, but much is ready to hand whensoever
a careful observer may choose to devote attention to any of the
branches of art or technical work which we have so briefly noticed.
In every direction a complete collecting of materials and an adequate
publication of them would bring a full reward in results.
The powerful technical skill of Egyptian art, its good sense of
limitations, and its true feeling for harmony and expression, will
always make it of the first importance to the countries of the West
with which it was so early and so long connected.