Egypt
Floor
Floors were covered with a variety of material Probably the most widely used paving was mud plaster or brick made from the mud prevalent in the Nile River basin. Sometimes a liquefied mixture of gypsum concrete was poured, providing a uniform sheet for the floor surface. Less frequently used was stone, which was employed as a lining where moisture was a problem; stone slabs have been found in bathrooms. Found in a natural state in ancient Egypt, electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, was used as a partial facing on some pavements; the color depended on the relative proportion of gold to silver. In palaces, glazed tile was sometimes utilized.
Whitewash was the finish for many paved floors, a good background for painted floor surfaces. Decorative themes were often based on the plant and animal life of the environment. For example, in successive rectangular frames painters might depict a pond with fish, lotus, and other aquatic plants, ducks, geese, bouquets of flowers, and greenery thickets. A recurring theme was the portrayal of traditional enemies of Egypt in paintings or inlay for interiors as well as furniture; underfoot was an appropriate place for their portrayal. Colors progressively increased in intensity from floor to ceiling so that the most subdued hues were used at door level while the most brilliant were reserved for the ceiling. In this manner vertical movement was encouraged.
Walls
The
primary surfacing material for walls was plaster applied to a base of brick or
mud. Ornamental
treatment for all surfaces included designs accomplished in techniques integral
with the wall, such as painting, inlay, and relief. In addition, mats and rugs
were actually hung on walls, or designs representing rugs and mars were painted
on the walls as a decorative treatment. Paintings included geometric
arrangements, religious subjects, plant patterns, and animal life. Faience
tiles were frequently used as architectural inlay but a wide repertoire of
variations in surface treatment was possible. These included application of
relief through a buildup of glaze,
painted designs applied on the glaze before the final glaze firing, or
contrasting colors applied to incised designs in the glaze before the final
glaze firing. Common colors were green, blue, and blue-green. Relief
from low to high was attained by the use of other materials. Plaster was
fashioned into relief patterns and wood carvings have been observed in palaces.
Low relief was The jambs
of a typical door or window supported a lintel above which was a torus
molding or a crowning cavetto cornice .Jambs supporting only a lintel
formed a simpler treatment; the opening was usually square: headed.
Ornamental techniques to enhance the jambs and lintels included inlay, pigment,
and carved relief. The relief designs were often covered with thin sheets of
gold or electrum, or paint was applied thickly. Faience and gold were used as
inlay materials; although inlaid, the inserted glazed tiles could be in relief
also. Symbolically, an addition of gold bequeathed life to figures of gods and
the pharaoh. Sheet copper was sometimes applied with bronze or copper nails to
cedar wooden doors. Pigment contributed to the colorful Egyptian interior for
example, a series of bright horizontal stripes in different hues with prominent
use of red, blue, and yellow. Bright red was a hue frequently used for jambs,
lintels, and shafts of columns. The rectangular windows were covered in
openwork screens composed of vertical or horizontal bars, patterns of circle
tracery , or lattice; grating materials could be stone or wood.
Ceilings: serving
as structural support for the ceiling, stone or wood columns interrupted some
interior spaces such as reception rooms and the main hall .Columns provided
upward visual thrust closely related to the structural and decorative detail of
the ceiling. Each column consisted of a base, shaft, and capital. 'Wooden
shafts .set in limestone bases were common; however, shafts were sometimes
stone, particularly in monumental
structures. The capital, the uppermost part of the column, was super imposed by
an abacus (a plain block), which served as the transition to the horizontal
structure above. Design
inspiration for the column originated with the plant life of the Nile River
Valley. Prominent among the local vegetation were the palm, lotus, and papyrus,
of which the palm was preferred for domestic architecture. The cross section of
the shaft could represent earlier structural arrangements or the stem of a
plant. First , in early structural methods, bundles of reeds had been bound at
intervals by flexible bands of a plant material thus, the cross section of the
shaft imitated a cluster of reeds resulting in a parallel series of narrow
convex semicircular moldings (termed reading) or, conversely, a series of
parallel channels or flutes (termed fluting). Second, the stem of the papyrus
plant was triangular in cross section, which was the inspiration for the shaft
of this form of cross section. Third,
ceiling
patterns are known to have included geometric and religious themes, scenes from
nature, or some combination of these. examples of overall patterns include
diaper arrangements, linked spirals and rosettes, and linked spirals therein
the interstices featured bulls' heads. the central position of religion was
attested to in many ways. design motifs depicted on ceilings encompassed
symbolic features such as a series of painted vultures, representing
protection, some of which had wing spans of sixteen feet. also signifying
protection was the winged solar disk which, when combined the cobra, denoted
royalty. scenes from nature were revealed in the depiction flying ducks with nests for young birds; a
grape arbor pattern, and figures shown in clumps of papyrus.
Furniture
: Furniture
design reveals the same influences reflected in other arts of the dynastic
periods: religion, inspiration from familiar objects, technology (materials and
construction techniques) and social hierarchy. In particular, the size and
stature of the people affected chair design. Their belief in life after death
dictated that worldly goods were placed in the tombs for use in the afterlife;
the decorative objects also placed there were those suited to the status in
life of the deceased. Sealed in tombs and preserved due to climatic conditions,
the most prevalent extant examples of ancient Egyptian furniture represent
those of royalty or upperclass
citizens.
Table
: Tables
are known to have been used extensively during the dynastic periods; proof of
this lies in the fact that so many were represented in paintings and in
sculptural reliefs. That so few have survived is perhaps due to the fact that a
very common use was to place them outside burial chambers to receive food
offerings. Aside from their religious use, functional uses for the household
included the practice of using tables as workbenches, stands for vases,
individual tables for dining, and perhaps for display of valuable objects. A popular
type of table seems to have been rectangular in shape, with splayed legs and a
perimeter stretcher . In this
example a small torus molding was used above the rail with a cavetto molding
serving as a transition to the tabletop. Similar tables were constructed where
the square sectioned legs rose straight and where the cavetto molding was
eliminated. Hieroglyphs sometimes were used to decorate the edges of these
pieces
Bed
: While
there were variations in the style of beds over the dynastic periods, there
were also basic similarities. Overall the frames of beds were comprised of side
rails which were rounded, often elliptical, but occasionally rectangular in
section. Reinforcing members were used to connect the two side rails of wood or
leather, at first these were flat and later curved, and their function was to
support the surface of the bed. When the side rails extended beyond the bounds
of the frame the ends often were in the shape of an open papyrus flower;
alternatively, the ends of the rails flared within the bounds of the frame
where the perpendicular cross rail intersected. These side rails could be
straight, but many times they dipped in the center, which in effect accentuated
the higher part of the bed where the head rested; a footboard was typical at
the other end. The bed surface was attached to the rails in either of two ways:
(1) slots cut through the frame through which webbing of leather was
interlaced, or (2) woven techniques that entailed wrapping the rail with linen
cord, reed, or rush which was then woven into a matting The footboard was the
most decorated part of the bed and featured typical decorative techniques .
While a single panel was sometimes used it was common to divide the footboard
into three panels, each visually separated by the use of a papyrus molding. A
repertoire of decorative motifs typical of the period was utilized in standard
materials and techniques; however, plain slats were used also. Dowels were
used to attach braces to the side rails and the stiles of the footboard; gold
or other capping materials were used to cover the dowels. Supporting
the frame of the bed were animal legs placed in a directional position; one
stretcher at each end connected the legs. Baker suggests that over the period
of the Old Kingdom (3200-2270 B.C.) there is a sequence in the use of specific
animal legs from early late, as founds: (1) bulls Tags (2) thinner legs with
hoofs resembling the gazelle(3) feline with paw foot and claw; (4) lion's leg.
The latter was the most generally used.12 Under the
paw or hoof there was a receded and truncated cone-shaped base or drum which
was often sheathed with metal, as gold, silver, bronze, or copper. The
Egyptians slept with their feet toward the footboard panel. Their heads rested
on rigid headrests which were constructed of wood or of stone; occasionally
these were slightly padded. Usually the headrests had a curved upper section
on which the head rested and a column that separated it from a base. The
designs ranged from simple to ornate.
Other materials and decorative techniques were contingent on the economic means
of the resident. For the affluent, stone and glazed tile were used to line
walls. Glazed tile had been
used in the Third Dynasty (2778-2723 B.C.) to line walls, but in the New Kingdom
(.1580-1085 B.C.) it became
more widely utilized in palaces.
painted as gold or metal, or electrum was fashioned in relief for architectural
ornament.
Windows and doors :
there were circular sections typical of many single stem plants. Typically, the
column shaft was curved inward near the base, although the palm form shaft was
essentially cylindrical in form.
