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Industry : Rush and Basketwork
Rush and Basketwork
From Neolithic times the Egyptians made use of the nonspun fibers of plants by plaiting and interlacing grasses and reeds to produce shelters, containers, clothing, and items of domestic use. They had access to young, pliable palm branches, which could be interlaced, and fibers from these were obtained by shredding, splitting, and drying the stems. Also available were the fibers of wild grasses, reeds, rushes, and papyrus, which grew in the marshes; to prepare these for use, grasses and reeds were dried and split, plant stems were cut with a sickle, and papyrus fibers were produced as a by-product of the process of making writing material. These fibers were all used to make baskets, mats, rope, sandals, boats, and sailcloth.
BASKETRY
Baskets were indispensable for storing domestic items and carrying
agricultural and industrial materials. They were also used as
coffins for all burials in early times and for those of the poor
throughout the historic period. The principal materials were the
leaves of the date palm or dom palm, grasses, reeds, and rushes.
Basket making was probably a widespread activity; it was simpler
than weaving because no preparation of the fiber was needed beyond
selecting and cutting it into the required lengths, and no
specialized tools (such as the spindle and whorl) were used.
Therefore, it was widely practiced throughout Egypt as one of the
first arts. Several manual techniques were employed. Coiling, also
employed in sandal making, was one of the oldest crafts; a bunch of
fibers was wound into a flat coil to make the base, and then the
basket was built up by wrapping the fibers spirally and fixing each
row to the previous one by stitching them together with the same
plant fibers. Twining involved interlacing single fibers or bunches
of them on a square base; this technique is similar to primitive
weaving and was often used for matting. Wrapping, another form of
twining, also produced matting and involved passing a single
wrapping strand around a bundle of fibers. Other techniques included
matting work in which one series of fibers was used as the warp and
another as the weft and plaited work in which separate plaits were
made and sewn into the required shape. The coiled technique was most
often used for baskets, whereas twining was employed for coffins,
bags, and matting; examples of matting work have also survived.
Basketworks were not generally decorated with any dyed fibers, but
their shape and the natural color and texture of the plant fibers
gave them an attractive appearance. In some examples, however, there
is evidence of ornamental stitching and the interweaving of dyed and
undyed fibers. Basketry was also used to make sieves.
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MATTING
Matting was another important minor industry, and mats occur from
predynastic times onward. They were used in Badarian graves either
for wrapping the body or placing beneath it. Matting was found in
the houses of both rich and poor; sometimes it was used as an
architectural material for walls and roofs or to adorn the walls and
floors of houses. Rolled-up mats were hung at open doors and could
be let down as blinds to protect the interior from strong sunlight.
There were imitations of matting in other architectural forms: on
false doors in tombs the roll-up door blind was carved in stone, and
painted decoration on the walls and ceilings of tombs copied the
colored patterns found on mats. Matting was also used to make beds,
seats, bags, and coffins. Matting could be produced by means of
twining, but the Egyptians also had the mat loom, which provided a
transitional development between manual techniques and those
required to weave fabrics. In the tomb of Khety at Beni Hasan
(Dynasty 12), a wall scene shows a representation of the mat loom;
it appears to be horizontal and the male weaver threads the wefts by
hand over the frame. He does not use a heddle or shed. Reeds or
rushes were the materials most commonly employed for matting, but
palm leaves and grass have also been found. Egypt’s dry climate has
ensured that these vegetable fibers have survived; as well as
basketry and matting, evidence of other techniques such as rope
making, netting, and sandal making with plant fibers has also been
preserved.
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ROPE AND NET MAKING
Rope making, using flax, rush, and palm fibers,
was an important industry, and rope and cord exist from early
predynastic times. Date palm fiber was most commonly used for making
ropes and cords; examples of these have survived as well as tomb
scenes that illustrate how they were made. In the tombs of Amenemhet
and Khnumhotep at Beni Hasan, scenes depicting rope making show men
twisting together by hand two cords, which are fixed to a post in
the ground to increase the leverage. Next, the rope was beaten with
a wooden mallet and soaked in a tub to increase its strength.
Similar scenes occur in New Kingdom tombs. There were many uses for
rope and cord; they were made into handles of jars, baskets, and
tools, used for securing coffins and other heavy containers, and
employed in shipbuilding and sailing. Nets were produced to a high
standard and for a variety of uses. They were made from string,
produced using linen fabrics; string, nets, netting needles, and
reels have all been discovered. Netting, a looping or knotting
technique worked with a continuous thread, is illustrated in the
tomb of Khety at Beni Hasan. It produced coarse nets for fishing and
hunting, and finer threads were used for bags and carriers.
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Industry : Rush and Basketwork
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