Egyptian Imports: A Celebration of Appliquéd Canvases and Papyrus Art Traditions
by Patricia L. Cummings
photos by James Cummings
From time to time, some of you (“pleasantly plump” ladies) may have announced that you could not attend an event that required special clothing because the legendary “Omar the Tentmaker has retired!” While that may be true, there are still many other Tentmakers who continue to ply their needles and their trade of making canvases that become parts of tents or tourist souvenirs. Their workplace? Why, the Shari Khayyamiyia, “Street of the Tentmakers,” in Cairo, Egypt! In the not too distant past, thousands of men were engaged in this artistic pursuit. More recently, far fewer artisans work at this occupation.
Egyptian Appliqués in NH Shops
Egyptian appliqué pieces, intended for pillow covers, framed pictures, or wall hangings, have been showing up with surprising frequency lately, in New Hampshire antique shops. The first Egyptian textile that we noticed was one for sale in Northwood, NH. I loved the design but regrettably did not purchase it that day. When I returned to do so, it had already been sold.
The image was that of a Phoenix, the mythological bird that was celebrated by both Greek and Egyptian cultures. This bird sometimes took on the appearance of a peacock, an eagle, or a heron. According to legend, only one of these birds existed at any given time but could regenerate itself by fire every 500 to 1,461 years. Symbolically, it represents resurrection and immortality.
This is a 1920s "Deco Egyptian Appliqué Wall Hanging"
featured in eBay auction #160148444318 in August 2007
Tutankhamen Trend?
This trend of selling imported Egyptian appliqué work may seem to be new but it is not. Items such as these have been sold in the United States since the turn of the twentieth century, if not a bit prior to that, during the late Victorian Era. Some authors have linked the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 to the overall renewed interest in Egyptology. However, others dismiss that idea entirely, citing other reasons such as more extensive travel at that time.
Early Twentieth Century Fascination
The late Marie Webster, an early twentieth century quilt historian wrote a landmark quilt history book. Included are photos of Egyptian panels and wall hangings and information about how Egyptians have historically used color. In Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them (New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1915), Webster notes that (solid) cotton is most often the fabric of choice for the appliqués, with linen or cotton canvas utilized as the background fabric.
A photo of a colorful Egyptian wall hanging with typical designs of a donkey, a camel, a palm tree, pyramids, and people. courtesy of Teresa Davis.
Home of Cotton and Linen
Historically, Egypt has produced the finest cotton in the world, referred to as super-pima cotton and/or pima cotton.* This high quality cotton has long-staple threads and is easier to spin without breaking. The fertile agricultural areas along the Nile River also yield flax, the source of linen, a fiber which once grew wild in early New England, dotting the countryside with its lovely blue flowers.
“What’s Wrong With This Picture?”
Lured by the exotic nature of their having come from “somewhere else,” I recently acquired five Egyptian wall hangings. The one that depicts donkeys is my favorite! For purposes of identification, I have assigned each of the pieces a name, although they probably were not named by the artist who made them.
“Donkeys” is nearly square and measures 18 3/8” wide x 18” tall. If you
look closely, you will see that the artist has omitted various
body parts of the donkeys, in a manner so
cleverly done, that one does not readily notice the situation. This design
is reminiscent of cartoons in the Sunday newspapers, published in the 1960s
(?)….you know the ones, “What’s Wrong with this Picture?”
What's wrong with the picture above?
The same kind of legless donkey idea is repeated in this photo sent to us by Barbara from Australia in August 2007.
“Sun Worshippers”
In the case of “The Sun Worshippers,” very graphic shapes and bright colors of yellow and red, initially attracted my attention. In this 44 ¼” wide by 18” tall wall hanging, the kneelers have arms outstretched to the sun, located on the far left. Egyptian appliqué work often features embroidery, either for stems or for decorative effect on the appliqué itself and this piece is no exception.
Methods of Working
The visible black lines where the background canvas was marked is very evident on several of the pieces collected. In the “Sun Worshippers,” the fabric tip of the appliquéd green flower (on the left), falls short of the leaf initially drawn by the artist. The line at first seemed to have been done by a black permanent marker.
In doing some further reading, I discovered the following. Some tentmakers like to draw their design shapes directly onto the canvas. Others use a pin to prick the outline of a shape onto paper. Then, by using a dark chalk or other substance that they rub on, the design is transferred to the cloth. In a similar manner, "old time quilters" used cinnamon to mark lines for hand quilting.
“The Archer”
The cotton appliqués themselves are often cut freehand. Cotton is dyed in
various solid hues for this process. Many times, the
overall color scheme includes bright hues.
"The Archer,” shown here, features yellow, red, orange, bright blue, and lime green, as well as black. At other times, these designs are rendered in more subtle hues such as beige, gray, black, brown, and white. The size of this particular design is 18 ½” x 16 ¼”.
The Archer. Collection of Patricia Cummings
A selected sample of these imports were assembled and measured and were found to have an average size of 17 ¾” square. This was mentioned in a research paper presented by Blaire O. Gagnon, cited later in this article.
“Beasts of Burden”
One extremely large wall hanging (65 ¾” wide x 34 ¼” tall) shows camels ready for a trek across the desert as beasts of burden. In that huge piece, the colors blue, green, red, and brown are the hues of choice, as well as neutrals shades of grey, and black.
Colorful Camels. Collection of Patricia Cummings
“Camel Parade”
Another wall hanging (below) which features people as well as camels measures 51 ¾” x 18 3/8”. This particular pieces appears to be much older than the other camel wall hanging due to its extremely fragile state.
Never Trust a Photo
Both of the camel appliqué panels, were purchased on eBay and each time, the sad discovery is that an online photo often does not tell the whole story. Once received, the designs are still impressive, but in the first case, I would have chosen a wall hanging of such grand scale, had it been seen it in person.
In the panel shown below, the appliqué fabrics are ancient. They disintegrate a little more each time the piece is moved. As you can readily see, the wall hanging looks terrific in a photo. In reality, the appliqués may consist of nineteenth century silk which was weighed with tin or mineral salt additives which rendered the silk very prone to this kind of shattering. In fact, seeing this piece was the first clue that Egyptian appliqué panels of this type were done in silk, as well as cotton.
Dating Impossible
Since the early twentieth century, the Tentmakers have crafted small appliqué items specifically for the tourist trade. To try to date any of these pieces individually is, at the moment, next to impossible. Future scholarship may help us to be able to more easily identify individual pieces based on construction methods used in their making, and types of designs chosen. As is true of any overview study, this could happen only if enough examples with a known provenance are collected and documented.
Generally speaking, there seems to be a wide range of quality and size of these wall hangings. All of the Egyptian appliqué pieces that I have personally seen so far are clearly intended to be placed vertically to be enjoyed as art.
Price Watch
Prices vary dramatically. A vendor in New Hampshire recently offered an elaborate Egyptian wall hanging for almost $1,000. In contrast, a more modest, much smaller, more primitive design, (“The Archer”), sold for $3.00 at another shop.
Recently, I was mailed internet photos of three Egyptian panels which form a triptych (a quilt which, when hung, looks like one quilt, but actually is composed of three different sections). Each part would nearly cover the size of a standard door in one’s home. Not being sure of what a fair price would be for these "museum quality” pieces, and not having been quoted a firm price, the idea of a purchase was dismissed altogether.
Fantastic Research Paper
In 2003, Blaire O. Gagnon presented a research paper at the AQSG annual seminar. The paper, called “Egyptian Appliqués,” is published in Uncoverings 2003, Volume 24 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group.
To gather information for this paper, Gagnon combined field notes shared by Dr. Betty Waas, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Emeritus, and knowledge gained through reading a translation of a master’s degree thesis on Egyptian Tent Production by Mohammed Aly Gad, plus additional references, to write her well-researched paper.
If your appetite has
been whetted for more information on this subject, you might want to
consider ordering that volume of research papers online at the American
Quilt Study Group website page:
http://www.h-net.org/~aqsg/Publications.htm.
Long Standing Tradition
We can readily see that appliqué work is a long standing Egyptian tradition when Blaire O. Gagnon reports that the earliest known piece was a sail composed of gazelle leather and constructed by both patchwork and appliqué for the temple of King Sahure in the Fourth Dynasty: 2575-2465 B.C.
Appliqué Art Tradition Based on Tentmaking Skills
The tourist items we are seeing in shops are based upon the skills of this tent making trade. Jayne Spencer, a University of Cairo librarian, has concluded that the making of tents in Egypt may have originated when invading Turks entered Persia in the eighth century, as noted by Gagnon. These were created in both geometric and appliqué styles. The earliest appliquéd tent was found in the tomb of Queen Isi em Kheb and dates to 1000 B.C. The interior of that tent is elaborately adorned with flowers and animals around the perimeter, and features a blue sky and many stars on the ceiling.
Since homes in Egypt are small, individual panels are assembled to temporarily construct a siwan or suradeq. Both names denote the enormous tents that are temporary structures which accommodate ceremonies, celebrations, and picnics. In the past, they have also served as mobile palaces, and as lodging for princes engaged in a hunting expedition. Traditionally, tents are made in three sizes.
Four Distinct Styles of Tents
Tent colors vary according to the time period in which they were produced. The colors may also correspondence to the style of tent being manufactured. Four distinct styles have been recognized. The Islamic style is primarily geometric and adheres to the Islamic doctrine of not including images of animals or humans, a belief similar to the Orthodox Jewish belief of “no graven images,” or to the practice of the Amish people (who do not allow photos of people).
A second style, Pharanoic tents, celebrate the era of the Pharaohs (2980 BC- 332 BC). Very few examples of this type remain. The third style, Calligraphic tents, include Arabic writing. Sometimes, quotations from the Koran are featured. The fourth and final style is Folkloric tents which often present landscape pictorial images.
At the present time, Egyptian decorative appliqué is practiced only in Cairo.
Photo sent by a reader who would like to know more about this piece (age, symbolism, etc). It measures 57" x 113" and was hand-loomed in 19" wide sections. All stitching is done by hand. She has owned it for more than fifty years. If you have any information, please write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com
Papyrus Art
In the same line of Egyptian collectibles are hand-painted, papyrus art. We first came across these in a shop in Greenville, NH. Scenes depicting the history of Egypt are rendered on papyrus. A certificate of authenticity accompanies each painting, and some are signed by the artist. Papyrus is prepared from plant fibers of reeds that grow along the Nile River. This has been the source of all papyrus manufactured since the First Egyptian Dynasty, a process that continued until the eleventh century. Today, papyrus is sold exclusively for art work.
A company in Wisconsin, Egyptian International Art, imports papyrus art. The biggest surprise was to see paintings online that are identical to the ones we had purchased. So, if you are looking for "true" antiques, these may not fill the bill. However, while they are most likely currently made pieces, they are well done, lovely, and affordable examples of collectible art whose scenes are linked to the history of Egypt.
An Education
As always, our trips to antique stores in New Hampshire turned up some real treasures that were definitely an impetus for more research and study. When an object goes beyond what it “is,” to have a greater meaning within an historical context, it becomes more meaningful. There is so much more for us to discover about the use of symbolism in Egyptian Art.
We have had a lot of fun learning more about Egyptian textiles and papyrus art and we hope that you have enjoyed reading what we have shared here.
Readers' Comments
*Vintage Textiles Specialist, Joan Kiplinger of Ohio, recommends that an important notation be added about Pima Cotton. She states:
Egypt only produced the finest pima cotton until American Sea Island's cotton came along. This cotton is a superior strain to pima but hybridization of top strains continue.
According to Joan, "Sea Island cotton is now grown in the USA, off the coast of Georgia, as well as in Brazil, and in the Caribbean. At present, this cotton is considered to be superior to Egyptian cotton, once the leader in the field, and is controlled by the American SuPima Association. Today, most superior strains from Egypt are blends of American and Egyptian pima strains, as well as Sea Island with top Egyptian strains.
Helen Ducker of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia writes:
I have just been reading your information about Egyptian appliqué and have a few comments.
I was in Cairo in November 2001, as a direct result of a talk and display of Egyptian appliqué by Sandra Hardy, an Egyptologist in Yorkshire, UK. I visited the Street of the Tentmakers and was impressed with their skill and the tradition, though not with the range of designs available. Those that I was offered were either large wall coverings from 5' x 5' up to 12' x 12', large floor cushion covers (about 3' x 3') or small tourist items about 12" x 8". Most of the designs were circular stylised floral patterns, though there were also many using Islamic pattern or verses from the Koran. The smaller tourist items had scenes or motifs from the ancient Egyptian paintings - similar to the ones pictured on your website.
In one 'shop' in the street I was shown a modern cityscape done in non natural colours, that looked like an abstract painting and had been done as an experiment to see if tourists would buy it. This was the only original design I saw anywhere.
I spoke to a 'designer' and he explained how he made a new design. He took a traditional motif such as the lotus and arranged it in new patterns. He then drew it out on the background (like a canvas material) and told the sewer which colours to use and where. As far as he was concerned each change of colour made a new design.
On your website:
"A company in Wisconsin, Egyptian International Art, imports papyrus art.
The biggest surprise was to see paintings online that are identical to the
ones we had purchased. So, if you are looking for "true" antiques, these
may not fill the bill. However, while they are most likely currently made
pieces, they are well done, lovely, and affordable examples of collectible
art whose scenes are linked to the history of Egypt."
The main Museum in Cairo was filled with Art students making copies of the ancient Egyptian artifacts and paintings ... they were everywhere mainly
sitting on the floor! Most were working with pencil and paper though some
had watercolours. I was told by my guide that they were
students from the
university, and that copying the old styles very accurately was most
important. No changes were allowed ... and (he said) that this was the way Art was
always taught.
Later in a Papyrus 'shop/factory', I was shown numerous hand painted versions of the same scenes - all with authentication of the University to state that they were done by authorised artists. I was also shown how to tell the difference between hand painted work and mass produced transfers, and genuine papyrus and imitation plastic papyrus.
It is therefore highly likely that those online paintings were either these modern authorised copies or old authorised copies or even prints onto imitation 'papyrus paper'. Very difficult to tell the difference - even in the flesh, (so to speak), as papyrus does not age as other materials do.
Additional Reading - Annotated List
Ancient Egypt: Its Culture and History, J. E. Manchip White (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1970), reprint from a 1952 edition.
Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs, edited by Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel (Konemann). An amazing oversized book about everything you would want to know about Egypt and more.
Egyptian Decorative Art, W. M. Flinders Petrie (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1999) first published in 1895. Explanations of symbolic decoration with more than 200 illustrations.
Egyptian Designs, CD Rom and Book, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc.) 372 Permission-Free Designs.
Egyptian Designs, Polly Pinder (UK: Search Press, Ltd.). Design Source Book.
Patricia Cummings' writings focus primarily on antique textiles. She and her husband, Jim, provide this educational website, with its many pages about quilts, quilt history, embroidery, and other creative pursuits, for your enjoyment and enlightenment. www.quiltersmuse.com
Read another article with photos and text contributed by a reader. Egyptian Tents and Panels
Questions or comments? Please write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com
Copyright September 2004. Patricia Lynne Grace Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, New Hampshire. All Rights Reserved.