Coptic Textile Design Work

Illustration: Silk textile design from Alexandria, 6th century.

Some of the most colourful and obviously charming textiles to come out of what we would see as Ancient Egypt were those produced during the early Christian era. These Coptic textiles, named after the Christians of Egypt, the Copts, have little that seem at first to be immediately identifiable as belonging to Egypt. Many of the designs and pattern work derive from sources closer to Greece, Rome and Byzantium than they do Thebes or Memphis. However, these textiles come from an era when Egypt was first a province of Rome and then of the Greek Byzantine Empire and so the outside influence is obviously much stronger than that of Egypt itself.

Illustration: Textile roundel design from Egypt, 6th century.

Many of the examples that we can see today were actually robbed from Christian cemeteries in the nineteenth century. Interestingly it was gold ornaments that were at first surreptitiously removed from graves and then sold in the markets in and around Cairo, while the textiles were cast aside. However, when a steady market was discovered for ancient textiles in Europe, much more care was taken and grave robbing took on a more professional and careful stance. Unfortunately, one of the habits of the local robbers was to divide spoils equally therefore, a number of textile pieces were cut up and divided between individuals. These pieces were not always sold together and so original design work was often scattered across Europe. Another form of dividing fabrics was to cut out interesting motifs, panels or medallions and sell them separately from the rest of the garment. While this made good business sense, it has left us with lots of interesting detailed work, but relatively few intact garments, and so it is sometimes difficult to put the work in the context of a costume.

Illustration: Woven tapestry panel of wool on a linen background, Egypt.

Much of the Coptic textile work that was sold by this method ended up in European museum collections. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London procured an increasingly large collection through the influence of the British in Egypt who occupied the country from 1882. The textile work robbed from graves was mostly in the form of clothing, much of it either woven or embroidered. Woven linen was the usual construction, with embroidered work often in wool, which was unfortunate as although the linen survived largely intact, the wool was prone to be attacked by insects and eaten. However, some fine examples were produced that still had their original colouring largely intact and it is these items that today make these Coptic pieces so valued and popular.

As said earlier, there is little to truly identify these pieces as immediately Egyptian, rather than any other Eastern Christian region. The motifs used are largely standard Christian ones and any ornamental text is usually in Greek. The decorative work identifies quite closely with that of mosaic pattern and design work found right across the later Roman Empire and Byzantium. However, there are small, but definite reminders of Egypt's past, in particular the use of a stylised lotus motif that is not always prominent in the decorative composition, but is often placed perhaps as a reminder of Egypt's past uniqueness.

Illustration: Tapestry inlaid into a linen cloth background, Egypt, 3rd or 4th century.

It is sometimes hard to imagine the sheer longevity of the Egyptian culture. Egypt was already old in the period of Classical Greece, and when it became a province of the Roman Empire, it had existed as an entity for over three thousand years. It is the power of Egypt's uniqueness that we are in awe of today. However, although there is an element of an unchanging and unbroken nature to the culture of Egypt, it is interesting how vibrant and young these textile pieces appear. It may of course have something to do with a culture adopting a relatively new religion, but it perhaps says much more about the lively human condition, that although a nation, empire or region may appear to be old and intransigent, the people who inhabit it are anything but, and the zest for creativity continues unabated.

Illustration: Woven tapestry and needlework star ornament, Egypt.

It is difficult to try to condone or quantify grave robbing in any form. The dead were not expecting to relinquish their grave goods and certainly were not expecting to be stripped of their clothing to fuel Europe's expanding Museum collections. However, the textile skills of these anonymous Egyptian weaving, tapestry and embroidery crafts people is so spectacular that an uncomfortable balance has been formed between extricating grave goods and applauding the techniques and skills base of this particular Egyptian phase of their culture.

Further reading links:
Looms and Textiles of the Copts: First Millennium Egyptian Textiles in the Carl Austin Reitz Collection of the California Academy of Science (Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences)
A Coptic Textile Fragment Egypt, circa 4th-7th Century AD Giclee Poster Print, 36x48
Coptic Textile Designs: 144 Egyptian Designs from the Early Christian Era (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Coptic Weaves: Notes on the Collection of Coptic Textiles in the Merseyside County Museums
Coptic textiles;
Coptic Textiles in the Brooklyn Museum
Late antique Coptic and Islamic textiles of Egypt
Coptic Fabrics
The Coptic Tapestry Albums: And the Archaeologist of Antinoe, Albert Gayet
Early Coptic textiles: Stanford Art Gallery, Stanford University, May 4 to May 25, 1969 (Stanford art book)
Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity
The Agpeya (Coptic Book of Hours)
Discoveries: Coptic Egypt : Christians of the Nile (Discoveries (Abrams))

Owen Jones and Egyptian Revival

Illustration: Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

To many it must seem at times as if there were so many revival themes that passed through the nineteenth century that there were far too many to even count. Many were short lived, while others lasted decades, and others still, saw more than one revival in the century. This, to some extent at least could be said to be true for the Egyptian Revival, which initially gained much public popularity and even excitement through the exploration of Napoleon and his army in Egypt in the first few years of the nineteenth century, but also saw continual waxing and waning of its fashion status throughout much of the Victorian era.

Illustration: Satellite map of Egypt.

Victorian Europe became entranced with the exotic and the eclectic in all its forms. Architecture and the decorative arts, as well as that of the fine arts, became imbued with all aspects of cultural fancy, both past and present. That much of this exoticism was the creation of the Victorian mind and had little if anything to do with original cultures was not important. The fact that elements of cultures could be transported across continents and time, added to exteriors and interior themes, sometimes seamlessly, at other times not, but at least with little or no hesitancy, says much about the confidence, if little else, of the Victorian psyche.

Although very few individuals were confident enough to stretch to an entirely ancient Egyptian themed interior, accessories were easily produced and Egyptian elements could be seen within textiles, ceramics, furniture, jewellery, metal and glass. Much of this interest was tied in with the ongoing rediscovery, through archaeology, of ancient Egypt.

Illustration: Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

The original Egyptian culture lasted well over three thousand years, so there was an obvious dearth of cultural and decorative evidence available for exploration and exploitation. As the century progressed ancient Egypt was unravelled as a culture that seemed so much more complex, exotic and utterly alien to the relatively juvenile nations and populations of Europe. Large and small artefacts were shipped to Europe from Egypt during much of the nineteenth century. They occupied not only museum collections, but could also be seen as new monuments in parks and other public areas. Some were used as highlights reflecting the new found international and colonial strength of Europe. Along with copious detailed drawings and illustrations, usually produced in site in Egypt, there was enough information to keep the Egyptian Revival healthy fuelling its development in order to style itself across the century.

Illustration: Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

Owen Jones in his The Grammar of Ornament, published in 1856, obviously felt comfortable and confident enough to produce a chapter on Egyptian Ornament that contained no less than nine full colour plates on the subject. This puts the number of plates on a par with the Indian, Medieval and Renaissance chapters. The plates gave ample examples of the unique colour and decoration perspective of ancient Egypt, and could be used by any student or designer to develop for a range of disciplines. Although Jones book was by no means the only example of its kind available, it was a high profile example and goes someway into explaining its continued popularity today.

As to ancient Egypt itself, it captivated and mesmerised its contemporary rivals and neighbours alike. It was considered ancient, exotic and singular by the Romans, and its eventual rediscovery by modern Europeans imbued it with yet another rejuvenation. It has influenced styles and themes throughout the following twentieth century, and in our own century is perhaps even more popular still. Exhibitions and museum collections are guaranteed good business if there is the possibility of an ancient Egyptian theme.

Illustration: Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

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The Victorian Egyptian revival, as in all revivals can never be seen in isolation. There are always connections, influences and inspirations in all these decorative revival styles. It is as well to be aware of this when viewing Jones The Grammar of Ornament. Although his book is not a slave to revivals or fashion, he was aware of underlying interests and fascinations within his own culture. To explain and quantify the cultures that fuelled those fascinations is at the root, at least partially, of The Grammar of Ornament.

Further reading links:The Egyptian Revival: Ancient Egypt as the Inspiration for Design Motifs in the West
Anubis Egyptian Revival Sculptural Clock
Egyptian Revival Jewelry and Design
14Kt Yellow Gold Egyptian Revival Amethyst Ring
Egyptian Maiden Torch Table Lamp/light New
Egyptomania: The Egyptian Revival : A Recurring Theme in the History of Taste
A Pair of Egyptian Revival Carved Fruitwood and Inlaid Side Chairs, English, Circa 1880 Giclee Poster Print, 18x24
Egyptian Revival in Bohemia (Czech Institute Monographs)
Egyptian Revival
The Revival Styles in American Memorial Art

Ancient Egyptian Decoration as seen by Owen Jones

Illustration: Ancient Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

All of these images are taken from The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones, which was published in 1856. Therefore we are seeing Ancient Egyptian design, ornamentation and decoration through the eyes of a mid-nineteenth century Englishman and so we should perhaps be cautious as to what conclusions Jones draws as to the place that Egypt holds in the history of decoration.

However, much of what he writes does still hold true as far as the facts concerning decoration are concerned. Jones was in awe at the staggering antiquity and longevity of the style. After all Egypt as a culture and as an entity, was ancient when Rome was still in its youth. Above all he was in awe of the civilization's dogged continuity despite all outside pressures, to maintain an integrity and individuality of purpose that makes the culture of Ancient Egypt so singular to us today.

Illustration: Ancient Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

Much of Ancient Egyptian decoration and ornamentation was derived from the flora and fauna that was often peculiar to the Nile. Much of their design and pattern work was also relatively insular and was very often identified only with Egypt and the Nile and on the whole, was not part of a larger regional culture.

Jones made the acute observation that the flora and fauna that the Egyptians portrayed in their decorative work, although representational, was not such that it reached the point whereby a lotus for example, could be plucked. There was, he noted, no attempt through shading or any other artistic style, to produce the effect of three-dimensions. The representational aspect of the decorative work was always held in a subservient position, so that it was a tool to aid decoration not the other way around.

Ultimately, it was pattern and colour that became the specific items that made the Ancient Egyptian style what it was. Whether it was to be used within the context of internal or external architecture, furniture and other domestic items, or indeed personal adornment, pattern and colour were paramount.

Illustration: Ancient Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

Jones also observed that there was little change within the overall style of decoration within Ancient Egypt, although he did note that the older the culture got and the weaker it became, the less defined and correct the style. This could well have been due to the influence of outside elements that took advantage of Egypt in its later stages when it had lost much of its power and status and was at the mercy of Greek and Roman merchants and traders who tended to set the agenda as far as tastes and styles were concerned. However, in its earlier and more robust persona Jones saw the unchanging nature of Egyptian culture, and through that its national decorative style, not as one of weakness as in that of a static and unbending culture, but more that of one that was immune to the shallow requirements of a culture led by fashion and short term gratification. This was often noted in the mid-nineteenth centuryas being one of the major criticisms of the Roman Empire, which was taken as a reflection of his own Victorian culture, but could equally be seen as a reflection of our own twenty first century obsession with short-term novelty fuelled by fashion.

Illustration: Ancient Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

Many of Jones decorative examples of Ancient Egyptian work were copied from burial tombs and this is where we get many of our preconceptions of Egypt being a culture that was obsessed with the dead. However, these images do not portray a funereal style of gloom and despondency, but in fact one of a culture that revelled in beauty, colour, texture, light, music and dance. It was because life in Egypt was so vibrant and vital, that many wished to carry that life forward into the next world. By producing the vibrant colours and pattern work that was so much a part of the burial decoration theme, along with powerful snapshots of life lived along the Nile, it seemed as if the culture was trying to animate this zest for life in order to encourage it into lasting beyond the grave. So in fact Egypt could be seen as a culture that wanted to prolong the good and full life that they believed they were unique in possessing, by their occupancy of Egypt and the Nile and that rather than a culture that embraced death and all its formal rhetoric and ritual, they wanted to keep what they had for eternity.

 Illustration: Ancient Egyptian Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

Jones did a great service in helping to open the Victorian mind to the perception of Egypt as one of great contrasts of colour and pattern, one that emphasised the vitality of life and living, through the range of plates that he illustrated in The Grammar of Ornament. Rather than seeing Ancient Egypt as a land and culture that was coloured by the different shades of sand and stone, he helped propel Egypt into the modern Victorian world, where the Egyptian style was to see a revival, not always accurately admittedly, but again part of the living world rather than that of the dead.

Further reading links:

The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates from the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Design (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
The Grammar of Ornament
Grammar of Ornament: A Monumental Work of Art
Egyptian Wall Painting
Decoration In Egyptian Tombs (Studies in Egyptian Archeology)
Memoranda, Illustrative of the Tombs and Sepulchral Decorations of Egyptians
Egyptian Wall Paintings
Egyptian Revival Jewelry and Design
Egyptian Designs (International Design Library)
Ancient Egyptian Designs (British Museum Pattern Books)
Egyptian decorative art: A course of lectures delivered at the Royal institution
Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian costumes and decorations
Ancient Egyptian Designs for Artists and Craftspeople (Dover Pictorial Archives)