Interior Design

of Egypt
Shah Rukh Khan
Roll # 05
History

• The Egyptians formed the first of the great classical civilizations.

•While most of Europe was still in

the Stone Age, the Egyptians
were building palaces, studying
mathematics and writing on
papyrus.

• They were great builders and

great artists, drawing the
inspiration for their art from
nature.

•The presence of stools, chests,

footrests, small cabinets,
small tables, and even vase
stands, points to a fairly high level of organization in living arrangements
Egyptian House
▪ There was a huge difference in living standards between the rich and the poor.

▪ Ancient Egyptian homes of the poor consisted of a living room, a sleeping room and a kitchen,
with perhaps one or two cellars for storage.

▪ These were built with sun-dried bricks. The average house consisted of four rooms.

▪ A front room leading from the street, which may have been used as a meeting place for
guests.

▪ A living room where the household shrine was situated. The family would worship their
personal gods or ancestors here.

▪ A living space, probably used as a sleeping area, with a staircase to a flat roof or upper floor.

▪ A kitchen at the rear of the house, which was open to the sky to prevent the room from filling
with smoke.

▪ Cellars underneath the rear rooms were used as storage for food.

▪ Houses were small so each room was multi-purpose.

Rich Houses

• The houses of the elite, described as

mansions, followed a similar layout to the
small houses, although they consisted of
a number of small suites of rooms joined
by interlinking corridors. These gave the
elite owners the privilege of separating
the public from the private family
quarters.
• Many mansions also contained:
• An audience chamber in which to greet
visitors.
• An office in which to conduct business.
• A bathroom with built-in shower area.
• The mansions were run like estates. In addition to the owner and his family, a plethora of
employees, administrators,
and servants lived in these larger homes.
Furniture
• PATRICIAN:
• Only the royal and wealthy people used
furniture.

• RANGE:
• Stools, chairs ,tables , beds and chests.

• VISUAL IMPACT:
• Highly decorative with graphic elements.

• SYMBOLIC PRESENTATION:
• Used symbols especially ceremonial as inlays
or painting on the furniture.

• MATERIAL:
• Ebony wood was mostly used , it was
imported at great expense.

• TECHNICAL:
• Excellent craftsmanship and used plain butt
joint.
Old Kingdom Furniture
▪ Furniture from this period was divided into two groups:

▪ platform pieces such as benches, chairs, tables, beds, couches,

and stools;, and boxes such as chests and cupboards.

▪ There was some surface ornamentation in the form of gilding

and carving.

▪ Old Kingdom furniture relied on shape, line, proportion, and

texture for its decorative effect.

▪ Thrones and chairs featured carved lion-paw feet, beds were

decorated with animal skins and colorful mats,.

▪ There were stools, chests, footrests, small cabinets, small

tables, and even vase stands.

▪ Four legged stools with animal shaped legs and sturdy square
seats made from concave wood or woven or braided rushes
were important items of the time.

▪ In the second half of the Old Kingdom, chairs with arms and
backs began appearing.

▪ Egyptian furniture designs of this age incorporated metal work

and inlay, as well as relief carving, and gilding.
Middle Kingdom Furniture

• The Middle Kingdom was further

development of earlier trends, with a marked
sophistication evident. Decorative effects such
as inlay, paint, gilt, and veneer became
prominent. Popular design motifs included
figures of sacred animals such as cow heads,
lion heads, and hippopotamuses.
New Kingdom Furniture

• The furniture produced during this period is on a luxurious scale, and is also evidence of
greater woodworking skill.
• The New Kingdom saw the Egyptians extend their empire to new lands from Nubia to
the Euphrates River and this contact with foreign cultures seems to have had its effect
on furnishings.
• In wealthy Egyptian homes chairs
appear in greater abundance.
• Folding stools were richly painted
in bright colors. Small, low tables
were often woven from rush.
Egyptian Chairs

• Gold sheathing, ivory inlays, intricate

marquetry, inset jewels and fine stones were
used to decorate ancient furniture that was
often carved to represent animal forms.
• Chairs sometimes had feet in the shape of
lion & paws or crocodile feet.
• High backed chairs are seen in many
paintings. These were supplemented with
cushions for comfort.
• Commonly incorporated carvings of flowers,
animals or birds.
Egyptian Stools
• Stools were the most common items of
furniture in Egyptian homes.
• It was the Egyptians who invented the
folding stool.
• Since these were much used by army
commanders in the field, they became a
status symbol, and were often heavily carved
and decorated.
• Stools commonly had woven rush seats.
Egyptian Beds, Headrests

• They are among the most intriguing of furniture

items because of their structure.
• They were gently inclined so that the sleeper
head was elevated, and had a footrest.
• A footboard ensured that the sleeper would not
slip off in the middle of the night.
• Almost all beds featured legs in the form of
animal legs, ranging from heavy bull’s legs to
gazelle-like forms with hooves and claw.
• The mattress was usually made of wooden
slats, plaited string, or reeds, which then held
woolen cushions or some other soft material.
• Sheets were made of linen.
Egyptian Chests, boxes

• Chests, boxes and cabinets formed an

important part of Egyptian bedroom
furnishings.
• These were highly decorated and were
designed for many different purposes: large
chests for storing household items and linen.
• Small compartmentalized ones for storing
cosmetics, and miniature chests with sliding
lids and drawers made to hold jewelry.
Egyptian Tables

• Tables were also an important item of

Egyptian furniture.
• They were used for eating, writing and
playing games.
• They were usually low and easily moveable.
• In many cases, the tops were decorated with
marquetry or with inlaid ivory.
• Carved legs, gold sheathing and ivory inlays
were used to decorate table legs.
Egyptian Lamps

• There were lamps for lighting the dark, generally shallow pottery
containers filled with oil in which a wick was floating.
Color Schemes
• The roots of color technology trace back to Ancient Egypt, where visionary
chemists concocted recipes for synthetic pigments. Color (Ancient Egyptian
name 'iwen') was an essential part of life in ancient Egypt, adding deeper
meaning to everything the people created. Paintings, clothing, books, jewelry,
and architecture were all imbued with colorful symbolism.
• The ancient Egyptian palette was formed around six main color groups:
Green (wadj)
Red (desher)
Blue (irtyu or khesbedj)
Yellow (khenet or kenit)
White (hedj or shesep)
Black (kem)
Green (wadj)

• The word Wadj (green) also means "to

flourish" or "to be healthy". The hieroglyph
represented the papyrus plant as well as the
green stone malachite (wadj). The color green
represented vegetation, new life and fertility.
In an interesting parallel with modern
terminology, actions which preserved the
fertility of the land or promoted life were
described as "green". Earth and fertility gods
such as Geb and Osiris are depicted with green
skin, indicating their power to encourage the
growth of vegetation. However, the ancient
Egyptians recognized the cycle of growth and
decay and so green was also associated with
death and the power of resurrection.
Red (desher)

• Red was a powerful color because of its association with blood, in particular the
protective power of the blood of Isis.
•Red could represent life. In Egyptian art men were generally depicted with red skin,
indicating their vitality and during celebrations people would paint their bodies with
red ocre and wear carnelian.
Blue (irtyu or khesbedj)

• In ancient Egypt blue (irtyu) was the color of the heavens and hence represented the
universe. Many temples, sarcophagi and burial vaults have a deep blue roof speckled
with tiny yellow stars.
•As blue is also the color of water and hence the color of the Nile and the primeval
waters of chaos (known as Nun). As a result the color blue was associated with
fertility, rebirth and the power of creation. Blue glass or faience hippopotami were a
popular symbols of the Nile and the creator god Amun was often depicted with a blue
face.
Yellow (khenet or kenit)

• In ancient Egypt yellow (khenet, kenit) represented that which was eternal and
indestructible, and was closely associated with gold (nebu or nebw) and the sun.
• Gold was thought to be the substance which formed the skin of the gods and
numerous statues of the gods were either made of gold or covered with gold leaf and
the skin of the god was often painted gold in two dimensional images.
White (hedj or shesep)

• In ancient Egyptian art white represented purity and omnipotence. Many sacred
animals (hippo, oxen and cows) were white. White clothing was worn during religious
rituals and to "wear white sandals" was to be a priest. Many symbolic religious objects
and tools were made of white alabaster, such as offering and libation vessels, canopic
jars and even the embalming table.
• White was also seen as the opposite of red, because of the
latter's association with rage and chaos, and so the two were
often paired to represent completeness. The two crowns
which were combined to form the dual crown were the white
crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt.
Black (kem)

• The color black represented death and the afterlife to the ancient
Egyptians. Osiris was given the epithet "the black one" because he was the king of the
netherworld and both he and Anubis (the god of embalming) were portrayed with
black faces.
Thank You!