Egypt with its 7,000-year history has influenced many subsequent cultures, particularly in the areas of art and design. The fertile Nile Valley was one of the birthplaces of the art of weaving and Egypt’s dry climate has preserved many of its ancient textiles, some from as long ago as 3000 BC. Two French museums, one in Paris and the other in Rouen, are presenting special exhibits this fall and winter on Egypt’s weaving tradition. Paris’ Arab World Institute offers "Weavers and Dyers of Egypt: Textiles from the Bouvier Collection." In Rouen, the Museum of Antiquities presents "Egypt, the Thread of History: Pharaonic, Coptic, and Islamic Textiles."
The exhibit in Paris highlights the techniques and talents of ancient, medieval, and modern artisans and places their works in its proper cultural context. Linen and wool have been produced and woven in Egypt since ancient times.
Coptic Christians further developed the craft of weaving and dying during the Roman and Byzantine Periods, the first 600 years of the Common Era.
At the time of the Arab conquest in 641, Egypt was the greatest producer of fabrics in the entire Mediterranean.
In the Nile Delta, the cities of Damietta, Tinnis and Dabiq specialized in linen while in the south, Fayoum was the center of wool weaving. As Egypt was incorporated into the Islamic world, the Nile Valley artisans received cotton from Syria, silk from Persia, and dyes from India. Gold from Ghana was woven into gold thread for luxury items.
Fine fabrics became a prime industry in the Muslim world.
Egyptian textiles from the Islamic period were at their most spectacular under the reign of the Fatimids (969-1171).
Native weaving techniques, influenced by the skills of Christian tapestry artisans, produced delicate masterpieces of silk, linen with precious gold and silver threads. The earliest designs used in Egyptian textiles shared a common source with the mosaics of late antiquity: Greek and Roman mythology along with such themes as the Garden of Eden.
Idyllic scenes of life along the Nile portrayed a prosperous culture in full bloom. Arab domination introduced more ornate Islamic and Eastern motifs such as labyrinths, flowering trees and Arabic calligraphy. Human figures became schematic or disappeared entirely. Plain backgrounds were replaced by finely woven patterns and designs.
Egyptian weaving is further explored in the Rouen exhibition; Rouen, by the way, is in Normandy, a pleasant two-hour trip from Paris. A short walk from the medieval center of Rouen, with its half-timbered houses and masterpieces of Gothic architecture, is the museum housing the exhibit. It goes a step farther than its Parisian counterpart in the sense that it is a presentation not simply of the art work, but of Egyptian history and daily life through its textiles. Two hundred extraordinary and varied items are featured, many being seen for the first time in France. The Rouen exhibition opens with an outline of Egypt’s long history. The pieces are presented in chronological order, beginning with fabric bands used in the ancient Egyptian mummification process that were discovered and brought back to Europe by a 19th-century French explorer. Successive eras in Egyptian history, from the Pharaonic Period through the Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Mameluke and Ottoman eras, and up to the present day, are illustrated with authentic garments and weavings. Textiles have been important in the lives of Egyptians since the days of the Pharaohs, and their varied aspects and uses are divided into seven categories: Materials and techniques, daily life, funeral rites, religious rites, rank and prestige, cultural and commercial exchanges and the cult of relics. The works are very impressive and have been selected carefully from a wide variety of museums and collections in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.
It is especially interesting to trace the development of different design influences (Greek, Persian) in the woven items of each section. One of the most striking works is a 16th-century Mameluke carpet whose vibrant colors seem to glow.
A short film explains the work of contemporary archaeologists in Egypt. The museum also sponsors workshops for adults and other activities to introduce children to textiles and the culture that produced them.
Both exhibits pay homage to an extraordinary tradition of artistry that has flourished for more than 5,000 years in Egypt and has greatly enriched world culture.
The two exhibitions continue through January 2003.
For a virtual visit to "Weavers and Dyers of Egypt," please consult www.imarabe.org/temp/expo/tisserands.html, and for information on "Egypt, the Thread of History," go to www.culture.fr/culture/arts2000/manifs/m_158486.html.
— 14 November 2002
