Through the Eras

FashionA CARPENTER’S CORRESPONDENCEINTRODUCTION: Clothing was an essential element in aperson’s pay if he or she was too poor to have servantswho could weave cloth. This letter written bya carpenter in the reign of Ramesses V (1150–1145B.C.E.) illustrates the way ordinary Egyptians thoughtof clothing as payment.The carpenter Maanakhtef greets the carpenterKenkikhopeshef: In life, prosperity and health and inthe favor of Amon-Re, King of the Gods! To wit:I have reached Hu (Hu-Sekhem). Both Amenmoseand Pahemnetjer as well have taken very goodcare of me in the way of bread, beer, ointment, andclothing. As soon as my letter reaches you, you shallsend me a wooden door as well as a cubit stick.Then shall Amon give to you. Farewell!SOURCE: Maanakhtef, “Letter to Kenkikhopeshef,” in Lettersfrom Ancient Egypt. Ed. Edward F. Wente (Atlanta:Scholars Press, 1990), 167.leaned against walls. An upper beam could rest on limestoneblocks set up against house walls. Such looms couldbe up to five meters (sixteen feet) high, allowing for longpieces of cloth. Each loom supported the four main pattersof weaving in ancient Egypt. The simplest form wasbalanced tabby, where there are an equal number of warpand weft threads per square centimeter or inch. TheEgyptians also wove faced tabby weaves. These weavesinclude either more warp (warp-faced) or more weft(weft-faced) threads per square centimeter or inch of fabric.They also made tapestry weaves, a process where thewarp and weft were different colors. Often in tapestry,a weft thread did not reach from one end of the warpto the other, but was interwoven in the place where thecolor was needed to form a pattern. Known tapestry fromtombs seems restricted to the royal sources. Though nota separate weave, the Egyptians also added loops ofthreads to the warp in a process called weft-looping. Theresulting cloth resembles modern towels. The Egyptiansused weft-looping to create delicate patterns.LINEN QUALITIES. The Egyptians had names forseveral different qualities of linen. An inscription in thetomb of Rekhmire, a vizier in the time of Thutmose III(r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.), refers to royal linen, bleachedlinen, fine linen, and close-woven linen, among othertypes. Some archaeological examples of linen also havesymbols on them in ink that Egyptologists believe referto the quality of the material. Differences in quality referto fineness of the cloth. Some examples from thetomb of Tutankhamun are nearly transparent. Thusartistic representations of “see-through” costumes arelikely to be accurate. Another quality that set certainlinens apart was color. By the First Dynasty (3100–2800B.C.E.) the Egyptians used brown thread to weave cloth.Excavators found red cloth fragments at Meidum, thesite of Sneferu’s pyramid (2625–2585 B.C.E.). In theNew Kingdom (1539–1075 B.C.E.) colored cloth is evenmore common. The Egyptians used both ocher and plantmaterial to make dye. Ocher is an iron oxide (the technicalname of rust) mixed with clay. Naturally occurringocher is yellow, but heating it transforms the color tored. Thus ocher could be used to produce either yellowor red cloth. A number of Egyptian plants could alsoproduce red dye. These include madder root (Rubia tinctorum),safflower (Carthamus tinctorum), henna (Lawsoniaalba or L. inermis), and alkanet (Anchusa tinctoria).Blue dyes also came from plants. The Egyptians probablymade it from woad (Isatis tinctorum), which is foundin Egypt. Yellow dye came from safflower and pomegranate(Punica granatum). Imported dyes found inEgyptian textiles include indigotin that creates blue, andalizarin that creates red. These dyes, much like the flaxplant, most likely originated in Syria, and the Egyptiansimported them. Thus textiles other than natural linencolor must have been relatively expensive and availableonly to the wealthy.TEXTILE WORKSHOPS. The vast majority of textileworkers in ancient Egypt were women. Representationof weavers, laundresses, and even the flax harvest depictwomen doing this work. Yet the supervisors were allmen. The exception to this division of labor was the maleweavers who operated the vertical looms. Women dominatedhorizontal weaving while men were responsiblefor the heavier vertical looms. Regardless of who workedthe looms, almost every sort of Egyptian home had spinningand weaving workshops. Small houses in the villageat Kahun in Middle Egypt, dating to the time ofSenwosret II (r. 1844–1837 B.C.E.) and later, were productionsites for small-scale spinning and weaving. Thelarger the household, the more women would be assignedto textile workshops. Nobles’ estates, royal palaces,harems, and temples (gods’ houses) also contained workshopsstaffed by large groups of women. Among the papyrithat refer to cloth are two examples from the MiddleKingdom (2008–1630 B.C.E.). In Cairo Papyrus 91061,a man named Nakht wrote to a man named Aau thatthe weavers had finished a bolt of cloth and that he had90 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)