INTERIOR & FURNITURE

DESIGN IN EGYPT

PRESENTATION BY:
JAIKESHAV MISHRA
Background Picture: Tomb of Ramesses VI, Valley of the Kings, Egypt
EGYPT ON WORLD MAP:
ANCIENT EGYPT:
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River. Ancient
Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology).

Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power in the New Kingdom, ruling much of Nubia and a sizable portion of the Near
East, after which it entered a period of slow decline. During the course of its history Egypt was invaded or conquered by a
number of foreign powers, including the Hyksos, the Libyans, the Nubians, the Assyrians, the Achaemenid Persians, and
the Macedonians under the command of Alexander the Great. The Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom, formed in the aftermath of
Alexander's death, ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman
province.The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile
River valley for agriculture.

The ancient Egyptians were amongst the first truly complex settled civilizations in the world. This meant that they were
amongst the first to make a lot of things…like furniture. The Egyptians built permanent homes and found new ways to fill
their lives with both useful and decorative items.
Most furniture was made of decomposable materials, like wood or reeds, but much has survived thanks to the extremely
dry climate. Since the Egyptians believed the dead needed items for their daily lives, furniture was included in tombs,
preserved by the same conditions that helped mummify their dead.
 EGYPT

1.INTERIOR DESIGN

1A.EGYPTIAN TEMPLES
1B.EGYPTIAN TOMBS
1C.EGYPTIAN HOUSES

2.FURNITURE DESIGN
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLES:
The ancient Egyptians believed that temples were the homes of the gods and goddesses. Every temple was dedicated to a
god or goddess and he or she was worshipped there by the temple priests and the pharaoh. Due to the scarcity of
wood, the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud brick and stone, mainly
limestone, but also sandstone and granite in considerable quantities. The largest temple buildings were made of stone so
that they would last forever.

Massive Stone walls with interior colonnade at the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt.
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLES:
Exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and piers, were covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial frescoes and
carvings painted in brilliant colors. Many motifs of Egyptian ornamentation are symbolic, such as the scarab, or sacred
beetle, the solar disk, and the vulture. Other common motifs include palm leaves, the papyrus plant, and the buds and
flowers of the lotus. Hieroglyphs were inscribed for decorative purposes as well as to record historic events or spells. In
addition, these pictorial frescoes and carvings allow us to understand how the Ancient Egyptians lived, statuses, wars that
were fought and their beliefs.

Frescoes on the wall of Temple of

Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari, Egypt
showing God Anubis with gifts.
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLES:

Bas-relief work in stone on Temple Walls.

INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLES:

The faience (glazed ceramic earthenware) tile

(above) is a reconstruction of wall decoration
fragments found at the Temple of Malkata in
stacks at the southwest corner.. The gold spirals
here were painted with gold paint, whereas the
originals would have probably been covered by
gold foil. Notably, similar patterns are found in
the Pharaoh's Palace.
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLES:
Exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and piers, were covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial frescoes and
carvings painted in brilliant colors. Many motifs of Egyptian ornamentation are symbolic, such as the scarab, or sacred
beetle, the solar disk, and the vulture. Other common motifs include palm leaves, the papyrus plant, and the buds and
flowers of the lotus. Hieroglyphs were inscribed for decorative purposes as well as to record historic events or spells. In
addition, these pictorial frescoes and carvings allow us to understand how the Ancient Egyptians lived, statuses, wars that
were fought and their beliefs.
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TOMBS:
The paintings on the tomb walls and the design of the structure are significant not only because of the incredible
craftsmanship that these works display but also because of the historical information that these artifacts reveal.

Frescoes on walls & ceiling depicting stories of the Ancient Kingdom.

INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TOMBS:

Stone Etching work on walls , Frescoes on ceiling.

INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN TOMBS:

Frescoes on walls & ceiling.

INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN HOUSES:
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN HOUSES:
A commonality among houses of all classes was the use of the tripartite plan, which included reception rooms, a central
hall or living room, and the private area. Of these functional areas, the ceiling of the central hall was typically higher than
that of adjacent rooms. This allowed the incorporation of windows placed high in the wall, termed clerestory windows;
since the roof level of this central hall rose above contiguous roof surfaces, the relative position of a clerestory window
was between two roof levels. This allowed light to penetrate the innermost spaces and provided ventilation to counter
the intensity of heat from the very brilliant sun. Directed to capture the prevailing breeze, ventilators placed on the roof
were another means by which light and air could enter the house.
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN HOUSES:

The craftsman's residence, a
one-story structure of 75 square
meters, was organized on a
longitudinal axis wherein each
room opened directly from the
preceding space. The bedroom
was flanked by one small
corridor leading from the central
hall to the. Beginning with the
reception room, which was
below street level, each
rectangular space was ascended
by one or two steps; therefore,
the rooms with the lowest
ceilings were the bedroom and
kitchen. Based on an analysis of
ruins, as well as other
documentary evidence, it has
been concluded that changes in
both floor and ceiling levels were
typical. The ceiling of the central
hall rose above adjacent rooms.
In this plan, starting with the
reception room, each room is
raised by one or two steps
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN HOUSES:
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN HOUSES:
Rooms of small dwellings had more functional demands than larger residences and typically were more economical in
terms of space and materials. While the craftsman's residence may be representative of spatial arrangements for this
type of house, the activities which took place in each space would have varied from house to house. The reception room
sometimes housed animals, served as a work room for craft activities, or functioned as a food preparation area. This
room also at times contained a platform used as an altar to the god Bes. In the adjacent central or main hall, primary
living activities of the household took place. This main hall was usually the loftiest space in a dwelling and, depending on
its size, had one or more columns.
INTERIOR DESIGN IN EGYPTIAN HOUSES:
A built-in dais was often used as a divan on which mats or rugs were placed. The part religion played in the lives of
Egyptians in this period is attested to by the fact that, here too, a stela served as a commemorative shrine in the false
door. The kitchen at the rear of the house was provided with an oven and other food preparation equipment. Leading
from here were stairways giving access to a cellar for storage and to the roof for outdoor activities or for storage; in some
small residences the stairway originated in the reception room.
FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT
FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT:
The ancient Egyptians had sophisticated furniture for their time period; tomb paintings show Egyptians using chairs,
tables, couches, chests, stools, and beds. In fact, some well-preserved pieces of ancient Egyptian furniture have been
recovered from tombs of Egyptian queens, Pharaohs, and other wealthy ancient Egyptians, and can be seen today in
museums. There was a big difference between the furniture of peasants and the wealthy and it is largely due to the
burial rituals of the wealthy that pieces of furniture from ancient Egypt have been preserved and can be seen today.

Furniture By Class

Furniture of the Royal Kingdom Furniture of the Working Class

FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT:
Most ordinary Egyptians did not have a lot of furniture; the pieces they did have were very simple, and they made the
pieces themselves. The most common piece of furniture was a three or four legged low stool covered by leather or wool.
The cheapest stools had frames made of reeds and had seats made of woven rushes like the wicker furniture of today.
Stools with three flared legs and a shaped wooden seat were commonly used by artisans. Most of the people in the
lower classes had chests and baskets to hold their few belongings. Wood was expensive, so the chests were often made
of reeds. Tables were not common, not even among the wealthier scribes-they usually squatted on the floor and used a
wooden board to write on. Even meal preparation was done on the floor. People sat on the ground on reed mats, pillows
or on low stools. Common Egyptians slept on mattresses of wool, straw, reed mats, or the floor.
In contrast, the nobility and royalty of ancient Egypt had much more furniture, and the pieces were of much higher
quality and made by artisans. Four legged wooden stools were used by the wealthy as well as the poor, but the stools of
the wealthy were much nicer. Stools of the wealthy often had seats made from animal skins, woven leather strips, or
plant materials. Some were painted and featured carved animal legs. Ancient Egyptians also used folding stools; one of
the most stunning examples of a folding stool is the one found in Tutankhamun's tomb. There are two sets of legs in x
shapes that fold. The legs and seat are made of wood and painted in black and white to imitate animal skin. The legs of
the stool are painted to look like duck heads.

Tutankhamun’s Folding Stool

FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT:
FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT:

Chair of King Tutankhamun with legs depicting animal leg . The chair is made in Pure Gold embedded
with precious stones.
FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT:

Foldable Stool of Pharaoh.

Ornamental Stool decoarted with

Tutankhamun Head on legs.
Lamp stool of King Rameses 4. Head Rest.
FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT:

Chest: Storage Furniture in Ancient Egypt

FURNITURE DESIGN IN EGYPT:

Funerary Bed made in Gold.

Chaise Bed of Tutankhamun.

INTERIOR DESIGN IN MODERN EGYPT:
INTERIOR DESIGN IN MODERN EGYPT:
INTERIOR DESIGN IN MODERN EGYPT:
INTERIOR DESIGN IN MODERN EGYPT: