Ephemeral Fabrics From Egypt And The Aegean:
Before And After Tutankhamun
Egyptian gods, goddesses, and pharaohs and Minoan maidens and men wear garments of extraordinary patterned fabrics that now exist only in Late Bronze Age Aegean frescoes and Egyptian art. Scholars have questioned if the fabrics were imaginary and -- if not -- what materials and methods were used to form the color-rich cloth? Art and archaeology merge in my quest to answer that at the loom. Following ancient weaving techniques, inspired and informed by the rare patterned pieces of cloth and clothing that I have studied from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, I have recreated these fabrics. I have been researching, weaving, and writing on a long-range ‘experimental archaeology’ project to analyze and weave the patterned textiles that appear in the paintings. Over ninety handwoven samples of the patterned fabrics were woven for the study and a series of articles on the project have been published in the Complex Weavers Journal.
Complex Weavers Journal
“Fashion Fit for a Pharaoh: The Tunic of Tutankhamun.” Issue 101. February 2013.1-3.
“Fabric Patterns Found in Minoan Frescoes.”. Issue 107. February 2015. 21-29.
“Fabric Patterns Found in Minoan Frescoes from Crete.” Issue 108. June 2015. 21-24.
“Minoan Fabric Patterns Found in Egyptian Tomb Paintings.” Issue 109. Oct. 2015.10-19.
“Fabric Patterns Found in Royal New Kingdom Tomb Paintings: The Tomb of Tuthmosis IV.” Issue 111. June 2016. 17
“Fabrics Patterns found in Royal New Kingdom Tomb Paintings: The Tomb of Amenhotep III.” Issue 112. October 2016. 23-38.
“Fabric Patterns Found in Royal Paintings from The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties of Egypt Issue 114. 17-28.
“Fabric Patterns Found in Royal New Kingdom Tomb Paintings: The Tomb of Seti I”. Issue 115. Fall 2017. 23-38.
“Fabric Patterns Found in New Kingdom Tomb Paintings: The Temples and Tombs of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari.” Issue. 117. June 2018. 38-52.
“Fabric Patterns Found in New Kingdom Tomb Paintings: The Last Pharaohs of the NIneteenth Dynasty.” June 2019.
Fabric Patterns Found in a Middle Kingdom Tomb Painting: The Tomb of Khnumhotep II: Fall 2019.
“Golden and Gilded Tutankhamun Treasures with Patterned Fabrics.” June, 2021
“Fabric Patterns Found in Paintings from Non-royal Tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty.” Forthcoming. 2021
“Ephemeral Fabrics Found in Egyptian Art from Ramesses the Great to the Ptolemaic Rulers ” Forthcoming 2021.
