Historical Background

The Nile is a seasonal river that overflows its bank yearly to create a fertile valley The Ancient Egyptians lived in the fertile valley and grew their crops They buried their dead in the desert

 With their eyes and minds on eternity, the Egyptians built a society that remained constant for nearly 3000 years. Many of their monuments still attest to that permanence. Ancient eyes of monumental sculptures and the Sphinx still stare at us through the centuries.
The word "sphinx", which means 'strangler', was first given by the Greeks to a fabulous creature which had the head of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. In Egypt, there are numerous sphinxes, usually with the head of a king wearing his headdress and the body of a lion.

 The history of ancient Egypt started with the land divided into upper and lower Egypt The two regions were frequently at war with each other Around 3000 BC, King Menes united the two into a single nation Unification brought about peace that led to the development of ancient Egyptian Civilization

The history of ancient Egypt is divided into periods based on ruling dynasties
Seven periods can be identified; 4500 to 2000 BC Early Dynastic 2350 2200 BC Old Kingdom 2000-1600 BC First Intermediate period 1600 1717 BC Middle Kingdom 1350 612 BC Second Intermediate Period 612 539 BC New Kingdom 539 330 BC Greek-Roman Period

Social Characteristics & Beliefs

At the center of ancient Egyptian civilization was a strong central government headed by pharaohs The pharaohs provided Stability and a unified sense of purpose

Religion
Ancient Egyptians were a religious people

They believed in many

Gods Different symbols were used to represent the Gods and temples were built and dedicated to them The pharaohs were also held as living Gods

Religion
Egyptians also believed in life after death They believed that when they die, their souls called Ka would live in them for ever For the Ka to live, it needed either the body of the dead person or a copy of it in the form a statue The Ka will return each night to the body or statue If both the body and statue are destroyed, then the Ka would die

Mummification
To ensure the availability of a body to the ka of a dead person, the Egyptians developed a process of preservation called mummification The process involves cutting open the body and removing all the internal organs and brain

Ha'py watched over the lungs. He had the head of a baboon. Imset protected the liver. He had the head of a human.

Qebehsenuef looked over the intestines. He had the head of a falcon. Duamutef looked after the stomach. He had the head of a jackal.

Mummification
The body is then packed in natronto dry it out
It is then soaked in oil to preserve it Next it is wrapped in a special cloth called mummy cloth The mummy is then coated with wax and a face painted onto its wrapped head The mummification of a pharaoh took a period of 72 days Once mummification is finished, burial ceremonies are performed and the body is ready for burial

Architectural Ideas
Ancient Egyptians viewed earthly dwellings as temporary They paid little attention to house construction The tomb was seen as a permanent dwelling for the afterlife Tremendous effort was exerted in tomb construction The mummified dead body was buried in a stone box called sarcophagus in the tomb They believed that a dead person needs all his worldly goods The tomb was usually packed with all the treasures of a dead person If anything cannot be provided, it is painted on the walls of the tomb

Architecture of the Civilization

During the old Kingdom, the pharaoh and his court lived in Memphis When they died they were buried at the Necropolis at Saqqara The earthly dwelling of the ancient Egyptians was seen as temporary and the tomb as a permanent dwelling Houses were built of temporary materials to last for a life time

 Tombs were most outstanding architectural element of the period Tombs also serve as the focus for the worship of the dead The Tomb evolved during the old kingdom from the Mastaba, through the stepped pyramid to the renown ancient Egyptian pyramid

Mastaba
The earliest method of burial in ancient Egypt was in shallow pits in the desert The desert dried the bodies and preserved them When animals preyed on bodies, the people dug deeper In the end they built a benchlike structure over graves to create first burial structure called Mastaba

 The name mastaba is derived from podiums found in the front of traditional houses In the Old Kingdom, rich and noble person built mastaba for their burial in the city of the dead Above ground the Mastaba is a large bench of sun-baked bricks rising 9 meters high It had a flat top and slanting walls The earliest royal tombs were decorated with painted patterns in brilliant colors

 Internally, a mastaba consist of three parts-a burial chamber, a serdaband a chapel The burial chamber was located 30 feet below ground It was connected to burial chamber above ground through a shaft The burial chamber is the place for the burial of the dead person

 In the chamber is found the sarcophagus where the dead body was placed The burial chamber is packed with all the necessary things needed in the after life After burial, the shaft to the burial chamber is sealed

 Egyptians believe that the Ka must return to the body or a copy of it each night If both body and statue are destroyed, the ka would die The chapel is where the ka is supposed to live for ever It is a colorful room meant to deceive the gods into letting the ka enter the next world Had a false door leading to the land of the dead Some mastabas had fence walls, and chambers for burial of servants Mastaba served as an embryo for the evolution of the pyramid

Stepped Pyramid
The stepped pyramid is the intermediate step between mastaba and geometric pyramid Stepped pyramid was 200 feet high with 6 giant steps The burial chamber is entered from the north side and is 92 feet down On either side of the chamber are store rooms for the kings treasures

 The fence wall of the funeral complex has a breaking pattern of about 200 projections and recessions Fourteen of these were larger than the others and 13 out of the fourteen had false doors The false doors were for the use of the pharaohs ka

The material of the Sphinx is the limestone bedrock of what geologists call the Muqqatam Formation, which originated fifty million years ago from sediments deposited at the bottom of sea waters that engulfed northeast Africa during the Middle Eocene period. There was a shoal and coral reef that grew over the southern slope of the embankment. Carbonate mud deposited in the lagoon petrified into the layers from which the ancient builders, some fifty million years later, carved out the Great Sphinx.

some fifty million years later, Great Sphinx was carved out. To do so, they trenched out a deep, U-shaped ditch that isolated a huge rectangular bedrock block for carving the Sphinx. This enclosure is deepest immediately around the body, with a shelf at the rear of the monument where it was left unfinished and a shallower extension to the north where important archaeological finds have been made.

Khafre

Khafre

 Egyptologists have long believed that the head of the Great Sphinx was intended to be a likeness of the pharaoh Khafre because of the proposed dates of its construction, the use of the royal headpiece and its physical relationship to Khafre's pyramid.

KHUFU

 Below the neck, the Great Sphinx has the body of a lion, with paws, claws and tail (curled round the right haunch), sitting on the bedrock of the rocky enclosure out of which the monument has been carved.

KHUFU

 The Nile was used to transport supplies and building materials to the pyramids. During the annual flooding of the Nile, a natural harbor was created by the high waters that came conveniently close to the plateau. These harbors may have stayed water-filled year round. Some of the limestone came from Tura, across the river, granite from Aswan, copper from Sinai, and cedar for the boats from Lebanon. The foundations of the pyramids were laid with limestone blocks mined by masons using copper chisels. Contrary to popular belief, the Egyptians built the Giza pyramids up from the bedrock of the plateau, not over a flat sandy base. Khufu, in fact, was built around a small rock knoll. Building stones were predominantly limestone and granite, while mudbrick was used earlier for mastabas. Mudbrick was also used to build later Middle Kingdom Pyramids. A brilliant white limestone provided the final outer layer for the Giza pyramids, creating what must have been an awesome if not blinding sight to those who gazed upon these massive structures. Limestone was used for all but the lowest course of outer casing on Khafre and the lower 16 courses of Menkaure. These lower casings were made of granite.

Pen and Papyrus

Paper
Look at the sheet of paper you are reading; consider its smoothness of surface, legibility, lightness, compactness, durability, and so on. We owe the invention of paper to the Egyptians and, for convenience to both writer and reader, it remains unsurpassed even in the age of the floppy disc and microfiche.

 Egyptian 'paper' was made from the papyrus reed, more than 2,000 years before the Chinese are known to have invented a paper made from vegetable pulp. The Arabs learned paper technology from the Chinese, in the 8th century AD. They manufactured paper, using linen and other vegetable fibres, on a large scale and introduced the process into Europe. The ancient Egyptians were thus the first (by two or three thousand years) to solve the demanding technological problem of manufacturing an exceptionally high quality writing material.

Papyrus
An un-inscribed roll of papyrus was found in a mastaba (tomb) of this period at Saqqara. Now extinct in lower (northern) Egypt, the papyrus reed (Cyperus Papyrus) grew profusely along the banks of the Nile in antiquity. It reached a considerable height, 12 to 25 feet, and its triangular stems were almost two inches thick, covered with a hard rind or skin, around a soft inner spongy tissue or pith.

The Versatile Plant

Papyrus was a valuable commodity with multiple uses: the rind, stripped from the stem, was used for making mats, cloth, sandals and rope. The pith was a popular food, eaten either cooked or raw. As a substitute for wood, the woody roots of the plant were used to make household utensils and also as fuel.
In addition, and most importantly in a country where the chief highway was a river, bundles of papyrus stems, which were extremely buoyant, were lashed together to make boats - rather like the reed boats used today by the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq.

Pen and Ink

Another reed (Juncus Maritimus) supplied the pen. Cut about 10 inches long, the tip was cut on a slant and then crushed or chewed by the scribe to from a comparatively fine brush. Both black and red ink were common, made from carbon or fine soot and finely ground red ochre respectively. The constituents were mixed with a weak solution of gum and the paste shaped into small cakes, dried and placed on the scribe's palette. The reed brush was then dipped into water and rubbed over the surface of the hardened block. The scribe's standard kit included ink palette, water cup and brush holder. Other colors were also used, for decorating papyri with colorful pictures (like a medieval manuscript).

Inspiration

My inspiration came from the carved and/or painted walls that I had seen on my trip to Egypt. I would begin my decorating by creating large-scale Egyptian bas-reliefs. The lotus column, Anubis and my Priest are examples of these works of art. But they have a shortcoming, they were built on the walls and are now permanently attached. I am making smaller reliefs too, I use these to fill in gaps and to create a sense of symmetry. Eventually, I will create even smaller hieroglyphic reliefs to finish the decorations.

One of my main concerns in creating these smaller bas-reliefs was that they could be reproduced and used
many times throughout the basement design. For instance, I needed eight Hathor heads to build the columns at the bar and at least four winged scarabs to hang over the four sconces that we had installed. I needed to make these reliefs affordable, lightweight, strong and able to hang on the wall using a picture hook. I experimented with casting and mold-making methods and materials. I learned from my mistakes. Eventually, I came up with some objects that I am very pleased with. The fact that they are lightweight and strong also makes them affordable to ship anywhere. While working on my renovation project, I have created a growing line of products that could help with your Egyptian design needs. I even have a line of products that you can paint yourself to match your decor. Take a look at what I have done to my home, then visit my secure online Gallery Store. At the very least, I hope you will leave here inspired to move ahead with your own design plans.

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choice of colors started with the largest piece of furniture we owned, the pool table. We picked a dark green felt called Bottle Green to cover its playing surface. Bottle Green would be the predominate color in our color scheme. We used it on doors and on certain highlight walls. The wall on which the movie screen hangs needed to be dark, Bottle Green was the obvious choice. The wall behind the bar was also painted this dark green-- a wonderful contrast to the cherry cabinets we had selected. Other colors were inspired by the ancient Egyptian's pallet. They generally used five or six colors repeatedly. We would use six colors exclusively for all the painting in the basement.

The Lotus Column

. . . . The first large scale decorative element that was put in place was this lotus column. Sticking

out from the wall about 12 inches, it acts as a room divider between our home theatre and our pool table. It was constructed using cardboard tubes (cement forms), which were glued, screwed, and spackled to the wall. The capital was made using wire lath, which was built into a rough shaped armature over which plaster was applied. The finished painting used the six colors taken from the ancient's pallet.

. . . . Sconces were added for

mood lighting in four locations. They are painted to echo the capital of the lotus column. A winged scarab painted in semigloss dark green becomes apparent only when the light is turned on.. .
.

Priest at the pool table . . . .. The second and somewhat

more ambitious bas-relief project was this priest holding a pool cue. He also was inspired by the paintings in the tomb of Nefertari. From his toes to the top of his head he stands 6 feet tall, the pool stick that he holds is real. I used the same grid system that was employed by the ancient Egyptians. This grid, shown on the right, divided the human figure into equal square units, 18 of these squares from the ground to his hairline. This grid system allowed me to project accurately from a small drawing to a 6-foot tall figure on the wall

Winged Solar Disk

Golden Horus

The "Grand Gallery" of the

Great Pyramid made the biggest impression on me. It is constructed of massive blocks of stone that fit tightly together. They are relatively smooth with no decoration on them. This gallery was one of the architectural breakthrough that allowed the Egyptians to build true pyramids without them collapsing under their own weight. That was my inspiration, it would be a wonderful transition from our ordinary home into our Egyptian inspired basement.

2' x 4 ' sheet rock panels are added to the walls. These panels will be spackeled and painted to look like blocks stone. They are large, somewhat out of scale for this space. I wanted these blocks to give me the feeling I had in the great Pyramid of Giza. The feeling of being quite small and insignificant next to these massive stone blocks.

Completion
The bottom step was extended to create a platform to transition between the steps and the floor. The wooden steps were sponge painted to match the floor and a carpet runner was added

BEFORE AFTER

Finishing Touches

Pillows

brings together the beautiful art of ancient Egypt to form a unique functional decorative accent. Use a standard tea candle in the holder and put your favorite essential oil or potpourri in the glass aroma dish and enjoy the light and aroma! Fill the lower basin of the fountain with water and with a clap of your hands the fountain pump is activated, sending soothing streams of water cascading down three levels. A switch located on the back of the unit allows you to choose the setting of automatic soundactivation or regular on-mode. Unit plays five different classical popular music medleys which play with the start of the fountain (music setting can be turned off). Fountain pump motor located inside the unit. Made of polyresin and beautifully handpainted. Comes with glass aroma dish and tealight candle. Battery-operated.

Night lamps

Cleopatra on the Nile

Egyptian Goddess Isis

Egyptian Goddess Maat

The Goddess of Truth.

King Tut & His Wife

Sekhmet
Mighty One.
A sun goddess

Osiris..........King of the dead

The Throne.

Isis............Sister & wife of Osiris.

Ra..............King of the gods.

Father of the gods.

Thoth..........God of wisdom.

Thoth was said to be mighty in knowledge and divine speech. The inventer of spoken and written language. As the lord of books he was the scribe of the gods and patron of all scribes. He is credited with inventing astronomy, geometry, and medicine. Thoth was the measurer of the earth and the counter of the stars, the keeper and recorder of all knowledge. It was Thoth who was believed to have written important religious texts

Horus..........Brother of Osiris.

He who is above.

Seth............Evil brother of Osiris.

Lady of the House. Lady of the Library

Seshat

Goddess of reading, writing, architecture and arithmetic

Isis

Osiris

Egyptian King Tut

'Pharoah Offering to Gods'

The Scales of Judgement