Customer Reviews

Egyptian Woodworking and Furniture (Shire Egyptology)

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This is a typical Shire book, in that its length is 64 pages but packed with interesting and informative details. This popularly focused volume deals with woodworking materials; woodworking techniques and fittings; Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods through to the Roman Period. It gives a brief survey of collections in museums and provides a good glossary. All in all, it is a good refresher course for scholars and an excellent reference for beginners.

A childhood fascination with things Egyptian has never left me, and my library is dotted with texts and picture books. It has occurred to me that, it would be fun if a bit of this enthusiasm leaked into my woodwork, but the truth is that Egyptian furniture grown fragile over time is poorly represented in collections, and information on the actual crafting and joinery is next to nonexistent. So when I saw Geoffrey Killen's little volume I picked it up.

Killen is about as thorough as it is possible to be on what is, unfortunately, a low budget publication. Sixty pages, mostly black and white illustrations and photos, this certainly isn't a picture book. But I do have a much clearer idea of how woodcraft was done a few millennia ago. I would have liked a bit more attention paid to Egyptian aesthetics. Looking at the boxes and chairs I have the feeling that the Egyptian sense of proportion is different from out Western tastes.

This lack isn't surprising. Nowhere does Killen pretend that this is a 'how to be an ancient Egyptian' book. It is a good start on the history of the subject, and provides a long list of museums where I can pursue more, and more colorful information.

This work is a good attempt to condense the topic of ancient Egyptian woodworking into a comprehensive whole. Hats off to Dr. Killian!