Extra large - The musicians painted
Hand-painted natural papyrus with motif - natural border - approx. 44 × 60 cm
A group of young girls plays as a band for a banquet to entertain the guests. Composition and performance of music and dance were a respected art form in ancient Egypt. The musicians use a double oboe, a lute and a harp.
The musical culture of ancient Egypt was characterized by an extraordinarily long, relatively continuous and stable tradition. On the one hand, music was used for religious, ceremonial rituals, and on the other hand for everyday entertainment.
The instruments were varied and rich. Over the centuries, it developed continuously and was enriched by imports from foreign countries. Clapping hands and the clatter of ivory percussion sticks accompanied the dancers as early as the Old Kingdom, especially when it came to acrobatic performances.
The quiet dance figures, on the other hand, which are more of a step than a jump, are usually accompanied by larger instrumental ensembles. They consist of one or more long flutes without a mouthhole and played half-sideways, as well as one or more harpists. Later, the double oboe and the 5-7 string lute with a very small resonance body were added.
The singers, who are always shown sitting, hold their left hand behind their left ear in the manner of the Arabic tradition, while the right hand often makes cheironomic signs, either to draw the melody in the air or to give rhythmic signs. The sound was rather nasal, sharp, due to the use of a "voice mask" with sharp tension of the facial muscles.
Our papyrus offer
We offer you light, ochre-coloured natural papyrus from Egypt. You can choose from various hand-laid formats. The design possibilities with papyrus are manifold. You can write on it, paint it or print on it; you can use ink, fibre pens, water-based or tempera paints.
Papyrus is a natural product
In the Nile Delta, papyrus leaves are still produced in the traditional way. Families in the countryside harvest the papyrus stems, which can be up to 6 metres high, and process the raw material into papyrus leaves with great skill. Carefully made papyrus leaves are produced in several steps, which always have an individual, handcrafted character.
Fair trade with Egypt
PGI buys Egyptian products directly from the producer. This allows us to bypass dealer stations and offer our customers favourable prices. But the Egyptian producers also benefit from this direct marketing, they achieve much higher prices for their products. We regularly visit our partners in Egypt and discuss the upcoming needs on site.
Distributors:
PGI-Skarabäus, Im Kränzliacker 9, 79576 Weil am Rhein, Germany, pgi-shop.de
PGI-Skarabäus, Lerchenstrasse 38, 4147 Aesch, Switzerland, pgi-shop.ch