Papyrus Large-Size - The Musicians Painted
Hand-painted natural papyrus with motif - natural border - ca. 32 × 42 cm
As a band for a guest banquet, a group of young girls play to entertain the guests. Composition and performance of music and dance were a respected art form in ancient Egypt. The female musicians use a double oboe, a lute and a harp.
The musical culture of ancient Egypt was characterised by an extraordinarily long, relatively continuous and stable tradition. On the one hand, music served religious, ceremonial rituals, on the other hand, it was also used for everyday pleasures.
The instruments were varied and rich. Over the centuries, it developed continuously and was enriched by imports from foreign countries. Hand claps and the clatter of ivory drumsticks accompanied the dancers already in the Old Kingdom, especially when it came to acrobatic performances.
The quiet dance figures, on the other hand, more stepped than jumped, are usually accompanied by larger instrumental ensembles. These are composed of one or more mouth-less and half-played longitudinal flutes, as well as one or more harpists. Later, the double oboe and the 5-7 stringed lute with a very small sound box are added.
The singers, who are always depicted seated, hold their left hand behind the left ear in the manner of the Arab tradition, while the right hand often performs cheironomic signs, either to draw the melodic line in the air or to give rhythmic signs. The sound was rather nasal, sharp due to the use of a 'vocal mask' with sharp tension of the facial musculature
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.