Plasterboard papyrus harvest

Plasterboard with motif "Papyrus duck" approx. 17 x 22 x 1.5 cm

The mural shows field workers harvesting papyrus.

Papyrus once grew in excellent quality and quantity in the Nile Delta, the papyrus country. The triangular stem can grow up to 6 metres high and carries an umbel at the top. Its image became the hieroglyphic sign for "green". The stylised papyrus was the sceptre of Egyptian goddesses. Papyrus bouquets were offered as sacrifices to the gods. Its shape served as a model for stone pillars that supported the ceilings of temples and tombs. The stems of the papyrus plant were used to make boats, ropes, baskets and sandals. Herodotus reports that the ancient Egyptians also drank the papyrus juice and the sweet lower parts of the stems were chewed by Egyptian children.