![]() Ragab finally figured out how it was done, and now papyrus making is back in Egypt after a very long absence.We should note that Dr. Most of our knowledge about the actual manufacturing process is derived from its description in Pliny the elder's Natural History and modern experimentation. There are no extant texts or wall paintings and archaeologists have failed to uncover any manufacturing centers. Unfortunately, the ancient Egyptians left little evidence about the manufacturing process. He also had to research the method of production. Hassan Ragab reintroduced the papyrus plant to Egypt from the Sudan and started a papyrus plantation near Cairo on Jacob Island. At that time, an Egyptian scientist named Dr. Papyrus making was not revived until around 1969. Because it was no longer a viable commercial product, as farming came to the Nile Delta, its even disappeared from the Egyptian landscape. However, with the invention of pulp paper, papyrus slowly disappeared from use, even in Egypt. The quality of manufacture was by this time already so fine that Egyptians must have been making papyrus rolls for some time. The earliest surviving example is a blank papyrus roll found in the tomb of Hemaka, an official of the 1st Dynasty (2925-2775 BC) at Saqqara. Therefore it was used for making many things, including baskets, ropes and boats, yet from about 3000 BC, its most important use was of course as a writing medium. However, under more normal circumstances, the plants would yield stems of only modest thickness, which were not useful for making writing material. Under the best conditions, the stem of the Egyptian papyrus could reach the height of five meters and the thickness of about five centimeters. Indeed, the papyrus plant became a symbol of Lower Egypt, and was regarded as so typically Egyptian that it could be regarded as a metaphor for the entire country. Papyrus was effectively an Egyptian monopoly and its manufacture was a guarded secret. Thus, from the stalks of the papyrus plant that grew wild in marshy areas of the Nile, the Egyptians developed papyrus paper (see Historical Papyrus). The ancients began writing upon stones, bones, the barks of trees and textiles, but with the expanding practice of writing, more practical materials were needed. ![]() Though the art of writing was probably first invented in Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), and later developed by the Egyptians in the 4th Century BC, initially a good portable medium was not available. Not until the Chinese invented pulp paper, and in their interaction with those people did the Arabs also learn the process, did paper become readily available. It was cheap, but that is obviously not how things have always worked. Thanks to modern technology, when I started school and needed to use paper, I simply went to the store and purchased some note books. The problem is, do they really leave with true papyrus, or a cheep imitation? Will the paint hold up, or quickly flake off? There are several issues that people should understand when buying papyrus art in Egypt or elsewhere, and here, we attempt to examine what constitutes fine, quality papyrus art. It is easy to carry onto airplanes, and relatively inexpensive to purchase. Few tourists to Egypt probably leave the country without at least one papyrus painting. ![]()
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