286 crafts: Egypt of forms of baskets, and there is logic to this practice Even in modern times people make baskets that are watertight and can be used to carry liquids; it is not surprising, then, that ancient Africans created pottery designed like baskets In Africa basketry has had other significant uses besides carrying or holding objects The walls of houses were sometimes made entirely of woven reeds In modern Chad there are farming communities in which not only houses but also the walls surrounding family compounds are woven, preserving a skill that developed in ancient times Thus, some of the crafts of historical times offer clues to the craft of ancient times, helping to fi ll in the gaps among the metal and ceramic remains of ancient African cultures EGYPT BY ERIN FAIRBURN The type of crafts found and the way crafts were made help researchers flesh out the practices of daily life Objects made by Egyptian craftsmen were often prestige items, and the materials used and quality of workmanship can indicate the social ranking of their owners Egyptian craftsmen made items in stone, metal, wood, glass, faience, and basketry, among other materials Stone was used for a variety of objects, including jewelry, amulets, and tools, and the use of stone for vessels was common from the earliest times Different types of stone, most of which were found near the centers of production, were used in the creation of vessels The exteriors were shaped with stone tools and smoothed and finished with stone and quartz sand, and the interiors were probably drilled Stone vessels were produced in a number of forms Stone bowls and jars were common throughout ancient times and were the most common types seen until the New Kingdom (1550– 1070 b.c.e.) Alabaster, diorite, gneiss, limestone breccia, and porphyry were popular materials for vessels in the Predynastic Period (5000–3100 b.c.e.) and Early Dynastic Period (2920–2770 b.c.e.) Modeled vessels of blue anhydrite, often decorated with monkeys or ducks, came into fashion during the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 b.c.e.) and Second Intermediate Period (ca 1640–1532 b.c.e.) Diverse forms were created in the New Kingdom Kohl tubes and applicators, often made of alabaster, were very popular types of stone objects from this period on (Kohl was a cosmetic preparation often used to darken the eyelids and rims.) Metals were worked into tools, figurines, jewelry, and sculpture in Egypt, but they were also used to create vessels, which were almost invariably hammered, rather than cast Metal was likewise used for model tools, cylinder seals (used to stamp impressions into clay), mirrors, and ushabtis, or small figurines that were buried with the dead to accompany them into the underworld and work for them in the afterlife Most Egyptian metal products were made of a copper alloy, silver, or gold Not many examples of metal craft survive, perhaps because they were reused or melted down in later periods However, a silver box lid is known from a Predynastic con- text, and a copper ewer and basin date to the Second Dynasty (2770–2649 b.c.e.) Silver vessels were found in the el-Tod treasure dating to the Middle Kingdom, and silver was used for a number of decorative vessels in the New Kingdom Egyptian craftsmen created objects from such native woods as acacia, tamarisk, and sycamore beginning in the Predynastic Period They also used imported woods such as cedar, ash, elm, and oak from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean region as early as the First Dynasty (2920– 2770 b.c.e.) Native woods could be utilized in woodworking, but they are of generally poor quality; imported wood was preferred if longer pieces were required Wood was joined using variations on butt, miter, or mortise and tenon joints Furniture and wooden objects could be fi nished in a number of ways Wood was often plastered to even out any imperfections and create a surface on which to apply gilding or paint Pieces were sometimes inlaid with decorative woods like ebony as well as with the nonwooden materials of ivory, faience, glass, or precious stones Veneers of decorative wood were used on some furniture Varnish was sometimes applied to pieces in the New Kingdom, and beeswax was used to seal painted pieces In the Predynastic Period carved wood relief panels have been found in tombs of private individuals, 11 of them in the tomb of Hesire, a high official during the reign of the pharaoh Djoser From the Old Kingdom (2575–2134 b.c.e.) there is furniture of the royal mother Hetepheres, which included a canopy frame, two armchairs, a bed frame, headrest, chest, and carrying chair A diverse variety of wooden chests appear at this point Stools and boxes are seen with great frequency in Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom contexts Little furniture is preserved from the Late Period (712–332 b.c.e.), though cabinetry became a highly developed form by the Graeco-Roman Period (332 b.c.e.–395 c.e.) Royal furniture, such as that of Hetepheres and Tutankhamen, was similar in form to that of private domestic furniture but of better quality and workmanship Faience is a unique material that had been developed by the Predynastic Period It is a composite of crushed quartz or sand mixed with lime and plant ash or natron (a sodium compound), which is glazed and fired Glazing was usually accomplished by including an alkali in the core material, which would crystallize on the surface as it dried and then melt, becoming glassy, upon firing Because of copper inclusions the finished product is often a bright blue-green, though Egyptians developed techniques that created a wide spectrum of glaze colors, from opaque white to violet Faience was used in the Old Kingdom in the production of molded figurines of both humans and animals Tens of thousands of blue-green glazed tiles were found in the chambers beneath the step pyramid of Djoser (r 2575–2551) at Saqqara Figures of hippopotami and hedgehogs were popular during the Middle Kingdom, as were vessels decorated on both the inside and the outside The range of colors increased during the New Kingdom, as seen on the polychrome tiles of