Just had an exciting few days at University College London (UCL) and the nearby Petrie Museum. Friday 11th December consisted of a special workshop held in the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. The theme of the workshop was needlework in ancient Egypt. It was organised by Dr. Jan Picton of the Petrie Museum and led by myself. There was the chance to try out different seams and hems, mending, patching, as well as Egyptian and Mitanni style embroidery. In the afternoon, there was the chance to see various items of textile equipment and textiles now in the Petrie Museum, a teaching museum in the middle of the UCL, which has an amazing collection of antiquities from Egypt. The collection, as the name suggests, was built up by the early 20th century Egyptologist, Sir Flinders Petrie. The visit to the museum was followed by a workshop on appliqué techniques from ancient Egypt. There were fourteen participants at the workshop, which meant that those attending could ask many questions and have personal attention. It was great fun in other words. This workshop will form the basis for an Ancient Egyptian Sewing Bee that will be held at the TRC on Saturday 9th April (see here for more details).
The following day was again at the UCL and consisted of a full day about textiles and clothing in ancient Egypt. It went by the eye-catching title Tutankhamun’s Knickers and other Knotty Problems. Again the day was organised by Jan Picton and members of the Friends of the Petrie Museum. The day was divided into several sections, including a starting lecture about the production of textiles in ancient Egypt (myself), followed by a lecture on the textiles from the royal palace site of Gurob (Jan Picton). The morning was finished with a demonstration of various types of clothing worn in ancient Egypt (daily life garments by Janet Johnstone, and Tutankhamun’s royal clothing by myself). The afternoon then continued with a lecture on Tutankhamun’s clothing (again by myself) and ended with a lecture about draped and wrapped garments from ancient Egypt by Janet. There were many questions at the end of the day.
All in all a very pleasant and stimulating few days and I would like to thank Jan Picton and the Petrie Museum for inviting me to come to London to give these workshops/lectures. I really enjoyed myself meeting colleagues, talking about ancient Egyptian textiles and dress and hearing about new finds and ideas.
Gillian Vogelsang, 20 December 2015
