Sandals for the king

Review of Tutankhamun's Footwear. (Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear). By André J. Veldmeijer, with contributions by Alan J. Clapham, Erno Endenburg, Aude Gräzer, Fredrik Hagen, James A. Harrell, Mikko H. Kriek, Paul T. Nicholson, Jack M. Ogden and Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood. Norg, The Netherlands: Uitgeverij DrukWare, 2010. ISBN: 9789078707103.1 310 p. €59,95.

JEOL, 2015

Although the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Giza pyramids is not yet open, the Conservation Centre (CC) is operational and the employees are working full time to prepare the objects for permanent exhibition in the GEM. Among these objects are the ‘sewn sandals’ that were recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun, which were moved from the Egyptian Museum at Tahrir to the Organic Material Laboratory of the Conservation Centre in 2010. The present paper explains the cleaning and conservation work done in order to exhibit them properly and preserve them for future generations and allows a glimpse into the work (methodology of treatment and conservation) at the GEM-CC.

FormAkademisk - forskningstidsskrift for design og designdidaktikk

The aim of this paper is to discuss what happens when repeating a reconstruction of the same textile. The author of this article is also the craftsperson that made the four reconstructions presented. The original collar reconstructed belonged to Tutankhamun. The collar is circular, woven in a circle. Before the reconstructions, this method of weaving circular shapes had not been described. The first reconstruction focused on the collar. Fifteen years later, three additional reconstructions were made. This time, the focus was to reconstruct the craft, by the use of fewer, simpler tools. Parallel to practical work there was an exploration of how to make documentation. One conclusion in the project is when changing focus from reconstructing a textile to reconstructing a craft, more similarity to the original was achieved.

Journal of the American …, 2005

Book of Abstracts CRE 2024 Liverpool, 2024

The study of Egyptian footwear, and particularly the wearing of sandals in Ancient Egypt, has been the subject of several studies. Most of them, conducted since the 1990s, mainly by A.-J. Veldmeijer, R. Siebels, C. Alfano, A.M. Daib, J. Goffoet and St. Schwarz, have focused on pairs of sandals found during excavations, examining their evolution throughout Egyptian history, their variety, the materials used to make them, and their everyday use and function, particularly in the royal, religious and funerary spheres. However, only some of these studies have examined the place of sandals in Egyptian’s funerary iconography. The representations from tombs in the Valley of the Nobles from the New Kingdom show that, unlike men, very few women from Egyptian high society are depicted wearing sandals. This study, which is currently part of a doctoral's research project on women's clothing and adornment in New Kingdom’s Theban Tombs, shows that only two women have been found wearing sandals out of almost 400 Theban tombs known to date. This low ratio leads to the present paper, which provides an overview of the various reasons why so few women of the Egyptian nobility are depicted wearing sandals.

Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists

In a cartouche-shaped box has found in the treasury of king Tutankhamun at his tomb KV 62 at Thebes, there has been the most wonderful Necklace with Moon-shaped necklace and lotus flowers matching with its buds. There are signs showing that the king wore it throughout his lifetime. This research will present a revised view of this necklace and its religious' symbolism, with the aim of exploring its magic power.

Archaeological Leather Group Newsletter 51, 2020

A paper of our Tutankhamun Sticks and Staves Project (to be published with Sidestone Press), studying and interpreting this group of finds from the tomb of this pharao. The paper deals with the use of leather on the decoration and construction of certain sticks.

2022

Staves, walking sticks, and canes alike when depicted with kings in royal Egyptian art usually represented the transition to divinity in the afterlife. While this was typically accurate, it is possible that there were exceptions. Fischer has thoroughly reported on the details and purposes of canes and staffs found in royal Egyptian tombs and claims that they were generally only included as props and “not intended for actual use.” Using the scientific findings from an examination of Tutankhamun’s mummy, as well as visual analysis of art featuring Tutankhamun utilizing canes and staffs in different ways, it can be suggested that any images of King Tut with a cane did not exclusively represent ritual symbolism, but sometimes expressed his realistic daily lifestyle.

2009

In ancient Egypt sandals were a common commodity despite the fact that people must have been used to walking on bare feet. Shoes were less common though several types are known from the archaeological record. Despite the many examples of footwear, however, detailed studies are lacking. The present paper presents the closed shoes ‘curled-toe ankle shoes’, that are made of leather. The focus, as is usual in this series, lies on manufacturing technology; other topics are discussed in passing. A preliminary typology is proposed.