More is known about woodworking in Egypt than anywhere else in the ancient world. By the New Kingdom, Egyptian woodworking had reached its zenith with examples of woodworking such as furniture being highly prized and often sent as tribute to the rulers of neighbouring countries.
Many Pre-dynastic burials in the Nile valley have the body placed on wooden poles and covered with matting made of plant fibre, while some burials are found in primitive wooden boxes. By the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt we find bed frames, Plate 1, in common use with many examples being found in first dynasty (3100–2890 BCE) tombs. The quality of these bed frames ranged from conveniently shaped branches that were lashed together to sophisticated examples made from rounded poles that were jointed together and supported on finely carved bovine shaped legs (Petrie, 1913, Pl. VIII–IX).
Bed frame, first dynasty, Metropolitan Museum of Art, MMA 12.187.52
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References
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Killen, G.P. (2016). Woodworking in Egypt. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8945
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