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What is papyrus ?

Cyperus papyrus is a long stemmed plant that grows in damp
regions of the Nile Delta in Egypt.  Ancient Egyptians
discovered how to make paper from the stems of plant as early as
3000 B.C. Egyptian papyrus was used as we use paper today.

Buy
papyrus

Cyperus papyrus plant

Blank papyrus
paper

History of Papyrus

Egyptians used papyrus reeds to make boats, they burned the roots
for fuel, and from dried papyrus they made mats, mattresses,
baskets, boxes, tables and sandals. Papyrus was even used as a
source of food for the common people but Egypt's greatest
achievement in the ancient world was turning papyrus sheet to
paper.

Papyrus sheets were the preferred writing materials of the
ancient world because they were light, strong, thin, durable, and
easy to carry. Thus, papyrus sheets share many of the advantages of
modern paper.

Because of its importance, papyrus paper making was a state
monopoly in Egypt and the method of its production was a closely
guarded secret. Many efforts were made in various parts of the
Mediterranean to find local substitute for papyrus sheets thus we
find that clay and wax tables, lead sheets and parchment were all
used as writing materials by different peoples. However, all these
materials proved to be inferior, in one respect or another, to
papyrus, which remained the primary writing material in Egypt.

In the 10th century Arabs introduced the pulped paper process,
which they had learned from their Chinese prisoners. Though the
pulped paper was less durable than papyrus, the process was
considerably easier and far less expensive than papyrus sheet
making. As a result of the imported technology, Egyptians gradually
abandoned the production of papyrus paper and neglected the
cultivation of papyrus plantations. A few centuries later papyrus
paper had completely disappeared from the Egyptian panorama.

In 1960, nearly a thousand years later Dr. Hassan Ragab (Former
Ambassador) set out to rediscover this lost art. Two formidable
obstacles had to be overcome: First, strange as it may seem, though
papyrus is typically an Egyptian plant, it had completely vanished
from Egypt due to lack of cultivation and heavy silting in the
marshes, lakes and ponds where it used to grow. To re-establish the
papyrus plant in Egypt, Dr. Ragab journeyed to Sudan to obtain roots
of the Cyprus papyrus. These roots were used to establish his
papyrus plantation at Jacob Island at Giza near Cairo, and it
considered the largest man made papyrus plantation in the world. The
second major obstacle was rediscovering the process by which papyrus
sheets could be produced. It is amazing that the ancient Egyptians,
who left records about all aspects of their daily life and thousands
of papyri in their tombs, did not leave a single word or drawing
about papyrus papermaking. Dr. Ragab spent three years trying to
solve this problem before his research was crowned with success, and
papyrus sheet making was once again an inherent part of Egyptian
culture. As the papyrus paper making was a state monopoly during the
ancient Egyptian time, it was a Ragab's family monopoly for long
time. Dr. Ragab registered papyrus paper making. Thanks to Dr. Ragab
and his family papyrus paper making became one of the most important
tourism industries in Egypt. Now the second and third generations of
Ragab's family are still working in making papyrus.

How papyrus is made?

To make papyrus paper the inner pith of the stem is cut
lengthways into strips and soaked in water.  The strips are
then placed side by side with a second layer placed at right angles
to the first.  The two layers are then beaten with a mallet to
break down the fibers and bond the strips together.  The sheets
are left to dry under weights for several days.  The dried
sheets are polished with a flat stone to make them smooth and ready
for use.

What types of paint are used to paint on
papyrus?

Nearly all kinds of colors can be used to paint on papyrus but
the most widely used are Oil paint, Gouache and Water colors.

Where can I buy papyrus
artworks?

Almost all Egyptian souvenir shops sell papyrus artworks. You can
even buy online without traveling to Egypt. We have a large
collection of papyrus paintings and if you need a special painting
you can contact us to help you find it.

Click
here to buy papyrus online

Cleopatra
painting on papyrus

King
Tutankhamun and his wife painted on papyrus

Crowning papyrus painting

Papyrus
painting of Tutankhamun Mask

Tips on buying papyrus paintings:

Not all papyrus paintings are of the same quality, you might have
heard of banana leaves, which can be made to look like papyrus but
it's lower in quality than genuine papyrus.You can recognize the
papyrus quality by certain factors:

Genuine papyrus is a bit heavier and somewhat opaque

High quality papyrus is hard to tear

When you roll a papyrus paper it tends to go back to its
original shape

Check that papyrus artwork is painted by hand not printed

Papyrus comes in dark and light color , dark or brown papyrus
takes longer to make.

To Buy Papyrus from our online shop - click
here

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