Egypt was under Byzantine control before the 7th century. Buildings from medieval Cairo (Fustat) had many wood carvings in the Coptic Byzantine tradition, which shaped later Islamic exemplars. As wood was rare in Egypt, wood carving was prized for installation in mosques, churches, palaces, and houses. Pine, cedar, and oak came from Syria and Turkey, while hardwood like teak came from as far as India. These ornamental lintels and relief panels showcase a great variety of texture, grain, and color; they also include Christian symbols such as Greek crosses, as well as the Greek letters alpha and omega
Lintel
Carved wood
3rd–8th centuries CE
Cairo, Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10192
Notwithstanding the truncated ends, this lintel remains well preserved. It bears a Greek cross at the center, a hare and gazelle on either side, and a Coptic inscription that reads, “Lord, God, the Father with his beloved Son, with the Holy Spirit, bless this house, Amen.” The elegant low relief indicates that the wood-carver chiseled out the abstracted animal forms and the surrounding acanthus leaves with dexterity. The hare motif draws upon an Egyptian hieroglyph meaning the “good being,” and the gazelle symbolizes long life.
Relief Panel
Carved wood
12th century CE
Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10177
A symmetrical, interlacing pattern runs along the entire length of this long but fragmented panel, which once formed the side of a door or window. Other similar panels would have included abstract forms of various animals entwined within such interlaced vegetation.
Painted Door Panel
Carved wood, paint
8th century CE
Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10127
A large floral roundel and part of an arch enclose acanthus leaves at the coving of this panel. Traces of red pigment surround the leaves and petals on the roundel, while overlapping diamond-shaped incisions line the partial arch.
Relief Panel
Carved wood
11th–12th centuries CE
Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10133
Likely forming the top part of an altar box, the gouged part of this panel resembles a sanctum under an arch, which is similar to earlier Coptic stone carvings. The covings on either side bear low reliefs of swirling vine and foliage.
Lintel
Carved wood, iron
6th–7th centuries CE
Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10194
This fragmented wooden lintel bears an unidentified Coptic inscription. At the center is a Greek cross appearing as a four-petaled flower surrounded by foliage. On either side are the letters alpha (A) and omega (Ω), stylized with birds and rosettes. Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, signaling God and Christ. As the symbols invoke victory and protection, lintels such as this one were placed above the entrances of churches or houses.
Relief Panel
Carved wood
11th–12th centuries CE
Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10214
This relief was part of a larger door or window. It includes intertwined vines enclosing abstract motifs that are now abraded.
Relief Panel
Carved wood
3rd–8th centuries CE
Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10191
The deeply incised reliefs on this panel include interwoven vines with acanthus leaves. Although portions of the relief appear worn out, much of it remains intact. The tenon (or joint) projecting at one end indicates that this panel may have been framed within a door or window.
Relief Panels
Carved wood
3rd–8th centuries CE
Egypt. Purchase from Phocion Tano, 1935. KM 10150, KM 10151
This heavily abraded pair of wood pieces has been put together as a single panel consisting of a tracery with intertwined vines. Each twine encloses a four-petaled floral motif and forms part of a longer frieze.
Colorful Craftsmanship: Analyzing a Wooden Panel
Decorated with intricate carvings and traces of vivid colors, this striking panel opens a window into the study of pigments from the medieval Mediterranean world.
This carved and painted wood panel may have once been part of an elaborate window casement or piece of furniture. The fragmented yet beautifully decorated panel is made of at least ten smaller pieces of wood that have been joined together. Some are carved with geometric patterns, vegetal motifs, and pointed arches, while others are painted with white, blue, and red concentric circles. Diamond-shaped incisions decorate nearly the entire surface of this object.
Although we do not know where in Egypt this object originated, it is believed to date to roughly the 7th–8th centuries. Laurel Fricker, research assistant in the Kelsey Museum’s Conservation Department, recently analyzed the panel’s paint decoration using multispectral imaging (MSI) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). She discovered that the pigments are consistent with those used during the panel’s presumed date range. For example, the blue colorant present on the panel is not Egyptian blue (calcium copper silicate), which was used in Egypt through at least the Roman period. It is more likely ultramarine blue (lapis lazuli)—a pigment that began to appear in Byzantine and Islamic manuscripts in the 7th–8th centuries—though further analysis is needed to confirm this. The probable use of lapis lazuli, originating from the Badakhshan mountain range in what is now Afghanistan, thus provides evidence of a long-range trade route stretching from Central Asia to North Africa.
