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Egyptian papyri. Photo By Vyacheslav Argenberg –

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about the Egypt Papyrus Museum

The Egypt Papyrus Museum was set up as a form of preservation of the historical contribution and importance papyrus made to Egypt. Located in the busy street of St El Haram, Giza, the museum has a collection of paintings, cartouches, scrolls, and sheets made of papyrus, ceramics and wooden scribes.

Papyrus, also known as tjufy, is part of the historical cosmology of Egypt. It is believed that the plant was among those bore during the creation of the universe. Papyrus is also regarded as a sacred plant. Its sun-like shape flower is a representation of the sun god and its pyramid shaped stem was a representation of eternal life.

Many ancient Egyptian documents that exist today were made of papyrus with the earliest roll found in Hemaka’s tomb from Dynasty 1. Old papyrus strips that had been used for writing were repurposed and used as mummy masks.

Papyrus rods were a huge contributor in the Egyptian architecture. They were used as support columns of tombs and temple ceilings. In the predynastic era, long stalks of papyrus were utilized to build boats for hunting, pilgrimages, and local transport.

The Egyptian Papyrus Museum is a one floor storey complex with openings shaped like cartouches. It doubles up as a museum and a gift shop with majority of the displayed items put up for sale.

1. The Egyptian Papyrus Museum Is Both A Museum And A Retail Shop

The painted papyrus displays in the museum are sold to tourist on their visit to the museum. The unique pieces are quite affordable and go as low as 10 USD. The pieces in the museum and can be purchased as souvenirs and gifts.

The museum offers to customize any purchased art pieces or samples using the ancient form of writing known as hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics originated from preliterate Egyptian traditions as a combination of alphabetic elements, logographic and syllabic elements.

2. The Museum Displays The Process Of Creating Papyrus Paper

The Process Of Paper Making Using Papyrus. Photo By FrogUnderALilyPad –

Tourists get to view how papyrus is turned into paper through a practical demonstration. The guides at the museum give a brief historical background on the plant, its uses, and its relevance in Egyptian culture before indulging the guest in an interesting demo.

Then they proceed to show how to peel off the stem, cut, and hammer it before soaking it in water. After soaking in water for some days, the strips of the papyrus pith are pressed to produce writing surfaces in form of sheets and codices. The same process is still being used to manufacture papyrus paper.

3. The Egyptian Papyrus Museum Is A Revisit To Ancient Egypt Through Pictorial Literature

Image of The Egyptian King Being Honoured Through A ceremony. Photo by Souza_DF –

The images displayed in the Egyptian Museum are a form of time travel as one gets to see the traditional written Egyptian characters. The distinctive hieroglyph symbols add more beauty to the displayed pieces.

The museum has a collection of over 1,000 pieces. Each of the pieces has its own historical value and technique.

4. It Has A Wide Range Of Artistic Pieces From The Two Egyptian Artist Periods

The artistic period of Egypt can be classified into the pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods where pieces were created in either two or three dimensions. The gallery at the Egyptian Papyrus Museum showcases all sorts of art pieces from painting, writings, pottery, and beadwork.

The handmade paintings are beautifully plastered on the Museum wall while the ceramics have a dedicated section in the museum.

5. The Egyptian Papyrus Museum Has An Exceptional Luminous Art Gallery

The museum has a unique display of images that are only visible in very low lighting. The paper pictures in the museum have a glow in dark effects. After the lights are switched off, the images brighten up the room with their neon green color.

6. The Museum Has An Interactive Informative Session

The Egypt Papyrus Museum has lively educative performances on the papyrus and its significance in ancient Egypt. Aside from oral lectures, the performances are done through song and dance and visitors get a chance to learn and participate passively.

Moreover, the museum educates its visitors on to distinguish between authentic and inauthentic papyrus.

7. The Egypt Papyrus Museum Showcases The Third Oldest Calendar In The World

The displayed pieces in the museum also include the first Egyptian calendar. The making of calendars in Egypt was motivated by religion and the desire for life balance. It was a crucial part of the livelihood of the Egyptians as they would be able to tell seasons through them.

The first Egyptian calendar was created over 50 centuries ago and was guided by astrology and mythology. In 2900 BCE, the second calendar was produced and the third calendar was created in the fourth century.

8. It Has Oil Paintings From The Islamic Era

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo, Egypt. Photo By ciochond –

The museum has a collection of oil paintings representing gods and stories from the holy Islamic Book, the Koran. Islam introduced different forms of art, materials, and techniques to ancient Egypt.

Egypt became an Islamic country between the 10^th and 12^th centuries after the Muslim conquest by the Arabs. The conversion from Christianity to Islam made it the dominant faith and Arabic became the official spoken language

9. The Egyptian Papyrus Museum Has One Of Egypt’s Valuable Cartouche Paintings

The cartouche paintings in the museum have inscribed names of kings in hieroglyphic letters. Cartouches are an important historical element as they appeared in all the great tombs and temples of ancient Egypt. The first cartouches can be traced back to the end of the 3^rd dynasty on the Djoser Pyramid.

The cartouches were a resemblance of the solar crowns won by ancient Egyptian gods. They were an acceptable form of legitimizing the power of the kings. Cartouches also had some religious representation and were therefore used as a symbolic representation of protection from evil forces.

10. The Museum pieces Displayed Are A Source Of Ancient Egyptian Epics And Folktales

Queen Nefertari. Photo By WikiImages –

Some of the folktale illustrations include the love story of King Tutankhamun, the judgment of Egyptian gods before entry into the afterlife, the coronation of Queen Nefertari, and the love story of Isadora.

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