3500 year old dovetails

[Steve Demuth]

I gave a talk this week at Yeshiva University in NYC, and decided to take the week there with my wife. Came across some truly impressive and truly ancient craftsmanship I thought I'd share.

The first attachment is a close-up of pegged dovetail joinery on a burial coffin. The material is fig (Sycamore fig) wood. The coffin dates to the early part of the late Bronze Age, so made without benefit of iron tools. There's a long thread floating around about legacy - this woodworker left a legacy.

The second photo is a toiletry or cosmetics box from about 300 years earlier than the coffin. It's cedar wood with ebony and ivory veneers and inlay. The drawer pull is bronze. The inlay and joinery are inspiring (remember, this thing has gone through 3800 seasonal humidity cycles).

Thought some of you might enjoy what your spiritual ancestors were doing 150 or so generations back.4000 year old dovetail.jpgToiletry Box.jpg

These are in the permanent Egypt exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in galleries 114 and 111, respectively if you'd like to see them in person.

The Met, by the way, offers troves of things worth of a woodworkers rapt attention, from the most fanatastic medieval and high baroque furniture, to various American genres, and obviously, going all the way back to the Bronze age.

[Joey Stephenson]

Im more blown away that the wood has actually lasted that long.... how!?

[Steve Demuth]

Sitting in what is essentially a sealed cave (some tomb, or monument) in a climate in which the humidity varies seasonally from a low of about 50% to a high of about 60%, and with an essentially constant temperature. Wood would not fare much better in a controlled museum environment.

[Mark Gibney]

Fantastic! thanks for showing us this.

[Brian Tymchak]

I'm a bit curious about what they had 3800 years ago to attach veneer to the substrate.

[Bill Dufour]

i assume hide glue or wallpaper paste?
Bill D.

[Steve Peterson]

That cosmetic box is in amazing shape considering its age. It is interesting that they would have used veneer that long ago.

[Steve Demuth]

Egyptians were producing collagen adhesives by cooking animal parts (presumably from hides, but maybe from sinew) at least 4000 years ago.

[Steve Demuth]

That cosmetic box is in amazing shape considering its age. It is interesting that they would have used veneer that long ago.

I was trying to imagine "resawing" ivory (or ebony for that matter) by hand with a bronze tool.

You can't see the joinery all that well in the picture I uploaded. I've put a detail blow up in this post - it shows another very impressive cut.toiletry box detail.jpg

[Brian Tymchak]

Egyptians were producing collagen adhesives by cooking animal parts (presumably from hides, but maybe from sinew) at least 4000 years ago.

Thanks Steve. I would never have guessed they had glues that long ago.