Ancient Egyptian Luxury

What the woman from the Nile told me…

I find myself enveloped in ineffable wonder.How disheartening it is to reduce and encage the art of luxury into one narrow, modern definition posed by insular souls, when this word has held countless meanings across cultures, centuries and human imprint. I see luxury as an enigmatic portal that holds power in opening much more than our eyes, if only we allow ourselves to truly see.

First I want to show you some luxuries, and then the ideas…

Stones.

Egyptians didn’t see stones as inert matter, they were living carriers of meaning, cosmic symbols and energy transmitters. Carrying one was special.

LAPIS LAZULI– Ocean blue. My favourite, a profound contemplation for depth. Nut, goddess of the sky, stars and its hypnotising pigment.

TURQUOISE– Bright joyful blue-green treasure. Fertility, the beauty of rebirth and reproduction, love for motherhood and divine femininity.

CARNELIAN– From Arabian peninsula’s mines of the desolate desert. Vitality and effervescence. Flames. Pure blood forged in one mineral.

AMETHYST– The deep purple voice of a wise Egyptian woman endowed with sagacity and passion. Knowledge and protection resides in the stomach of this mountain.

MALACHITE. Born deep within the Earth’s secret chambers, the very womb of Mother Nature, the embodiment of lush vegetation, eternal growth and resurrection. Malachite protected you from illness and healed with its green veins.

Glass.

The ubiquity of glass has blinded us from its art. Glass in ancient Egypt was like holding a newborn, perfectly clayed and modelled with patience, attention and love. Human hand is the meaning here.

Scarabs.

This little insect (dung beetle) rolls dung balls, just as the sun rolls across the sky every day. Such analogy of perseverance was noticed by Egyptian beholders, seeking beauty in every corner of life. Pharaohs were buried with it, often inscribed with names and messages on the back.

Kohl.

I am in love with Kohl. Egyptians, both men and women applied these powdered minerals (normally black from galena) around the eyes. A simple “eyeliner”, was once what guarded and protected against the evil eye and from the blinding sun glare. Wearing Kohl was like no longer feeling naked, tracing the delicate outline through which we see the world. “The eyes are useless when the mind is blind”.

Linen.

Natural pearlescent colour. The plant’s fibers were like fine sunbeams of pure light braided together to form a breathable layer to the skin. Used for clothing and to prepare the dead for their afterlife, wrapping bodies in linen was both an act of love and respect, as well as a way to preserve them. How curious it is that today we see animal wool as luxury whilst in Egypt, animal-derived fabrics were considered impure.

Ebony Wood.

Ebony’s Deep black glossy hue was special. Black (kem) wasn’t the colour of death in the frightening sense as it is in Western cultures, instead, black was the tint for eternal life/death cycle. Every year the Nile flooded and deposited dark black silt across villages. This black earth was incredibly fertile giving rise to many crops. They named their land Kemet, meaning “the black land” in contrast to the surrounding desert “Deshret” “red land“. Colours were alive they were not synthetically engendered, but drawn directly from natures hands. Ebony traveled from distant lands and was worked to create exquisite furniture, special boxes, statuettes, sarcophagi, doorframes of burial chambers, and even for musical instruments such as harps and flutes.

Blue lotus.

Egyptian believed that before the world existed, there was only Nun, a formless, deep infinite ocean, no sky, no land, no people no gods. From the stillness of the water rose the blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea), which opened with the sunrise to reveal Ra, and closed at dusk, sinking in the waters. Like animated poetry. This flower alleviated anxiety, induced lucid dreams and alter the consciousness due to its many properties. Medicine, memory and magic. Infused primarily in oils and scents, and used as aphrodisiac in drinks. Blue lotus was felt, not seen, not explained but experienced. However, it has largely vanished due to pollution, loss of ecosystems and pesticides. They are dying, and so are our souls.

Gardens.

What makes a garden luxurious? Carpets of artificial grass, symmetry and minimal everything? Egyptian gardens were paradises full of life . Sanctuaries with variety of trees, each with different fruits, colours and flavours. An intimate abditory. Paradise on earth. Air was thick with the breath of jasmine, myrrh and so much more. People were proud of gardens, it was a reflection of their care, attention, love and intention. They were a state of being, blossoming within.

Spices & Oils & Perfume.

Many species were imported from faraway lands like India, Nubia and Arabia. Frankincense, cinnamon, coriander, anis fenugreek…burned as incense or mixed into oils to purify temples, perfume the dead for eternity, remedies for respiratory issues, and sensual rituals to scent the body of both men and women. Oils like castor, moringa, sesame… were also used to anoint the body before rituals, prayers and offerings. Overall it was intimacy with oneself, to be bathed in self-love. Not a product, but a purposeful experience. Something that fascinates me are perfume cones, they were made from scented wax and fats. Placed on top of the head, designed to melt slowly, releasing its unique odour down the skin. This wasn’t for decoration, they believed pleasant smells pleased the gods and it was a way of showing honour.

Shabtis.

This also mesmerises me. Shabits were tiny figurines made of faience, wood, stone or clay. They were created by human hand, patiently modeled facial features, bodies and sometimes glazing them. These human sculptures were the ultimate luxury. They believed the afterlife involved physical labor such as harvesting, planting… therefore shabits would be the ones to carry out these tasks.

Stone Vessels.

items like perfume, oils etc… were not stored anywhere, something special had to be in something special. Stone vessels were made from different stones like alabaster, basalt, limestone or granite, and acted like a strong guardian. Egyptians believed in the power of preservation, and caring for that which cared for them.

Mirrors.

Egyptians believed that mirrors reflected not only physical appearance but an individuals truth and clarity. To see oneself was a ritual, not a reflex. Today wherever we turn our heads we see our reflection. Bathrooms, phones, shop windows, we scroll past our own image without pause, but perhaps returning to that clarity, to feel fully, and to remember the sacredness of our own presence is what we need. Bronze, copper or silver. These metals were burnished to a soft, oval glowing surface, polished until it caught the kiss of sunlight. Then they attached it to a handle made of ivory, faience or metal, sometimes carved with protective messages from Hathor, the goddess of love. Something I also find deeply important is that when neglected, the mirror dimmed and vanished. Therefore it had to be maintained, taken care of as if it was alive.

Gold.

Gold is a shiny metal. For Egyptians it was the flesh of the gods. Sun made solid. Eternal, just like the presence of Ra.

I don’t think making a list of tangibles and intangibles is the right thing, as in Egypt, luxury was never defined by what one could touch, or what costs more, but by what meant more. Before we look at other essential ideas, I want to show you some more luxuries.

Art and poetry, education and knowledge family and children, time and rituals, honor and remembrance, peace and beauty, being buried properly, music, dance and laughter.

But above all, MA’ AT

MA’ AT was the goddess and the principle of cosmic order, moral truth and balance. To live in alignment with her was the highest virtue. In death, the heart of the deceased was weighed against her feather. If the heart was lighter, this meant the soul was deemed pure, and therefore worthy of afterlife, however if heavier, it was devoured, ending the soul’s existence. Some people view luxury as evil. I think this is a mistake, luxury is not evil, it’s what you do with it, how you see it and the choices you make. Values are always the answer, because we as humans have the choice. Greed, avarice and poor values are not luxurious people, they are simply people with money. Luxury in Egypt had the power to reflect your devotion, and gratefulness to the world we inhabit. When luxury became excessive, selfish or abusive then it no longer was luxury, it was morally dangerous, it disrupted MA’ AT and that meant it threatened the entire cosmic balance, it could cause ISFET (chaos). There are wisdom teaching warnings: “Do not be arrogant because of your wealth. You are only a steward of what the gods have given you” ‘. It was not the object that corrupted, but the heart behind it. Gratitude, awareness and being awake made luxury sacred. Luxury transformed into evil when it only fed ego pride and a heavy, burdened heart.

I believe luxury unites us. Realize how many Egyptian luxuries came directly from nature, from the world itself. And how disrespectful it is to ignore it, to ignore the fruits of life, in essence to ignore luxury. Egyptian people considered life was the greatest gift, they were deeply in love with life. I think they teach us how to truly appreciate and love. Paradise is a place on earth. They had respect for nature, they depended on it physically and spiritually. They didn’t consume luxury, they believed in it, and that’s what we have lost. Egyptian people gave meaning, and when this happens the thing is no longer a thing, it comes to life, to your life. Funny how life presents the paradox of having no inherent meaning, yet we are the ones who must create it.

Something incredibly curious to me, is that people always say that we are born in this world with nothing, spend our lives collecting stuff, and die with nothing. However, Egyptians believed so much in luxury that it would accompany them into death. It was no longer a piece of jewelry or a ceramic, it was part of their being.

The beauty of the following escapes language. People offered back their luxuries to the gods, almost like a thank you letter. They brought it to temples, rituals and tombs. “The more grateful i am the more beauty i see.” Is this why we have so much overconsumption in our world? We are lacking meaning/purpose/ intention, we have to open our eyes to life, and as Egyptians said, to our heart. For them, true luxury wasn’t the number of things you had, but how you cared about them, how you lived, how you were remembered and whether your soul would rest in beauty forever.

I am 16 with a dream, thanks for reading.❤️