Relief of a carpenter at work on a scaffolding

Fragment showing a carpenter with a stubbled beard squatting on scaffolding and working on a wooden object with his adze. Contrary to custom he is shown disheveled and unshaven.

The beard was a sign of neglect and was reserved for days of mourning. At the same time, a fake, well-tended beard was a sign of high social rank: the rulers wore a ceremonial beard of great length and squared shape, made from the wool of sheep.

Every carpenter who bears the adze is wearier than a fieldhand. His field is his wood, his hoe is the axe. There is no end to his work, and he must labor excessively in his activity. At nighttime he still must light his lamp.

“Egyptian artists would be surprised that we consider their work art. Craftsmen toiled in anonymity [with rare exceptions], signed none of their works and attained no fame during their lifetimes.

Their society recognized no difference between fine art forms, such as painting and sculpting, and ‘lesser arts,’ such as pottery or cabinetry. Practitioners of any of these skills were regarded as simple workers on a level with, say, carpenters.”

― Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians, by Bob Brier, Hoyt Hobbs (#aff)

The relief is from Deir el-Medina, a village where artisans and workers lived during the New Kingdom period (around 1550–1070 BCE). Deir el-Medina was home to those who worked on the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, including artisans, laborers, and craftsmen. The workers had a relatively privileged life compared to other classes in ancient Egypt, and this relief gives us a glimpse into the lives of ordinary artisans—something that is rare in ancient Egyptian art.

In Ancient Egyptian art decorum is the norm to display yourself at your absolute idealised best. For the Egyptians that means; cleanest, finest clothes, completely shaven, hair either under a wig or presented in its neatest style, and usually in absolutely peak physical fitness.

What’s different about this image is that it presents this man as he was. Dishevelled is perhaps the wrong word here, but compared to the idealised presentation the Egyptians are known for, this is “dishevelled” on an artistic decorum level, especially for the Egyptians.

The image depicts a carpenter sitting on a piece of scaffolding or a workbench, using an adze (a tool similar to an axe) to shape wood. Unlike the more common representations of gods, kings, or idealized figures in ancient Egyptian art, this relief is focused on a specific, everyday activity. It highlights the realism and attention to detail that craftsmen sometimes incorporated into their work, which contrasts with the usual emphasis on perfection and eternity in Egyptian art.

The relief’s style is consistent with the New Kingdom’s more naturalistic approach to art, where the focus on daily life and the working class began to gain more prominence. Unlike the stiff and stylized figures of earlier periods, the artist here has tried to represent the carpenter in a way that feels more grounded in the physicality of his work.

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1550-1292 BC. From Deir el-Medina, West Thebes. Now in the Ägyptisches Museum. ÄM 23731