Egyptian craftsmen created some of the most beautiful objects of the ancient world, from the gold mask of Tutankhamun to painted tombs, fine linen and glass. They worked in teams in workshops attached to temples and palaces, and their skills were passed down in families.
Trades
Stone carvers and sculptors shaped statues from limestone, granite and diorite. Painters decorated tombs and temples using mineral colors. Carpenters made furniture, coffins and boats. Goldsmiths and jewelers worked gold, silver and semi-precious stones such as carnelian and lapis lazuli. Potters, weavers, glassmakers and leatherworkers produced everyday goods.
The tomb builders
The best-known craftsmen are the workers of Deir el-Medina who cut and painted the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Their village, their notes on pottery and their own painted tombs show us their families, wages, quarrels and even a strike over late rations.
Their work today
You can see the work of ancient craftsmen at the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the crafts continue in Khan el-Khalili, where artisans still make brass lanterns, inlaid boxes and jewelry. Read more about daily life in ancient Egypt.
