UCLA

This research focuses on the role of textiles and the textile industry during the Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 1550-1070 BCE). The aim of this study is to develop a holistic understanding of the New Kingdom cloth culture through a study of how textiles were valued, how textiles were produced, which institutions and individuals managed and controlled the industry, who were producing the textiles, and how textiles were consumed, exchanged and traded. The research is approached holistically pulling from artistic, archaeology, and textual sources. The first chapter (Chapter 1) introduces the reader to the aims, previous approaches, methodologies, and theoretical approaches that are used throughout. Chapter 2 looks at the value of textiles from an ideological and social perspective to establish why the textile industry was so important to the structuring of New Kingdom society, focusing on ideological texts and rituals, in particular. Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date background into the mechanics of textile production—the fibers used, the techniques from plying and spinning to weaving and post-production technologies, like dyeing and applique. The next two chapters (Chapters 4 and 5) tackle the textile industry during the New Kingdom period. Taking a larger institutional perspective, Chapter 4 interrogates how the textile industry is run and managed by the various institutions at the heart of New Kingdom society through a diachronic analysis of extant textual and art historical evidence. Focus is also placed on household-level production and the individuals overseeing and managing production. On the other hand, Chapter 5 highlights the labors of the marginalized and underrepresented individuals weaving from household to institutional levels. In almost all cases, the individual weavers are from marginalized background based on their gender, ethnicity, and/or socio-economic status. Chapter 6 follows the textile industry to its logical end, examining consumption practices, again highlighting the socio-ideological value of textiles in New Kingdom society. Identity formation through dress is discussed here as well as textile recommodification and reuse. A major focus of this chapter is trade and exchange and the impacts such endeavors had on identity and dress practice. Finally, the concluding chapter (Chapter 7) summarizes the results of this study, as well as the possible avenues for further research. The concluding remarks are organized around the key themes of the study—value, power, and identity. Ultimately, this study concludes that given the high ideological and social valuing of textile in Egyptian culture, the production and management of them were governed by the highest institutions—the palace and temple—adding further value to the commodity through limited access and other restrictive consumption practices. Yet, these fabrics were produced by individuals often hidden in the textual record. Most of the weavers were individuals of marginalized status, usually women and children of lower socio-economic and/or foreign status, with many of them being captured prisoners of war.