Harp Pharaonic - made European – adored

The Harp... such a sacred musical instrument... came as a vivid manifestation of Egyptian genuinity and in recognition of the magic heart-catching effect of music in people's lives. In ancient Egypt, the harp melodious tunes echoed everywhere, breaking the silence of the Valley & Delta, streaming with the Nile, mixing with the gentle breeze & flowing over green meadows and under the blue sky.

Overwhelmed by harp mellow tunes, hearts trembled in a state of euphoria and temples echoed with the reverend tune of the harp that mixed with the sound of priests during religious rituals.

Harp... Early Beginning

Thousands of years ago and over ages, no child has missed the chance to enjoy playing with the amusing childish game of bow and string that gradually evolved to be the harp whose soft tunes overwhelm minds and gladden hearts.

Music played a great part in ancient Egyptians' life; they regarded musical instruments and music itself as originating from gods. Of all the musical instruments in ancient Egypt, the harp seems to have been the most popular. The ancient Egyptian adored the harp and placed it high as a royal instrument whose touching tunes were indispensible on all cheerful or sad occasions and whose depictions on temples walls came to assert its meaningful role in ancient Egyptians lives.

The early usage of harp dates back some 3,000 years BC, and particularly during the 4th Dynasty, the era of the great pyramids builders and remarkable artists who expressed their deep love for this sacred instrument in eternal drawings on tombs' and temples' walls. The Egyptian harp has different shapes with either four or ten strings, but with the same playing style.

Being his adored instrument, the ancient Egyptian developed the shape of the harp that measured up to 6-1/2 feet in height and so had to be played standing up. In light of its deep impact and special nature, harps were used in harp ensembles, in festivities, banquets, funerals and temple workship.

Harp Tunes ... Spirit of East & Hi-tech of West

Across the Mediterranean, the sea of time-honoured ancient cultures, the harp was brought to Greece, then to the Roman Emipre and eventually to Europe, particularly Ireland where it was an integral part of daily life. The Irish adored the harp and regarded it as an aristocratic instrument that should remain with no changes so as to preserve its peculiar elevated nature. No Irish house has been furnished without a harp which had the power over its listeners to bring them great joy or lull them to sleep with a profound sense of beauty, peace and tranquility.

The characteristic shape of an Irish harp is familiar from Irish coins. Henry VII of England had the Irish harp impressed on coins while Queen Elizabeth I had it on her throne seal. With no particular changes or developments, the Irish harp remained intact until Naderman came to introduce some changes to the harp that rendered it a modern instrument called Diatonic Harp of the double-action.

Then, in 1894, Gustave Lion succeeded in developing the harp, to be with intermingled strings while its upper part was made of metal instead of wood. That harp was known as Chromatic Harp. Since pre-historic times and up to the modern age, the harp had different sizes and shapes and witnessed gradual developments until it reached the modern age with its advanced form. The modern harp consists of a number of strings stretched on a triangular frame. a resonator, an arched or angled neck that may be supported by a board and a forepillar that strengthens the instrument's structure and allows the use of greater string tension.


Playing on Harp

In comparison to all musical instruments, the harp is remarkably distinguished by its deeply effective tunes and everlasting effect. Henceforth, the harp player should master peculiar skills so as to be able to bring sweet tunes that are mainly based on the proper playing style and the way of sitting.

The harpist has to place the harp on his left shoulder, so close to the neck and between the knees for him to internally rely on them. The harpist has to sit upright in a vertical position to be able to play on the middle part of the strings and consequently bring proper tunes. In addition, the harpist should have his nails cut so as to easily play on strings, without touching wrong ones.

One of the main problems that beginners face when playing on the harp is having some water bubbles in their fingers. So, proper playing requires that the trainee harpist should play with his two hands, unlike other instruments, where only one hand should be used as a beginning.

Names of Harp Everywhere

Ancient Egyptians called the harp "Tebuni" while it was known as "Koto" in India and Japan. Furthermore, the harp was found in the drawings of Assyrians while celebrating their victory. Quite different from the Egyptian harp, it was shaped like Sambouka with no touch of beauty and was known as Trigone. In Syria, and particularly in Arw city, a complete wooden harp, decorated with silver, with a box that ends with a neck topped by an ox head made of pure gold was found in the tomb of Queen "Shobad". On the other hand, the harp was known as "Hissar" in Ethiopia while Greeks called it "Magadis".

Beethoven... the most famous harp composer

Beethoven, the great musician, is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished harp composers, although he wrote only one work for the harp in 1798 that widely spread in Bonn and Vienna. Other great composers who wrote for the harp are Frank Ceaser and Goud Froi who was a well-known harpist and then a professor in Paris Conservatoir, not to mention Shetrois in the royal orchestra in Germany and the great musician Alberto who wrote 40 works for the harp.

In Egypt, the great musician Gamal Abd el-Reheem was one of the first artists who showed special interest in the harp to which he wrote several works including ?Osiris progression and the collection of the Room Music that stands as a vivid example of his distinguished style that combines between the spirit of the East and the hi-tech of the west.


Porcelain Miniature on White Gold

Some may think that porcelain is an aristocratic art. However, it is an art that enfolds innate beauty. True, it is a costly art due to the various phases it goes through. Yet, it adds to life a highly elegant artistic touch; a touch that renders it not only as an art for art's sake, but also a beautiful beneficial art.

This is what is called white gold disguised as porcelain; the miraculous art. This white solid material is decorated by hand-made so delicate human miniature, thus putting together the two ends of the pole; material and spirit.

Porcelain & History

Ever since the day that man knew the formation of clay, he actually put his hands on the oldest knowledge of art ever known by human race as an innate art. It is an art on which daily life needs relied, till it witnessed a non-stop development, since the discovery of fire until this very moment. Back, in the age of Egyptian dynasties, ancient Egyptian pottery had some special traits that showed in the treatment of china surfaces through bright colours, as an outcome of experiments in ancient Egyptian formation and colouring.

In Egypt, china and porcelain were related to folklore, reflecting various stages of Egyptian history. For instance, the Coptic era products are shaped in geometrical, plant and animal figures and units.

In the seventh century and with the advent of Islam, Muslims uniquely excelled, with their creativity, in the making of china pots and plates. The Fatimid era is considered the boom of pottery, china and porcelain in Egypt.

However, due to the fact that each of the many developments witnessed by Islamic china and porcelain works has its special distinguishing traits that do not depart from the main stream of Islamic thought and creation. Amazingly, the Ayyoubid era was distinguished by acute solid ornaments.

On the contrary, Mamluk era is known for extravagance and care for the beauties, of Arabic calligraphy. Now that porcelain bears delicacy, grace and elegant bright colours, then this is the natural extension of a long-term heritage of civilized contribution on this track. Furthermore, it is an effective beneficial art on all levels.

Second Porcelain Exhibition

For the second time, an exhibition is held under the supervision of Egyptian Plastic Art Sector for this specific art. The first was held in the halls of the Palace of Arts in the Opera House, achieving a matchless success. On the first occasion, the plastic art sector directly coordinated with artist Dr. Samia Zada, an Egyptian artist who was born in Cairo and hit the road of art at the age of ten.

She contributed to the establishment of a centre for artistic creation in Egypt and Switzerland. Dr. Zada teaches painting on glass with oil and aquarelle colours, and the melting of glass as she has participated in many international and local exhibitions. She hosted the family of the late Brazilian artist, Carlos Sabina, the ambassador of painting on porcelain, to attend the inauguration.

The late artist always dreamt and strenuously tried to make an exhibition for painting on porcelain in Cairo, thus, gathering Brazilian and Egyptian artists in the context of cultural and artistic participation and mutual exchange.

To make his dream come true, an intensive artistic workshop has been organized for Egyptian artists who came to Fustat centre, surrounding Dr. Zada to imbibe many of the secrets and beauties of the art. Most of these secrets and beauties that are hidden in highly luxurious fragile techniques, thus, the Egyptian production gained more distinction. Dr. Zada confirms her infatuation with the art of the white gold.

She believes that this art is the miracle of the creative artist and man. The motto of this symposium symbolizes Queen Nefertari; the apex of beauty and the depth of history, as she holds a plate of porcelain; voicing the eternity of this elevated art. Dr. Zada further asserts that platinum has this magic that is closely related to the magical thought of eternity of ancient Egyptians.


Beautiful Exhibition

One of the halls of Muhammed Mahmoud Khalil Museum witnessed the inauguration of the second symposium of porcelain exhibition in December 2003. Twenty countries participated in this exhibition including 5 Arab countries which are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt.

At the first instance, the visitor of the exhibition feels its distinction, not only for the beauty, delicacy and grace of exhibits, but also for the distinction and beauty of the way of exhibition as everything speaks of beauty and daze. This is symbolized in lightening, advanced techniques, in addition to the variety of methods and subjects that reflect the personality of every artist, thus, reflecting his/her nationality and history.

Daughter of the Pharaohs

A salient feature distinguishing this exhibition is the effort exerted and blended with patriotism, nationalism and the sense of belonging. Dr. Samia Zada is the head of the International Organisation for Painting on Porcelain. In addition, she is the general commissar of the exhibition. Though she lives in Switzerland, her Egyptianism has given her a call to direct this job successfully.
Moreover, one of Dr. Zada's significant dreams was to use this event as a great opportunity to promote the image of her homeland, Egypt, and to acknowledge it and its time-honoured treasures. That is why she invited about 50 international artists to bring with them their works to Egypt at her own expense. Amazingly, she confirmed that this was only a simple gift she presented to her homeland. The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue and a poster beautifully designed to wrap up her beautiful bouquet with a unique inauguration party and a programme for visiting Egyptian tourist sites at the margins of the exhibition.

Awards

Egyptian artist, "Ahmed Sameh El-Saadany", won the first prize out of twenty Egyptian artists. Moreover, the arbitration committee granted the master piece prize to the name of the late Brazilian artist, Carlos Sabina, the pioneer of porcelain in Brazil. This exhibition was his dream, and it was achieved in the memory of his demise, and he is the ex-head of the International Organization for Porcelain. In addition, the exhibition honoured other five Brazilian artists.

The awards were copies of monuments, like that gold-plated Tut Ankh Amun, the statue of guard Tut-Ankh-Amun and the head of Hathour.

Civilization meets White Gold

Egypt's holding the second symposium of platinum and porcelain arts is actually a meeting of civilizations. And, on its arena, Egypt presented the development witnessed by this art in Europe and America. It is originally a Chinese art, born in the 18th century as the art of nobles and princes, then flew to overwhelm every single place on earth.