History of Primitive and Non-Western Trumpets - Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

The natural trumpet was probably first used as a military instrument in ancient Egypt. The trumpets depicted by the artists of the Eighteenth Dynasty were short straight instruments made of wood, bronze, copper or silver. The Ancient Egyptian name for this particular instrument was sheneb (šnb). According to the Classical writers, the Egyptian trumpet sounded like the braying of an ass.

For the most part the trumpeters depicted in Egyptian art are engaged in military activities – the sheneb was probably used on the battlefield both to encourage (and possibly also to direct) the Pharaoh’s troops and to intimidate the enemy. In some murals from the Eighteenth Dynasty, the sheneb appears to be accompanying dancers; if this is the case, it is possibly the earliest depiction of a trumpet in a truly “musical” setting. Egyptian trumpeters are often, though not always, shown in pairs.

The oldest surviving examples of metallic trumpets are the two instruments that were discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. One of these is 58.2 cm long and is made of silver; it has a conical tube 1.7 to 2.6 cm in diameter, and a flaring bell 8.2 cm wide. The other instrument is 50.5 cm long and is made of copper with gold overlay. Neither instrument has a separate mouthpiece and their respective weights have not been documented. Both are inscribed with the names of gods associated with Egyptian army divisions. A third trumpet, probably dating from the Ptolemaic era, is now preserved in the Louvre museum in Paris.