File:Ancient Egypt ((198-)) (18006984788).jpg

Title: Ancient Egypt
Identifier: ancientegypt00fiel (find matches)
Year: (198-) ((190s)
Authors: Field Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Egyptology
Publisher: Chicago : Field Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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are Nakht and his wife. The deceased are shown as being already in their tomb: it is no accident that here, as well as on walls c and D, thev are placed as close as possible to the door leading into the inner corridor In the ujiper register thev were served bv two men, ()robabl\' carr^-ing travs of food, from wliich \ine streamers hung. On the bot- tom, an offering of food and "a bouquet, after doing wliat is praised" is made bv a inan who is described as "her son, Amenemope, the triumphant"—perhaps, as we ha\'e suggested alreadv, Taw\'"s son bv a previous marriage. An intimate detail is sup- plied b\' the tomb owners' pet cat, who oc- cupies its customan' place under their chairs and is seen devouring, with the ferocious single-mindedness of its kind, a fish. The other guests—friends and members of the familv—are seated on the left, facing the tomb owners. The more important guests are seated on chairs, with the others (second row) squatting comfortablv on mats. Women seem to outnumber men in this familv gathering: onlv three of the de- ceased's male relatives can be detected with anv certaintv (third roii'). The guests are waited on bv servants, such as the practicalh' nude voung woman who adjusts one of the ladies' earrings (second row). The women wear long braided wigs, and both sexes are outfitted with collars. Nearly all the guests iiold flowers, and everyone at the partv wears on his or her head a cone of scented fat that was supposed to annoinf the wearer as it melted. Supplies for the guests' enjoyment are seen in the large jugs of liquid refreshment, ornamented with vine leaves (top roii'); and in the additional fillets for the guests' hair and further supplies of ointment (third roil'). The picturesqueness of the scene is heightened bv the musicians, who quite ap- >jpropriatel\' occupy the center of attention: tlie blind liarpist (second roiiO, a frequent participant in similar scenes from other tombs, squats with his feet tucked under his legs and sings for the guests. He is accom- panied bv three other performers, lithe voung women, who play on a tall standing harp, a lute, and a double-reed pipe: note the sense of mo\'ement gi\'en to the almost nude lutist, as she turns (practicalh' facing the viewer, in defiance of the customary- practice in Eg\ptian art) to whisper something to her companion. It isapih'that the whole scene is not better preserved. Even so, it stands as one of the inasterpieces of ancient Egv'ptian art. WaUF The bottom register, not shown here, domi- nated bv a pile of offerings, is presided over by the Tree Goddess, a female figure who symbolized the Egyptian's hope for nourishment in the arid cemetery area at the desert's edge. Behind her are two human of- fering bearers, while above them are other figures who kneel as thev present bread, wa- ter, and ointment, or beer, milk, and linen-— the necessities of life—and utter spells: "You are pure as Horus is pure! You are pure as Seth is pure!" The object of their devotion is a tablet, painted a mottled purplish-grey to simulate granite. This is the tomb owner's stela, his "false door" to and from the next world. It was from here that theBa came on his errands to the land of the living, and it was here that the family served the tomb owner's mortuary' cult. The door's "lintel," in the middle of the tablet, is covered with mag- ical emblems — "the Wedjat"-eye for whole- ness (particularly important for the mummy); the circle, svTnbolizing the eternal passage of the sun; and the cup of water, vital for the deceased's survival in the cemetery. Nakht and Tawy are shown seated be-
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fore an offering table in the space above the lintel, while all the other surfaces are covered with spells for the deceased's well-being. The form of these prayers is very ancient, going back to the time when burial in the royal cemetery was granted to a favored few by the king, who also guaranteed the offerings that would secure the protection of the gods. "A royal offering," they say, to Osiris-Wenennefru, the Great God, lord ofAbydos,that he may allow coming and going in the cemetery,without the Ba's being hindered from what it desires; to Anuhis, preeminent in tliedivine kiosk, tliat he may grant splendor before Re in )ieaven, poH'er before Geb on earth and vindication before Wenennefru in the desert; to Amun, preeminent among the holy ones, tlie Great God, chief of Thebes, that he may allow crossing (of the river) to land at Kamak, in order to eat food ever)' day; (and) to Re-Horus the Horizon-dweller, that he may allow his beaut)' to be seen e\'ety da)', and goes forth on earth to be- hold tlie sun's disk in the manner of one wlw is on earth—on befudfoftlie Kaofthe Astronomer (of Amun, Na)kht the triumljjhant). Life on earth was sweet to the Egyptians. They could imagine not hing better, even afler death. The Ceiling The idea of the tomb as an early Egyptian house is carried over onto the ceiling where, stretched between the roof beams, we see gaily colored hangings, all in paint. The de- signs are less elaborate than in other tombs, but the effect is lively and pleasing — value judgements that might well be applied to all the paintings in the tomb of Nakht. D 25

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