DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4858#0073
A theory that
the tomb was
not designed
for Nakht
The stela the
natural source
of biographi-
cal informa-
tion
The stela
described
THE TOMB OF NAKHT
any customer, the burial ritual of the inner room, the presentation of
gifts, the figures praying in the entrances. But when we come to
examine the tomb, we shall find that it is just these scenes that are
absent or hastily executed; because, being commonplace and without
interest for the artist, they were neglected by him. Had the upper
part of the banqueting scene been preserved, it would very likely
have made us acquainted with the names of Nakht's family; and the
introduction of the pet cat and goose is more likely to reflect a
domestic fact than a contractor's whim. The scenes are no doubt
such as were common to the life of most middle-class Egyptians.
But, then, it was probably Nakht's good fortune to be just a common-
place Egyptian with a comfortable estate, a moderate education, and
light official duties. So that the very banalite of the scenes is itself
in part personal and we may be content to feel that they are putting
us in touch with the memories and hopes of an ordinary Egyptian
gentleman and not with the speculative instincts of a shrewd trades-
man.
It is convenient that the question who Nakht was should be
settled by going to the burial stela which, like a hatchment over the
entrance to the dwelling of the deceased, may inform us of his name
and style.
This mock stela does not occupy the whole wall, but is set in the
middle of it and surrounded with representations of men who lay gifts
before it. At the same time, the reassuring suggestion is conveyed
that the dead is not dependent for sustenance entirely on such acts of
human piety, but receives daily bread from a divine source as well,
for at the foot of the stela (conceived of, that is, as lying in front
of it) is a great pile of offerings decoratively arranged upon a mat.
This is the gift of Nut, that goddess who, the pious Egyptian believed,
would emerge from the sycamore tree when the soul halted in its
shade on the journey toward the abode of the dead, and would give
it an earnest of future well-being in refreshing food and drink. Nut,
who is generally shown dryad-like within the tree, has her personality
the tomb was
not designed
for Nakht
The stela the
natural source
of biographi-
cal informa-
tion
The stela
described
THE TOMB OF NAKHT
any customer, the burial ritual of the inner room, the presentation of
gifts, the figures praying in the entrances. But when we come to
examine the tomb, we shall find that it is just these scenes that are
absent or hastily executed; because, being commonplace and without
interest for the artist, they were neglected by him. Had the upper
part of the banqueting scene been preserved, it would very likely
have made us acquainted with the names of Nakht's family; and the
introduction of the pet cat and goose is more likely to reflect a
domestic fact than a contractor's whim. The scenes are no doubt
such as were common to the life of most middle-class Egyptians.
But, then, it was probably Nakht's good fortune to be just a common-
place Egyptian with a comfortable estate, a moderate education, and
light official duties. So that the very banalite of the scenes is itself
in part personal and we may be content to feel that they are putting
us in touch with the memories and hopes of an ordinary Egyptian
gentleman and not with the speculative instincts of a shrewd trades-
man.
It is convenient that the question who Nakht was should be
settled by going to the burial stela which, like a hatchment over the
entrance to the dwelling of the deceased, may inform us of his name
and style.
This mock stela does not occupy the whole wall, but is set in the
middle of it and surrounded with representations of men who lay gifts
before it. At the same time, the reassuring suggestion is conveyed
that the dead is not dependent for sustenance entirely on such acts of
human piety, but receives daily bread from a divine source as well,
for at the foot of the stela (conceived of, that is, as lying in front
of it) is a great pile of offerings decoratively arranged upon a mat.
This is the gift of Nut, that goddess who, the pious Egyptian believed,
would emerge from the sycamore tree when the soul halted in its
shade on the journey toward the abode of the dead, and would give
it an earnest of future well-being in refreshing food and drink. Nut,
who is generally shown dryad-like within the tree, has her personality