DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4859#0065
Passage of
the river
by officials
and guests
Facial
expression
of sorrow
THE TOMB OF TWO SCULPTORS AT THEBES
about to set one favored of Amon over to the West, as is done for one
who has done right on earth.' "J In the stern, looking back to the fol-
lowing bark of the dead, is "his (Apuki's) brother, [Amen]emhet,"2 who
cries, "Thou art bound for the West; thou art bound for the West, my
righteous (?) one; thou art bound for the West."3 The next boat, which
is in tow to the first, contains the porters. The man in the bow holds a
floral offering and voices the sentiments of the passengers: "May his
resting-place in the necropolis be acceptable; may he have a rock tomb
of the West; may powerful spells be said for him at the door of his
chapel; may he adore the god . . . (when) he sits in the place of two-
fold Justice, as is done for one who has done right on earth." The men
in the boat bring flowers, vases of ointment, a decorated vase, a chair,
and jars. The second man is perhaps labeled "the sculptor in Ast-josret,
Sobek."4 As before, the man in the bow turns with gestures of grief to
the funeral barge behind.
That craft is towed by a large passenger boat, crammed with wail-
ing women who crowd the roof of the cabin and indulge in the wildest
demonstrations of sorrow (Plate XXVI). The depiction of grief on their
faces is perhaps the most successful effort of its kind in Egyptian paint-
ing, which had never before attempted facial expression but had sought
to supply the lacking effect in other ways. This little design, indeed,
seems to have provided the classical instance and the model on which
all later representations of the funeral procession were based. When one
considers how very modern, relatively speaking, is the exhibition of feeling
through facial form, whether in color or line, we may in part appreciate
the courage shown by this member of the school of Ast-josret. It was
perhaps not an accident that this important discovery was made in a
1 The fracture through the titles suggests that the name of Amon followed in each case. Note the
complete and untanned skin of some long-tailed animal which protects the rope lashing the steering oar to the
post. So also in Tombs 4o and 162, and on a stela in the Fitzwilliam Museum.
2 Actually "sister"; but this error in gender is often made in tomb scenes.
3 Even natural ejaculations like these were prescribed (Budge, Book of Opening the Mouth, I, pp. 70,
72, 91, etc.).
4 Since the plate was printed I have been able to discover beneath the film of dried mud which covers
the scene some details which my assistant had missed.
5o
the river
by officials
and guests
Facial
expression
of sorrow
THE TOMB OF TWO SCULPTORS AT THEBES
about to set one favored of Amon over to the West, as is done for one
who has done right on earth.' "J In the stern, looking back to the fol-
lowing bark of the dead, is "his (Apuki's) brother, [Amen]emhet,"2 who
cries, "Thou art bound for the West; thou art bound for the West, my
righteous (?) one; thou art bound for the West."3 The next boat, which
is in tow to the first, contains the porters. The man in the bow holds a
floral offering and voices the sentiments of the passengers: "May his
resting-place in the necropolis be acceptable; may he have a rock tomb
of the West; may powerful spells be said for him at the door of his
chapel; may he adore the god . . . (when) he sits in the place of two-
fold Justice, as is done for one who has done right on earth." The men
in the boat bring flowers, vases of ointment, a decorated vase, a chair,
and jars. The second man is perhaps labeled "the sculptor in Ast-josret,
Sobek."4 As before, the man in the bow turns with gestures of grief to
the funeral barge behind.
That craft is towed by a large passenger boat, crammed with wail-
ing women who crowd the roof of the cabin and indulge in the wildest
demonstrations of sorrow (Plate XXVI). The depiction of grief on their
faces is perhaps the most successful effort of its kind in Egyptian paint-
ing, which had never before attempted facial expression but had sought
to supply the lacking effect in other ways. This little design, indeed,
seems to have provided the classical instance and the model on which
all later representations of the funeral procession were based. When one
considers how very modern, relatively speaking, is the exhibition of feeling
through facial form, whether in color or line, we may in part appreciate
the courage shown by this member of the school of Ast-josret. It was
perhaps not an accident that this important discovery was made in a
1 The fracture through the titles suggests that the name of Amon followed in each case. Note the
complete and untanned skin of some long-tailed animal which protects the rope lashing the steering oar to the
post. So also in Tombs 4o and 162, and on a stela in the Fitzwilliam Museum.
2 Actually "sister"; but this error in gender is often made in tomb scenes.
3 Even natural ejaculations like these were prescribed (Budge, Book of Opening the Mouth, I, pp. 70,
72, 91, etc.).
4 Since the plate was printed I have been able to discover beneath the film of dried mud which covers
the scene some details which my assistant had missed.
5o