DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4860#0042
THE TOMB OF USERHET
The gifts, then, are for Userhet himself, and the representation is to be
taken in connection with that on Plate XIII.
In the center of the topmost scene we see the doorway of the
temple through which Userhet has just passed into the inner court or
shrine, there to adore the king, screened from view by drawn curtains
within the naos of his portable bark. The royal head, wearing the atef
crown, adorns the prow and stern of the bark. Incense burns before it in
dishes on top of the stands of offerings, and from these a bouquet is pre-
sented by a priest to Userhet in token of the good will of the deified
king. A long file of servitors in the outer court brings further supplies for
his service.
In the middle register the standing statue has been unveiled and,
attired in full gala costume, is being dragged by men on its sled-shaped
base, so as to simulate the power of walking. To add to the illusion, lec-
tors walk on either side, shading the king's face from the sun's rays, but
the use of incense betrays the truth. The figure is black; primarily, no
doubt, because the cult statue was of ebony.1 Five women greet the
appearance of the king with signs of grief, as if for one newly dead, and
five men lead the procession. They form a group of officials without
apparent gradation or appropriateness of rank. The first, who seems to
stand apart, is a prince, named, perhaps, Ahmose. He is followed by an
overseer of the treasury of silver (?), Nebmehyt (?), an overseer of ... ,
Amenhotpe, a lieutenant of the army (?), Mamheka, and by one Im-
hotpe (P).2 In front of the procession is a lake enclosed by banks of black
earth and surrounded by a garden. Here the next part of the program
is being carried out. The royal statue has been embarked on a skiff and
receives the attention of priests there, while three men running along the
1 When depicted in person the king is red (PI. V). The figures of kings supporting insignia of gods, etc.,
in works of art are very often black: cf. Naville, Xlth Dynasty Temple at Deir el-Bahari, Part I, PI. I. For
royalties of black complexion, see Davies, Tomb of Two Sculptors, p. 33. A fragment which shows the head of
the king (PI. XIX, !\) must be that of the royal ka, carried on a pole behind the statue. For a photographic
record of the scene, see Wreszinski, Atlas zur altdgyptischen Kulturgeschichte, Sheet 173 (wrongly attributed to
Tomb 5o). The separating borders of blue petals stop half-way across the wall simply because there was scanty
headroom for the desired scene beyond this point.
2 Is Ahmose an ancestral vizier again—he of the time of Hatshepsut? In the last column of text all but
hip is on an overlay.
23
The mortuary
bark
Perambula-
tion of the
statue
The gifts, then, are for Userhet himself, and the representation is to be
taken in connection with that on Plate XIII.
In the center of the topmost scene we see the doorway of the
temple through which Userhet has just passed into the inner court or
shrine, there to adore the king, screened from view by drawn curtains
within the naos of his portable bark. The royal head, wearing the atef
crown, adorns the prow and stern of the bark. Incense burns before it in
dishes on top of the stands of offerings, and from these a bouquet is pre-
sented by a priest to Userhet in token of the good will of the deified
king. A long file of servitors in the outer court brings further supplies for
his service.
In the middle register the standing statue has been unveiled and,
attired in full gala costume, is being dragged by men on its sled-shaped
base, so as to simulate the power of walking. To add to the illusion, lec-
tors walk on either side, shading the king's face from the sun's rays, but
the use of incense betrays the truth. The figure is black; primarily, no
doubt, because the cult statue was of ebony.1 Five women greet the
appearance of the king with signs of grief, as if for one newly dead, and
five men lead the procession. They form a group of officials without
apparent gradation or appropriateness of rank. The first, who seems to
stand apart, is a prince, named, perhaps, Ahmose. He is followed by an
overseer of the treasury of silver (?), Nebmehyt (?), an overseer of ... ,
Amenhotpe, a lieutenant of the army (?), Mamheka, and by one Im-
hotpe (P).2 In front of the procession is a lake enclosed by banks of black
earth and surrounded by a garden. Here the next part of the program
is being carried out. The royal statue has been embarked on a skiff and
receives the attention of priests there, while three men running along the
1 When depicted in person the king is red (PI. V). The figures of kings supporting insignia of gods, etc.,
in works of art are very often black: cf. Naville, Xlth Dynasty Temple at Deir el-Bahari, Part I, PI. I. For
royalties of black complexion, see Davies, Tomb of Two Sculptors, p. 33. A fragment which shows the head of
the king (PI. XIX, !\) must be that of the royal ka, carried on a pole behind the statue. For a photographic
record of the scene, see Wreszinski, Atlas zur altdgyptischen Kulturgeschichte, Sheet 173 (wrongly attributed to
Tomb 5o). The separating borders of blue petals stop half-way across the wall simply because there was scanty
headroom for the desired scene beyond this point.
2 Is Ahmose an ancestral vizier again—he of the time of Hatshepsut? In the last column of text all but
hip is on an overlay.
23
The mortuary
bark
Perambula-
tion of the
statue