Model of a boat

Tomb of the chancellor. Nakhti at Assiout

(12th Dynasty)

Within the tomb, this boat and its crew were to be of eternal service to the dead man for all river crossings and would in particular have served in his pilgrimage to Abydos and to the god of the dead, Osiris. Eight oarsmen are led by a cox standing at the prow whose duty was to test the depth of the water with his pole, given the many changing sandbanks under the river Nile. The rudder at the back consists of two oars controlled by the helmsman by means of wooden interstices which have disappeared.

Housed at the Louvre Museum

Large statue of Nakhti

Assiout

Between 1991 and 1928 BC (early 12th Dynasty)

Acacia wood

The tomb of the chancellor Nakhti was undisturbed for nearly 4000 years. In the entrance chapel two large wooden statues were found; both depict the deceased and are lifesize. Other small representations of Nakhti were laid around the sarcophagus in the tomb. This is the most striking of all the statues; the quality of the woods, its carving and the facial expression are all remarkable. The collection of relics from this tomb are divided between Paris and Cairo; together they give us a good picture of the funerary possessions of a member of the privileged class of that time. Alongside painted wooden sarcophagi, models of scenes of life along the Nile, gift bearers and imitation weapons and tools surrounded the dead man.