Fragment of painted plaster from the tomb of Sebekhotep

From Thebes, Egypt
18th Dynasty, around 1400 BC

An Asiatic with horses

Sebekhotep was a senior treasury official of the reign of Thutmose IV (about 1400-1390 BC). One of his responsibilities was to deal with foreign gifts brought to the king. This fragment was a small part of a scene that showed Sebekhotep receiving the produce of the Near East and Africa on behalf of Thutmose IV.

The wheels of a chariot are visible at the bottom left-hand corner of this fragment. They are followed by two horses, a man carrying a tray of (silver?) items, and a man or woman in a long elaborate robe holding a child.

The scene would have been placed in Sebekhotep's tomb to illustrate his importance as an official, and to represent his relationship with the king; Sebekhotep enjoyed the privileges of office in death as in life.

E. Dziobek, Das Grab des Sobekhotep. Thebe (Mainz, Zabern, 1990)