Servants bringing offerings, fragment of a scene from the
tomb-chapel of Nebamun
Thebes, Egypt
Late 18th Dynasty, around 1350 BC
A procession of simply-dressed servants bring
offerings of food to Nebamun, including sheaves of grain and
animals from the desert. Tomb-chapels were built so that people
could come and make offerings in memory of the dead, and this a
common scene on their walls. The border at the bottom shows that
this scene was the lowest one on this wall.
One servant holds two desert hares by their
ears. The animals have wonderfully textured fur and long whiskers.
The superb draughtsmanship and composition make this standard scene
very fresh and lively.
The artists have even varied the servants’
simple clothes. The folds of each kilt are different. With one of
these kilts, the artist changed his mind and painted a different
set of folds over his first version, which is visible through the
white paint.
M. Hooper, The Tomb of Nebamun
(London, British Museum Press, 2007)
R. Parkinson, The painted Tomb-chapel of
Nebamun. (London, British Museum Press, 2008)
A. Middleton and K.
Uprichard, (eds.), The Nebamun Wall Paintings:
Conservation, Scientific Analysis and Display at the British
Museum (London, Archetype, 2008)