Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Relief with a Ship Scene

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Relief with a Ship Scene

The incomplete scene at the top of this fragment of a relief from a tomb shows the legs of two butchers and the massive body of the steer they are cutting up to make offerings of meat for the spirit of the tomb owner. In the separate scene below, a sailor climbs the rigging of a billowing sail. Ancient ships traveled up the Nile (south) with sails raised, because the prevailing winds came from the north. When going downstream, the crew lowered the mast and used their oars. Two crew members are partially preserved at the bottom edge. One appears to be waving at the climber and shouting the warning inscribed above him, which reads, "Look out for the ropel"

Medium: Limestone
Place Made: Saqqara, Egypt
Dates: ca. 2500-2350 B.C.E.
Dynasty: V Dynasty
Period: Old Kingdom
Dimensions: 23 3/4 x 17 5/16 in. (60.3 x 43.9 cm)
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 35.640
Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Image: Overall, 35.640.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Relief with a Ship Scene