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Model of a boat under sail

Egyptian
Middle Kingdom, late Dynasty 11 – early Dynasty
2010–1961 B.C.
Findspot: Egypt, Deir el-Bersha, Tomb 10, shaft A (Djehutynakht)

Medium/Technique Wood
Dimensions Length x width x height: 57 x 11 x 23 cm (22 7/16 x 4 5/16 x 9 1/16 in.)
Credit Line Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.16705
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsModels

DescriptionThe following description reflects this object’s current condition and state of assembly, which were achieved after conservation. Photography that appears with this record may show the object prior to changes made during conservation.

This wooden tomb model depicts a boat with a crew of four male figures, each of which is painted reddish-brown with black wigs and white kilts. Their eyes have also been detailed with black and white. three of the figures are in standing poses, while the fourth, a helmsman, sits/kneels at the stern in the position of manning a steering oar. This oar would originally have been attached to a stanchion that occupied the hole visible in the stern portion of the deck, but these components are missing. A striding figure maintains a lookout position in the prow. The central two figures would have been faced by another pair, likely flanking the mast of the boat, which also has not survived. The boat was painted white, traces of which remain, and divisions and beams of the deck are detailed further with red lines.
ProvenanceFrom Deir el-Bersha, tomb 10, shaft A (tomb of Djehutynakht). May 1915: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Egypt. (Accession Date: March 1, 1921)