Treasures of Tutankhamun

Apart from the yellow and green extensions with their shallow keels at the stem and stern, the hull of this boat is carved from a single block of wood, probably acacia. It is shaped in a graceful curve to represent a carvel-built craft suitable for sailing on the Nile. The main deck has been hollowed to a depth of 1.5 centimetres below the level of the bulwarks.

Amidships is an elongated cabin, its stepped roof following the curve of the hull and the walls of both its upper and its lower sections terminating at the top in co loured cavetto cornices. In the forecastle and the poop are screens for the crew, mounted on decks which overhang the gunwales on both sides. Two long steering paddles are manipulated in upright crutches held firmly at the top by a horizontal bar and fixed at the base to a cross-beam in front of the poop-deck. The walls of the screens and the cabin are covered with a multicoloured chequer pattern decoration broken on the port side of the cabin by four small windows in the upper section and two doors in the lower section.

Two broad bands of the same decoration on the hull give the impression of strengthening ties. Painted on each side of the bows are a lotus flower, heads of the ram of Amun with uraeus and the falcon of Horus (on the port side with sun's disk, uraeus and two ostrich plumes), both mounted on pedestals, and a figure of the king as a sphinx wearing on his head the blue crown (khepresh) and trampling on a Nubian enemy.

Above the sphinx is the sun's disk flanked by uraei. On the port side only is a third pedestal supporting a winged falcon with the sun's disk and the sign for eternity between its wings. An empty cartouche is painted in front of the sphinx. In corresponding scenes on the stern are a figure of a winged goddess (Malit) on a green basket (the emblem for universality) and three representations of the falcon - headed god of war, Mont, smiting Nubian and Asian enemies.

The small rectangular projections on both sides of the upper part of the hull imitate the ends of thwarts inserted in carvel-built boats to yoke the two sides. The boat was one of seven of its kind, which, together with four other boats equipped with masts, rigging and square sails, were stacked haphazardly, mostly on the tops of shrines, in the Treasury. Since it had neither oars nor sail it must have represented a barge which would be towed in a flotilla on some formal occasion.

It may have been a model of one of the boats used to transport mourners and furniture to the tomb at the time of the king's funeral, or it may have been intended for his pilgrimage in the Afterlife to sacred places such as Abydos and Buto. Nothing in its build or decoration, which has several parallels on boats of the period, is truly indicative of its function

Floral motifs, particularly representations of the papyrus and the lotus, were often used to decorate Egyptian unguent vessels. The lotus was perhaps the most fragrant flower in the Nile Valley and therefore very appropriate for adorning containers intended for sweet-smelling unguents. The papyrus, however, was almost odourless and its association with the lotus in this connection is probably the result of the regular juxtaposition of the two plants in sculpture and painting as the respective emblems of Lower Egypt (papyrus) and Upper Egypt (lotus).

With their stems intertwined they symbolized the union of the two divisions of the land at the beginning of the First Dynasty. Carved of two blocks of alabaster of unequal height cemented together, this piece consists of a long-necked amphora and its stand, each flanked by symbols arranged symmetrically in an openwork design. On a level with the base of the vase and on the base of the vase itself is a double row of triangular incisions indicating a papyrus swamp. At each end of the row is a figure of a tadpole mounted on a ring of rope. As a hieroglyphic sign the tadpole means 'one hundred thousand' and the ring of rope 'eternity'.

Grouped in this fashion the two signs convey the meaning 'one hundred thousand times eternity'. The notched stems above this group, which form the outermost elements in the handles of the vase, represent palm-ribs, the hieroglyphic sign for 'year'. Between the palm-ribs and the vase are the stems and flowers of papyrus and lotus, either growing from the swamp or tied to the neck of the vase by the so-called magical knot. On the front of the neck, carved in relief, is the head of the goddess Hathor; attached to her collar, which is incised and filled with a black pigment, is a lotus flower flanked by two buds and beneath it a single mandrake fruit. On the belly of the vase, under a frieze of petals, are representations of two human breasts and the names and titles of Tutankhamun, in part written defectively.

The stand consists of a central support flanked by two signs of 'life' (ankh), the cross-pieces of which are in the form of human arms and hands, each holding the hieroglyph for 'welfare, prosperity' (was). The inner hands also hold single papyrus flowers and stems which extend from the inner was signs to the central support. Some fifty alabaster (calcite) vases for unguents were found in the tomb, nearly all of them emptied of their contents by the robbers in their second visitation.

It has been estimated that the total quantity of unguent placed in the tomb amounted to about 400 litres. That the robbers should have risked their lives to obtain it and also that they should have chosen it in preference to the many other treasures at their mercy would alone prove that it was a costly commodity. The vases being heavy and, in the case of this vessel and four others of the same general character, too large to move through the tunnel, the robbers poured the precious oils into water-skins for removal.

Chemical analysis of the contents of one of the vessels found intact showed that the principal constituent was animal fat, to which some resin or balsam had been added, while cedar oil was identified as the base ingredient of another specimen. The perfume was extracted from flowers, gum-resins and other fragrant substances by wringing them in cloths and squeezing out the odoriferous liquids.

This alabaster unguent jar is carved in the form of a lion standing upright on a pedestal, the head and body being hol­ lowed out to hold the unguent. The teeth and protruding tongue are made of ivory, the latter painted red. The left front paw rests on the hieroglyphic symbol for 'protection', while the right is held high. Both front paws have holes for the inser­ tion of claws, perhaps of ivory. The right back paw, slightly raised, is placed in advance ofthe left, a pose which differs from that of standing figures of men in which the left leg is generally forward. Fixed to the top of the lion's head is a crown like addition which serves as the mouth of the vase.

It consists of a circular base from which project representations of pointed leaves of the blue lily and single lotus lilies surmounted by single papyrus flowers and small rosettes. Tufts of hair, inlaid with blue pigment, are engraved on the back of each shoulder. The lobes of the ears are pierced to hold ear­ rings. On the chest are inscribed the names and royal titles of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. Beneath the chequer pattern band of blue, black, white and yellow rectangles, the frieze ofthe pedestal consists of representations of individual lily petals and mandrakes. Another alabaster unguent vase found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, but not included in this exhibition, is furnished with a lid on which is carved a lion closely resembling the lion of this vase, except that it is in a recumbent position.

Two miniature lotus columns on the outside of the vase are surmounted by heads of the god Bes, a domestic deity associated with pleasures of every kind. Egyptian unguent vases frequently embodied in their composition a figure ofBes, usually represented as a bandy-legged dwarf with ears, mane and tail of a lion. The associa­ tion between the god and, on the one hand, the lion and, on the other hand, unguent vases is thus very close and it seems evident that the lion-form was chosen for this vase because of the animal's connec­tion with Bes and consequently with receptacles for unguents. When found in the Annexe, it was in an upright position, but the crown had been wrenched off by the thieves and was lying on the floor nearby, its alabaster cover held in place by a Iinen binding. The dried fatty contents,black in colour, remained intact

Some two thousand years before the time ofTutankhamun, the vulture goddess of Elkab, Nekhbet, was worshipped locally in an oblong pavilion made of a light wooden frame, the top of which was covered with the skin of an animal. The earliest representations, which date from about 3100 BC, show this pavilion in a stylized form, sometimes mounted on a sledge. Its roof frequently has a hump at the front and a downward slope towards the back.

It was called the Great House (per wer). When the rulers of Elkab succeeded in establishing their supremacy over the whole of Upper Egypt and ultimately, through Menes, in conquering Lower Egypt, Nekhbet was promoted to the position of joint tutelary goddess of the king of the Two Lands, her partner being the serpent goddess of Buto, Wadjet, who had advanced from local to national recognition under the former kings of Lower Egypt. The sanctuaries of the two goddesses (called iterty) were then regarded as representative of the sanctuaries of all the local deities in their respective regions of the united kingdom.

Thus, in the step pyramid enclosure of Zoser (c 2650 BC), two rows of dummy shrines faced each other in the jubilee festival court, one row for the gods of Upper Egypt in the form of the sanctuary of Nekhbet and the other row for the gods of Lower Egypt in the form of the sanctuary of Wad jet (per nu). Tutankhamun's small shrine is in the form of the sanctuary of Nekhbet mounted on a sledge. It is made of wood overlaid with a layer of gesso and covered with sheet gold. The wooden sledge is overlaid with silver.

Carter was of the opinion that the gesso was first modelled in relief and the plain sheet gold was then pressed against it until it had registered the impression of the modelling, the outer face of the gold being finally chased. It seems doubtful, however, whether the gesso, even with skins of gossamer-like linen, which a recent examination has shown to be present on both faces of the exposed gesso on the inside of one of the doors, would have had the strength to withstand the amount of pressure and friction involved in the process.

If this doubt is valid, the scenes and inscriptions must have been worked on the gold itself; the gold sheets would then have been put face downwards on a flat surface and covered with a piece of linen, lastly the gesso in a molten state would have been poured on the back of the linen so that it filled the depressions on the reverse side of the gold and, while it was still soft, the second piece of linen would have been applied to the outer surface. The purpose of the gesso would thus have been to give support to the decoration on the gold and to provide a flat surface for attachment to the wooden walls, roof and door.

A row of black wooden shrines standing against the south wall of the Treasury housed thirty-two wooden figures of gods or of the king. There were twenty-two shrines, all except one with their doors closed and fastened with a cord and sealed. Three of the figures were coated with black resin and the remainder were gilded. Each figure was enveloped from the neck to the feet in a linen cloth marked in ink with the date of its manufacture and showing that they were all woven in the time of Akhenaten.

Of the seven figures of the king found in the shrines three are displayed in this room. This figure is carved of a hard wood overlaid with gesso and gilded. The eyes are made of glass and the gilded uraeus is modelled in bronze. It represents the king wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, a bead collar, a pleated kilt with apron and a pair of sandals. The lobes of the ears are pierced for earrings. In his right hand he holds a flail and in the left a long crooked staff, both these insignia, together with the sandals, being made of gilded bronze.

In accordance with an artistic convention dating back to the beginning of Egyptian history, the left leg is placed in advance of the right. Com­pared with the rest of the figure, which is delicately carved, the legs are heavy, a common fault in Egyptian sculpture. The deep dip in the front of the girdle, which reveals much of the abdomen, is characteristic of Amarna art. The wooden pedestal, which is varnished with black resin, is not inscribed.

Egyptian sculpture in the round, if it portrays a king or a queen, very seldom shows the subject performing an action, although representations in relief of kings engaged in religious and secular activities are very common. This piece, which shows the king harpooning from a boat made of papyrus stems, is an exception to the rule. It is one of a pair of similar figures found together in one of the black wooden shrines set against the south wall of the Treasury. It was enveloped in a single sheet of linen extending from the shoulders to the ankles. Carved in wood, the figure of the king is coated with gesso and gilded. Its eyes of glass (perhaps with pupils of obsidian) are set in bronze or copper sockets, the same metal being used for the eyebrows.

The boat, also made of wood, is painted green apart from the bindings of the papyrus stems and the calices, both of which are gilded. Beneath the boat is a rectangular wooden pedestal varnished with black resin. The king wears the red crown of Lower Egypt, a bead collar, pleated kilt with apron and sandals. In his right hand he holds the harpoon and in his left a coil of rope. The uraeus, sandals, harpoon and rope are made of bronze, all except the rope being gilded.

In Pharaonic times hippopotami frequented the swamps and papyrus marshes of the Lower Nile; even as recently as the beginning of the last century the traveller W. J. Bankes recorded that a hippopotamus had reached the Delta, though at that time it must have been a very exceptional occurrence. Ancient Egyptian nobles hunted them, and representations of such hunts were sometimes included among the wall decorations of tombs. The method employed was to attach a cord to a barb and to project it by means of a harpoon.

When several barbs had entered the animal so that it had become weak through loss of blood, it was pulled to the bank by the cords and killed. This figure, however, shows the king engaged not in an ordinary hippopotamus hunt but in the performance of a religious rite. According to a legend preserved in a late text on a wall of the temple of Edfu, the god Re-Horakhty when he ruled on earth conducted a military expedition into Nubia accompanied by his son, Horus. While still away from home he received news that his throne was in danger and he decided to return to Egypt.

On reaching Edfu he instructed Horus to attack the enemy, whose identity is not at that point specified, though subsequently reference is made to Seth and his con­ federates. Horus carried out his attack by first flying to the sky in the form of the sun's disk with wings and then swooping down on the enemy, killing very many, . though a number seem to have escaped. Thinking that his victory was complete, he returned to the boat of Re-Horakhty. The surviving enemies, however, changed themselves into hippopotami and crocodiles in order to attack the sun-god in his boat. Once more the battle was taken up by Horus and this time he and his followers slaughtered the enemy with harpoons, pursuing them down the Nile until they were utterly destroyed.

Although the legend - which is not the only one of its kind - had probably under­ gone many changes in detail by the time it was recorded at Edfu for presentation in the form of a drama, the essential features are unlikely to have been very different in the days of Tutankhamun. This figure very probably commemorates such an event, or at least another in the same cycle, with the king impersonating the god Horus, of whom he was thought to be the earthly embodiment. The hippopotamus of Seth, the god of evil, would not be shown for magical reasons because his presence might be a source of danger to the king. Artistically this piece is an outstanding example of the Egyptian sculptor's ability to represent realistically the poise of the human body at a chosen point in course of movement.