ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Tomb Relief

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodOld Kingdom, Dynasty 5 - Dynasty 6

Date2435-2152 BCE

MediumLimestone

Credit LineGift of Wayne and Ellen Bailey

Dimensions5 3/8 x 6 3/4 in. (13.7 x 17.2 cm)

Object number2006.010.001

Label TextThe mastaba tombs of the later Old Kingdom were decorated with scenes of daily life in hopes that these activities would be perpetuated in the next world. Within a standard set of motifs, the artists were allowed freedom to interject personal and even humorous detail. This relief depicts two servants, (only the back of the front figure and an arm and foot of the back figure can be seen) shouldering a long pole that would have supported a carrying chair in which the tomb owner would probably have been seated.

Beneath the carrying chair is a male servant, carrying a short staff with a curled end in his left hand. His short, stocky proportions indicate he is a dwarf. The master's hunting hound walks in front of him, his short tail curled tightly behind, ears pricked. The dog wears a collar to which the leash is attached. The comical pair trotting along beneath the litter adds a note of levity to an otherwise somber procession.

The three hieroglyphs beneath the carrying pole spell out the word "hbn," the dog's name. This is also the word for the dark African wood that we now call "ebony," derived from the ancient Egyptian. Egyptian pets were often given names referred to their color or physical attributes. The breed depicted is the basenji, one of the most ancient of all dogs.
Exhibition HistoryFrom Pharaohs to Emperors: New Egyptian and Classical Antiquities at Emory, Michael C. Carlos Museum, January 14 - April 2, 2006
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2006 - August 8, 2011
Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old Kingdom Mummy, Michael C. Carlos Museum, September 10 - December 11, 2011
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, December 12, 2011 - January 29, 2018
Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 10 - November 11, 2018
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, January 29, 2019-Present

Published ReferencesArte Primitivo, Fine Antiquities and Asian Art (March 21, 2005), front cover, lot 142.
Rupert Wace Ancient Art (2006), number 19.
MCCM Newsletter, September - November 2006.

ProvenanceWith Christie's East, New York, New York, ca. 1974. Ex private collection, United States, from 1978. With Arte Primitivo, New York, New York, March 21, 2005, lot 142. Purchased by MCCM from Rupert Wace Ancient Art, Ltd., London, England.

Status

On view

Collections