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Sources:1. Borla, Mathilde : Les Statuettes Funéraires du Musée Égyptien de Turin In: Dossiers d'Archeologie
2003
2. KMT, vol. 14, pt. 1
3. Meskell, Lynn: Intimate archaeologies : the case of Kha and Merit. IN: World Archaeology, Vol. 29,
No. 3, Intimate relationships (Feb. 1998), p. 363-379.
4. Shaw, Ian, Nicholson, Paul: British Museum dictionary of ancient Egypt
London: British Museum Press, 1995.
5. Reeves, Nicholas: Ancient Egypt : the great discoveries : a year-by-year chronicle
London : Thames & Hudson, 2000.
6. Vassilika, Eleni: The tomb of Kha : the architect
Torino : Fondazione Museo delle Antichita Egizie, 2010.
7. Russo, Barbara: Kha (TT 8) and his colleagues : the gifts in his funerary equipment and related
artefacts from Western Thebes
London : Golden House Publications, 2012.
8 https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1107/1107.5831.pdf
9. Raffaella Bianucci, Michael E. Habicht, Stephen Buckley, Joann Fletcher, Roger Seiler, Lena M.
Öhrström, Eleni Vassilika, Thomas Böni, Frank J. Rühl. "Shedding New Light on the 18th Dynasty
Mummies of the Royal Architect Kha and His Spouse Merit", in PLOS-One, July 22, 2015
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131916
Images of Deir el-Medina:
past & present
Egyptian Museum, Turin, Italy
The Egyptian Museum (Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino), specialised in Egyptian archaeology and anthropology, is dedicated exclusively to Egyptian art and culture. The collection has developed over the last two centuries, first as part of a university collection and then at the Academy of Sciences, where it is now housed.
https://museoegizio.it/
“The road to Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin”.
Jean-François Champollion
The first object linked to Egypt to arrive in Turin was the Mensa Isiaca, also known as the Bembine Tablet, an offering table imitating the Egyptian style, in 1630. It may have been made for a temple of Isis in Rome.
This exotic piece inspired King Carlo Emmanuele III to commission the botanist Vitaliano Donati to travel to Egypt in 1753 to acquire objects from the past. Donati returned with 300 pieces from Karnak and Coptos, which became the nucleus of the University of Turin's collection.
In 1824, King Carlo Felice acquired the material of the Drovetti collection (5,268 pieces, including 100 statues, 170 papyri, stelae, mummies and other objects), which the French consul general, Bernardino Drovetti, had collected during his stay in Egypt. In the same year, Jean-François Champollion used the vast Turin papyrus collection to test his breakthroughs in deciphering hieroglyphic writing. In 1833, the collection of the Piedmontese Giuseppe Sossio (over 1,200 pieces) was added to the museum. On its arrival in Turin, the collection, consisting of about 5,300 pieces, was installed in the rooms of the Academia della Scienze, where it has remained to this day.
In 1894 Ernesto Schiaparelli was appointed director of the museum. The collection was enriched beyond all expectations by the finds made during his excavation campaigns between 1900 and 1920. Between 1905 and 1909, he carried out the first scientific excavations at Deir el-Medina. In one season, 1906, Schiaparelli employed more than 500 workers at the site. The northern side of the valley was explored to virgin soil. The most spectacular of the many finds was the intact 18th Dynasty tomb of the architect Kha and his wife Meryt. The tomb and its contents were fully documented in a publication, but Schiaparelli died before the excavation report could be completed.
The museum's last major acquisition was the small temple of Ellesiya, given to Italy by the Egyptian government for its assistance in the campaign to save Nubian monuments in the 1960s. The museum was transferred to the Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino in December 2005.
In 2009, a major project was launched to expand the space and build new rooms to adapt the collections to modern needs. In 2012, the Savoy Gallery was moved to the New Wing of the Royal Palace, allowing a complete renovation to take place. The museum reopened in the spring of 2015. The new layout presents objects in chronological order, from the 4th millennium BC to the Coptic period, with new lighting, modern displays and new facilities.
Detailed information https://www.museoegizio.it/en/discover/story/
I would like to thank Alessandro Girardi of the Museum's Collections and Research Department for his kind permission to publish my photographs on this website.
All photographs of the museum spaces and objects from the collections are © Museo Egizio di Torino.
The photographs were taken by Lenka Peacock in 2019 and 2020.
Let us enter room 7 on the first floor of the Turin Museum, called Tomba di Kha (Tomb of Kha), and not only look around at the objects on display, but also look over our shoulders and look back through time, through centuries.
In the season of 1906, Ernesto Schiaparelli and his 250 workmen had been working on the site of Deir el-Medina for four weeks, with little to show for their tireless shift-work, when they came across a tomb. They were working at the top of the western cemetery in the area of the decorated chapel, surmounted by a small pyramid, which had already been discovered by Bernardino Drovetti in the early years of the 19th century. The name Kha was known from the walls of this chapel and, curiously, Kha's funerary stele (below right) had found its way into the Turin collection decades before Schiaparelli's work on the site. The burial chambers of Kha's tomb escaped discovery because they were not located under the burial chapel, as is usual, but in the hill opposite.
Stela of Kha and Meryt
Painted sandstone
Height: 74,5 cm
Upper register: Kha is depicted on the left and right side worshipping the god Osiris and Anubis respectively.
Lower register: Kha and his wife Meryt are seated before an offering table. Their son stands on the right.
The carving is executed in raised relief.
From the Drovetti Collection
Cat. 1618 = CGT 50007
Museo Egizio Information and pictures
When the flight of steps was discovered near the hillside, Ernesto Schiaparelli was accompanied by Antiquities Inspector Arthur Weigall and they discovered where the passage led.
"The mouth of the tomb was approached down a flight of steep, rough steps, still half-choked with debris. At the bottom of this the entrance of a passage running into the hillside was blocked by a wall of rough stones. After photographing and removing this, we found ourselves in a long, low tunnel, blocked by a second wall a few yards ahead. Both these walls were intact, and we realized that we were about to see what probably no living man had ever seen before..."
Arthur Weigall, the Antiquities Service Inspector (Reeves, 2000, 126).
The two walls were removed. Now the two excavators were standing in a roughly cut corridor of about standing height. Lined up against the wall on the left were pieces of burial furniture, several baskets, some amphorae, a bed, a stool and a staff. At the end of the corridor was a simple wooden door.
"The wood retained the light colour of fresh deal, and looked
for all the world as though it had been set up but yesterday.
A heavy wooden lock held the door fast. A neat bronze
handle on the side of the door was connected by a spring to a
wooden knob set in the masonry door post; and this spring was
carefully sealed with a small dab of stamped clay. The whole
contrivance seemed so modern that professor Schiaparelli
called to his servant for the key, who quite seriously replied,
"I don't know where it is, sir"."
A.W.
With no key to open the door, the lock was carefully cut with a fret saw to gain access to the chamber beyond. When the door swung open for the first time in over three thousand years, the burial chamber was revealed.
The entire burial was neatly and carefully arranged in the room. The main objects were still covered with dust sheets, which were still firm to the touch. The floor had been neatly swept by the last people to leave. A single papyrus-columned wooden lamp stand supported a copper-alloy saucer still containing the ashes of its ancient flame.
"One asked oneself in bewilderment whether the ashes here, seemingly not cold, had truly ceased to glow at a time when Rome and Greece were undreamt of, when Assyria did not exist, and when the Exodus of the Children of Israel was yet unaccomplished".
The tomb and its contents reflected the personal wealth of its owners, their particular position in society and their life history. It suggested the image of a wealthy 18th dynasty home, packed away in preparation for reuse in the afterlife.
Low tables were piled high with food offerings: vegetables, heavily spiced minced greens (Kha was almost toothless when he died), mashed carob, grapes, mumusop fruit and dates, salt, cumin, garlic braids and juniper berries.
The tomb belonged to Kha, a royal architect, and to his wife Meryt. Kha was active during at least three and possibly four reigns - those of Tuthmosis III (1504-1450 BC), Amenhotep II (1453-1419 BC), Tuthmosis IV (1419-1386 BC) and Amenhotep III (1386-1349 BC), pharaohs of the 18th dynasty.
It is not difficult to form a picture of Kha as an individual - this is evidenced by the number of objects inscribed with his name or which belonged to him because of his trade and the position he held during his lifetime. We also have an insight into his personal life through his clothing, jewellery, furniture, toiletries and favourite pastimes. Some 196 objects can be attributed to Kha (Meskell, 1998, 372).
Kha's mummy is better preserved than his wife's. The theory that neither body was embalmed has recently been re-examined using new-generation X-ray imaging and chemical microanalysis. The team of Raffaella Bianucci, Michael E. Habicht, Stephen Buckley, Joann Fletcher, Roger Seiler, Lena M. Öhrström, Eleni Vassilika, Thomas Böni and Frank J. Rühli provided evidence that both individuals had undergone a relatively high quality of mummification. In their article, published in July 2015, they suggest that elucidated 'recipes' whose components had antibacterial and anti-insecticidal properties were used to treat their bodies, and that the time and effort spent on embalming and the use of imported expensive resins, especially pistacia, do not support the previously held view that these two individuals were poorly mummified. Despite the lack of disembowelling, the approach allowed for their preservation and a fairly successful mummification (view article).
In the past, X-ray analysis had revealed that Kha wears a gold "necklace of bravery" around his neck underneath the many layers of tight wrappings. This type of ornament is believed to have been given to individuals by the pharaoh himself. His body is adorned with other fine jewellery. He was buried with a wide collar made of a string of gold rings. A long spun and braided gold necklace supporting a heart scarab, a tyt amulet probably of carnelian, an ururet amulet in the shape of a snake's head, probably also of carnelian, on his forehead, a pair of gold earrings and a bracelet on each arm made of a gold strip.
(Meskell, 1998, 373).
The temporary exhibition Invisible Archaeology (March 2019 - January 2022), on the top floor of the museum, presented both bodies - Kha's and Meryt's - in one of the rooms dedicated to them. Short videos presented visitors with a virtual unpacking of their mummies, accompanied by insights into their physical appearance, health problems and the objects that still accompanied their bodies.
https://museoegizio.it/esplora/mostre/archeologia-invisibile/
Kha's mummy was wrapped in a large linen sheet. Each of his limbs, his neck and his head were bandaged separately under the outer layers of bandages. Kha was about 1.70m tall and strongly built. He was around 60 years old at the time of his death. He suffered from abscesses and loss of teeth. The CAT scan showed sclerosis of the coronary arteries and aorta, and osteoarthritis in his knees and spine. 14 gallstones were found in his gallbladder. His body is adorned with jewellery - a Shebyu necklace, bracelets, 6 rings, earrings - mostly made of gold, and several funerary amulets, mostly made of gemstones.
Kha's body was originally placed in a series of wooden coffins. The large black outer rectangular shrine-shaped coffin was covered with bitumen.
Inside were two black and gold anthropomorphic coffins of fine craftsmanship.
The outer sarcophagus is similar to Meryt's coffin except for the sled base, which is missing from hers.
Length: 3 m
S. 8210
ME Information and pictures
The central anthropomorphic coffin of Kha is also covered with bitumen. Horizontal and vertical gilded bindings with prayer texts in raised relief imitate the mummy linen bindings. A winged gilded vulture of Nekhbet in raised relief protects the chest of the coffin.
S. 8316/01
ME Information and pictures
The deceased has a gilded face, eyes inlaid with glass, and a long wig alternately painted in dark blue and gold leaf. The wide wesekh collar is painted in gold, red and green. The arms are crossed on the chest, with golden fists protruding from the bindings. A garland of flowers was placed over the coffin (Vassilika, 2010, 65).
The inner mummy-shaped coffin of Kha is covered with raised relief and is completely gilded. The gold leaf was applied to a layer of stucco. The inlaid eyes are glass. Just below the crossed arms Nekhbet again protects his chest.
S. 8429
ME Information and pictures
The display case below shows Kha's personal belongings - from his toiletries, flasks, sandals, scribbling palettes and writing boards to strainers and bracelets. All of these objects were found in the white wooden box (seen at the bottom of the case). They are an intriguing mix, linking Kha's professional and personal lives.
In the foreground are 4 wooden smoothers or irons for papyrus, or perhaps pestles for grinding pigments, and a wooden instrument whose function has been debated by archaeologists for the last 100 years. Most have concluded that it was a balance. At the end of July 2011, Amelia Sparavigna, a physicist at Turin Polytechnic, suggested that it was another architectural tool - a protractor. The key, she said, lay in the numbers encoded in the object's ornate decoration, which resembles a compass rose with 16 equally spaced petals surrounded by a circular zigzag with 36 corners.
To read the full article on Redazione Archaeogate, 28-07-2011, go to https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1107/1107.5831.pdf
The tomb contained many pieces of furniture: in addition to Kha's and Meryt's wooden beds, complete with wooden headrests and linen, there were several decorated and white-painted storage chests filled with clothing and other items of daily use; a brightly painted and inscribed royal chair; a painted stool; two white wooden tables; a small wooden and ivory box; and a single folding duck-head stool.
Kha's bed is made of wood, and for comfort the base has a central rectangular cut out and filled with fibre. The bed is not painted like Meryt's and is slightly larger. It did not fit into the burial chamber itself and was left in the antechamber passage outside the door (Vassilika,2010,55).
S. 8327
ME Information and pictures
Kha's personal belongings give a sense of his responsibilities, his position and the Pharaoh's admiration for his skills. His wooden cubit rule is covered with gold leaf and decorated in relief - it was a personal gift from Amenhotep II as a reward for Kha's achievements.
S. 8647
ME Information and photos
Kha's high-backed painted wooden chair (S. 8333) with the wooden statuette of Kha (S. 8335) and two stone shabtis - one made of black stone - steatite - (S. 8337), one made of light wood (S. 8339), a black wooden painted shabti coffin (S. 8338) and a small woven textile with floral motifs (S. 8528) were found immediately in front of Meryt's coffin. The striking statuette is the only known statue of Kha. A floral garland adorns the shoulders and chest of the figure, and another garland was placed at her feet. The front of the kilt bears a column with a hieroglyphic inscription of a funerary prayer written in yellow pigment.
Meryt predeceased her husband. She was buried in two coffins. Her large wooden outer sarcophagus was similar to Kha's. and was also found covered with a linen sheet. Her inner coffin must have been made for Kha, as it was too large for Meryt's body and had to be packed with layers of cloth to fill the space. The base of the coffin is decorated on the outside with gilded figures and inscriptions on a black bitumen background, and the inside is decorated with the sky goddess Nut in her outline, while the mummiform lid is entirely gilded (Vassilika, 2010, 33-39).
Outer coffin of Meryt
S. 8517
ME Information and photos
Inner coffin of Meryt
S. 8470
ME Information and photos
Meryt's body was mummified and wrapped in a wide linen cloth, which was sewn together at the edges with a cord. Inside the cloth her body is wrapped in bandages. A thin layer of bandages (about 1 cm thick) also wraps each of her limbs. The mummy is in poor condition. The cause of death has not been determined. Meryt was about 147-152 cm tall. She was about 30-35 years old. She suffered from dental abscesses and had lost several teeth. Her body was adorned with jewellery (a pair of gold earrings in each ear, a wide gold necklace, several rings, a bracelet (perhaps made of stone) and a belt (made of pearls).
Meryt's funerary mask, which was found fitted over her head, was made of linen and plaster and it was decorated with gold leaf. It was also inlaid with stone and coloured glass, imitating precious stones.
S. 8473
ME Information and pictures
Meryt's painted wooden rectangular beauty case with a lid was divided into five sections containing small vessels made of travertine, glass, faience and horn. Remains of ointments can still be seen in them.
S. 8479
ME Information and pictures
The article The Hair and Wig of Meryt: Grooming in the 18th Dynasty by Stephen Buckley and Joann Fletcher includes a comprehensive study of Meryt's wig and the results of the analysis of the lower lengths of hair used in the hairpiece. It revealed the presence of a vegetable oil mixed with a small amount of 'balsam', a vegetable gum, and beeswax, together with cholesterol. The authors suggest that the discovery of a vegetable oil mixed with a small amount of 'balsam' on the wig, perhaps as a perfumed moisturising treatment, was intended to keep the hair in good condition, as was indeed originally suggested by Schiaparelli.
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue42/6/4.cfm
On the left side of the tomb, near Meryt's bed, was a large wooden box containing Meryt's wig. The wig is made from real human hair.
S. 8493
ME Information and photos
S. 8499
ME Information and photos
During the spring and summer of 2020, Christian Greco, the director of the Egyptian Museum, recorded "Le Passeggiate del Direttore" (The Director's Walks) to guide the viewer through the museum's rooms, telling the story of the collections, the most important and lesser known artefacts and their archaeological context.
The first of the three episodes is dedicated to Kha and Meryt, the discovery of the most famous treasure in the Egyptian Museum's collection.
The Director's Walks : The Tomb of Kha and Merit - Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo2-Ies99e0&list=PLg2dFdDRRClGtp33i7xqUwFO82TEVnMz2&index=16
In the second of three episodes dedicated to Kha and Meryt, the director explains the secrets of hieroglyphic writing.
The director's walks: The Papyrus of Kha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIE_XGIh_Zc&list=PLg2dFdDRRClGtp33i7xqUwFO82TEVnMz2&index=17
The last of the three episodes dedicated to Kha and Meryt describes their intact tomb as an extraordinary time capsule that takes us back to 1350 BC.
The Director's Walks: Kha and Meryt's Tomb Content
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG5QY7XMBrY&list=PLg2dFdDRRClGtp33i7xqUwFO82TEVnMz2&index=18
Room 6, next to the room containing Kha & Meryt, tells the story of Deir el-Medina through objects from the village. There is an incredible range of fascinating objects from statues, written records, pottery, basketry to tools and sandals, as well as an entire late 18th dynasty funerary chapel.
There are 3 episodes dedicated to Deir el-Medina and related objects in the Egyptian Museum collection in the Director's Walks.
The Director's walks : The village of Deir el-Medina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFnobFIGwz8&list=PLg2dFdDRRClGtp33i7xqUwFO82TEVnMz2&index=13
The Director's walks: The Strike papyrus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C-XStSoQa8&list=PLg2dFdDRRClGtp33i7xqUwFO82TEVnMz2&index=14
The Director's walks : The Funerary cult at Deir el-Medina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u69hV5Vr9mg&list=PLg2dFdDRRClGtp33i7xqUwFO82TEVnMz2&index=15
There is also a virtual tour of Deir el-Medina and the Tomb of Kha given by Cedric Gobeil
https://virtualtour.museoegizio.it/
Below are some highlights from the Room 6 collection. New objects will appear on this page during 2023, after my next visit to the museum.
Statue of the deified Amenhotep I
From Deir el-Medina
19th-20th dynasty
Painted limestone
On stylistic grounds the statue can be dated to the 19th or 20th dynasty, but it may be a copy of an older statue from the time of Amenhotep I himself. It was probably carried in processions during religious ceremonies. The seated pharaoh wears nemes headdress, decorated with parallel blue and yellow stripes. He has a false beard attached to his chin (Museo Egizio,2019,132).
65 x 27 x 40 cm
Drovetti collection (1824)
Cat. 1372
Museo Egizio Information and photos
Furniture fragment decorated with the images of Nekhbet, the vulture goddess, Ahmose Nefertari and Amenhotep I
From Deir el-Medina
19th-20th dynasty (1292-1076 BC)
Painted wood
The black skin of Ahmose Nefertari refers to fertility and rebirth.
65 x 27 x 40 cm
Drovetti collection (1824)
Cat. 2458/1
Museo Egizio Information and photos
The Cult of Amenhotep I
From the 18th dynasty onwards, the cult of Amenhotep I, especially in the form of the "Lord of the Village", together with his mother Ahmose-Nefertari, was the main focus of the religious worship of the population of Deir el-Medina. Jaroslav Černý pointed out that there were several forms of this cult in Deir el-Medina, corresponding to the statues, each of which had a particular name and was housed in the various sanctuaries established there (Černý, 1927, 182).
Amenhotep I Djeserkare (1514-1493 BC) was the second pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. He was probably very young when he ascended the throne, so it is likely that his mother, Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, acted as regent for the first part of his reign. They are jointly credited with the founding of Deir el-Medina, where they enjoyed personal religious cults until the late Ramesside period.
In addition to the modest temple dedicated to the couple, Ahmose-Nefertari and Amenhotep I were also worshipped in the chapels of other gods. These secondary worshipping activities were carried out by the Wab priests, who would participate in various festivals throughout the year. One of the notable festivals involved the procession of Amenhotep I's statue into the Valley of the Kings, while another may have been associated with the anniversary of his death.
The deified king, Amenhotep I, held a significant role in settling disputes, particularly those related to property. The priests of this cult, who were drawn from the ranks of the workers themselves, would consult the divine image of Amenhotep I for oracular pronouncements. These pronouncements, whether positive or negative, carried great weight and were considered a consensus among the priests. The cult of Ahmose-Nefertari at Deir el-Medina is supported by both textual and representational evidence. Cult statues, votive stelae, libation basins, paintings, and inscriptions in tombs and on ostraca all contribute to the understanding of her worship. In fact, more than fifty Theban tombs of private individuals contain inscriptions that mention the name of Ahmose-Nefertari, further highlighting her significance in the religious and social life of the community.
Stela dedicated to Ahmose Nefertari by Heryher for Iy’s ka
From Deir el-Medina
New Kingdom, 19th-20th Dynasty (1292-1076 BC)
Limeston
13,3 x 9,7 x 3 cm
Drovetti collection (1824).
Cat. 1450 = RCGE 5747
Translation: Praying to [Ahmose Nefertari….mistress of the town...] [She causes] that I see the darkness, that she creates. Enlighten my eyes, be merciful to me, be merciful. For the ka of the mistress of the house, Iy - justified - (Galan,1999,27)
In his article "Seeing darkness" José Galan gathers the corpus of Deir el-Medina stelae with the text mentioning darkness as god’s punishment for a sin committed and groups them according to the phraseology used. The stelae using the phrase “I see darkness by day” (mAA.i kkw m hrw) - Bankes stele No. 6, BM 374, BM 589 - and stelae using the phrase “I see the darkness that you create” (mAA.i kkw n irr.k) - Turin 5046, 5051, 50052 and 50050. Usually the phrase gets translated as "becoming blind".
Galan's interpretation of the phrase "seeing darkness" is as a metaphor used to refer to the situation in which the deceased find themselves after the Final Judgement and before they reach the Hereafter, where god is. They implore god's mercy to have possible sins removed and to be able to enter into contact
with the divine. (Galan, 1999, 24-30)
ME Information and photos
The Turin Museum stelae from Deir el-Medina are principally rectangular, round-topped slabs of limestone decorated with either painted relief decoration or painting over a thin layer of plaster. Most stelae are of votive and funerary nature. They are decorated with scenes of an individual bearing offerings to a deity or a group of deities or simply in the act of worshipping the god or goddess, whose assistance was sought. The majority of stelae in the Turin museum formerly come from the Drovetti collection.
Stela dedicated to the god Ra-Horakhty on the solar boat
From Deir el-Medina
19th dynasty
Limestone
On the cornice of the stela there is a winged scarab, which sometimes replaces the winged solar disk. In the lower register on the left, four mummies are standing in front of a tomb-pyramid of Deir el-Medina and two persons who make offerings. They are Merira and Huy, the two sons of the deceased Qen, whose title was "Amun sculptor of the Place of Truth ". Beside the mummies is a woman named "Takri, who cries with despair".
Cat 1635 = CGT 50074
Height: 57 cm
Width: 36 cm
ME Information and photos
Stela of Mutnofret to Renenutet
From Deir el-Medina
18th-19th dynasty
Round-topped stela of Mutnofret showing the adoration of Renenutet, depicted here with a head of a serpent and a body of a female. The goddess has a solar disk between bovine horns on her head. In the bottom register the same goddess, "The Lady of the Heavens" is adored by the deceased Inofre, who is kneeling with her arms raised.
Renenutet, in Egyptian "snake who nourishes" was a popular and beneficial deity. Protective in nature and of a nurturing rather than venomous disposition, she was a goddess of the harvest and a divine nurse. She is identified with the household and family life in her role as
provider, nourisher and as a nurse of infants. Here her associations with children also identified her with Hathor whose headdress she wears.
23,5 x 16 x 4 cm
S. 6138 RCGE 14896
ME Information and photos
Stela of Baki
From Deir el-Medina
19th dynasty, reign of Seti I and Rameses II, around 1290-1279 BC
Limestone
This round-topped stela is carved in low relief and painted in several colours. The pictorial plane is divided into two registers, the upper one containing two rams facing each other. The animals, with cobras rising on their foreheads, wear tall headdresses composed of two tall plumes with a solar disk at the centre. Between them is a small offering
table with lotus flowers. The mirror image hieroglyphic inscription refers to the rams and reveals their divine nature as that of Amun-Ra. In the register below, foreman Baki is shown in the pose of adoration.
Height: 46 cm
Width: 28.4 cm
Cat. 1549 RCGE 5706
ME Information and photos
Stela of Hay
From Deir el-Medina
20th dynasty, reign of Ramesses III
Limestone
The round-topped stela is dedicated to the goddess Meretseger, represented with a female body and serpent's head and to the goddess Taweret who is depicted as a hippopotamus on two legs and who precedes her. Each of the goddesses is identified in the vertical text in front of her.
Both are wearing a modius crown surmounted by the bovine horns and the solar disc on her head. Meretseger is holding a was-sceptre and the symbol of eternal life. In the dedication Hay, the deputy workman, who lived at Deir el-Medina during the time of Ramesses III, also remembers
his sons Amennakht, draughtsman-scribe, and Nebnefer.
Hay's tomb is no. 267 at Deir el-Medina.
Height: 43 cm
Width: 28 cm
Former Drovetti's collection
Cat. 1606 = CGT 50062
ME Information and photos
Ears in relief stela
19th dynasty
Limestone
This small, rectangular stela is carved in low relief with two pairs of ears pierced in the lobe to hang earrings.
Depictions of ears on stelae were common in New Kingdom Egypt. They related to a new religious concept in which the relationship between the individual and a god was closer and did not necessarily have to rely on the mediation of a priest. The ears are a reference to the divinity listening to the prayers of the faithful, who turn to the god in search of favours such as the curing of diseases.
There are two simple inscriptions: vertical "nebet-hetepet who hears prayer, Lady of Heaven"; horizontal "Wser-satet." The name Wser-Satet, "Powerful of Satet" was probably of Nubian origin, since Satet was a Nubian goddess.
Height: 17 cm
Cat. 1546 = N.50026
From the Drovetti collection
ME Information and photos
Stela of Pashed
From Deir el-Medina
19th dynasty, around 1292-1186 BC
Limestone
On this round-topped stela, the deceased Pashed, "excellent spirit of Ra", akh-iqr, is pictured left, seated on a chair with lion's paws, smelling the lotus flower. The offering table holds a basket containing various offerings. A large open pomegranate, containing a great quantity of seeds, appears under the chair. The colours on this stele are well preserved.
17,5 x 12,3 x 3 cm
Cat. 1570 RCGE 5710
ME Information and photos
Stela of Ipuy
From Deir el-Medina
19th dynasty, around 1292-1186 BC
Limestone
This round-topped stela is divided into two registers.
In the upper register, which is executed in raised relief, the King of kings Harakhte is followed by Amenhotep I, Osiris and the goddess Hathor.
In the lower register, which is executed in bas-relief, Ipuy is depicted with his wife and their children: Nebnakht performs a ritual purification, Huy and Werel offer gifts.
The deceased was a painter and sculptor at Deir el-Medina. His tomb is TT 217.
57 x 38,4 x 7,4 cm
Cat. 7357 RCGE 5689
ME Information and photos
Stela of Nebre
From Deir el-Medina
19th dynasty, around 1292-1186 BC
Limestone
In the top register of this votive stela a swallow (Hirundinidae) is shown perched on top of a shrine. An offering table is placed in front of it on the right side. The bird is called "the good swallow". In the lower register Nakhamun and Khay, Nebre's two sons, kneel in adoration in
front of a large cat. They both hold a bouquet in their right hand, the left hand is raised in adoration before the good cat" (Houlihan,1996,87). The swallow and the cat both represent two minor deities, Menet and Tamit, who are closely connected with the region of the Theban necropolis.
It is remarkable that this stela has been dedicated by Nebre, the royal craftsman, without him being represented here.
Former Drovetti collection
14,2 x 9,2 x 2,5 cm
Cat. 1591 RCGE 5719 = CGT 50056
ME Information and photos
Stela dedicated to Ptah by Penmennefer
From Deir el-Medina
New Kingdom, 19th-20th dynasty (1292-1076 BC)
Limestone, painted
Schiaparelli excavations (1903-1906)
S. 6139
ME Information and photos
Stela of Hy
From Deir el-Medina
New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty (1292-1190 BC)
Limestone
Stela dedicated by Hy to Amun-Re, Taweret and Seth
Behind Taweret, who is upright as usual, are depicted two small hippopotami which share the inscription “Seth, the good god, the son of Nut” and are shown on all four legs. Seth may occur as a hippopotamus and for that reason he might be coupled here with Taweret. In the available records from Deir el-Medina a particular relationship between Taweret and Seth is rarely encountered and the nature of the connection is not clear. (Gleanings, 1982, 19)
Drovetti collection (1824)
Cat. 1514
ME Information and photos
A recent article, published on December 22nd 2017 by Kathrin Gabler entitled "Stele Turin CGT 50057 (= Cat. 1514) im ikonografischen und prosopografischen Kontext Deir el-Medines: nb.t-pr Mw.t(-m-wjA) (vi) im Spannungsfeld der Mächte der
Taweret und des Seth?" appeared in the new on-line magazine The Rivista del Museo Egizio, published by Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino. The Rivista promotes, gathers and disseminates research on all aspects of the collection of the Museo Egizio in Turin and on the archaeological sites investigated by it, today and in the past, as well as studies on topics of indirect relevance to its collection. It provides free access to its content with the view of favouring the broadest possible dissemination of knowledge.
http://rivista.museoegizio.it/
Abstract of the article:
Stela Turin CGT 50057 shows an unusual combination of gods, namely, a triad consisting of Amun-Re, Taweret and Seth, who is represented twice as a small red hippopotamus referred to as “Stj (nTr) nfr ” and “sA Nw.t ”. Exceptionally, this limestone stela illustrates many women. Of the fifteen depicted individuals, twelve are female, eleven of whom are designated as kin of the mistress of the house Mw.t shown in the centre of the stela. Such a prevalence of women is unparalleled among stelae from Deir el- Medina. A discussion of the iconographic and prosopographic elements of the three registers and their figures reveals strong connections with the family of Nfr-rnp.t (i), (or possibly Nfr-rnp.t iii, iv or VII) and the family of the foreman of the left side QAHA (i), whose sister Mw.t(-m-wjA) (vi) appears to be the focus of the Turin stela. Mw.t(-m-wjA) was probably the first wife of the owner of the stela, Nfr-rnp(.)t .The father of QAHA and of Mw.t(-m-wjA), Hwj (ii), possibly donated the stela to wish his daughter and his son-in-law a healthy offspring. The addition of many female relatives in combination with the goddess Taweret points to a fertility context (pregnancy or birth). Taweret and Seth appear in hieratic texts from the community of workmen where the wise woman is consulted. According to these texts, the bAw-powers of both gods were responsible for a failed/unsuccessful pregnancy or the death of infants. The presence of this particular constellation of deities in the first register of the stela thus suggests that such a misfortune may have actually befallen Nfr-rnp.t and Mw.t, and that the scene is a graphical transposition of formulations from the above texts, to the purpose of warding off the bAw of Seth and Taweret.
The full text of the article in German is available at http://rivista.museoegizio.it/article/stele-turin-cgt-50057-cat-1514-im-ikonografischen-und-prosopografischen-kontext-deir-el-medines-nb-t-pr-mw-t-m-wja-vi-im-spannungsfeld-der-machte-der-taweret-und-des-seth/
Stela of May
From Deir el-Medina / Chapel of May (TT 338)
End of the 18th, beginning of the 19th dynasty
Limestone
This round-topped stela is divided into 3 registers. In the top register May and his wife stand in adoration in front of Osiris and Hathor, both
seated on their thrones. In the lower registers the couple sit on chairs in front of an offering table. Their daughter stands next to them.
A procession consisting of their family members approach them with their offerings: 3 men in the middle register and 4 men and 2 women in the bottom register.
The stela would have come from a niche in May's chapel, where it would have been placed on a stone pedestal (according to Bernard Bruyère). When Deir el-Medina was excavated during the last century, these chapels were partly or completely gone as they were built above the ground and made of mud bricks.
Dimensions: 66,7 x 42 x 7,3 cm
The stele is on display in Room III
Inventory no. Cat. 1579 RCGE 46595
ME Information and photos
© Museo Egizio, Torino
Stela dedicated by Ramose to Qadesh shown between Min and Reshep
From Deir-el-Medina
Limestone, paint
19th dynasty, 1292-1190 B.C.
This stela is dedicated by the scribe Ramose to a very particular triad, formed by Min (top register on the left) and the 'foreign' deities Qadesh (middle) and Reshep (on the right). The analysis of its iconography, which is repeated on other stelae preserved in important European museums, reveals interesting socio-cultural implications in the workers' village during the Ramesside period.
A talk called Stele e Trend Iconografici a Deir el-Medina (Stelae and Iconographic trends at Deir el-Medina), given on November 3rd 2022 by Alessandro Girardi, an Egyptologist from Museo Egizio, whose interests focus on funerary and votive stelae, the village of Deir el-Medina and the practices of tomb robbery at the end of the New Kingdom, can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRjAzowHDy4
Cat. 1601 = CGT 50066
ME Information and photos
The majority of the ostraka in the Turin collection are images of figures, but many do carry text. The material is mostly limestone although there are also several terracotta sherds.
Ostrakon, the Greek term for potsherd, is used by Egyptologists to refer to sherds of pottery or smooth limestone flakes, which were used for less formal purposes than papyri. They were a cheap and readily available material on which it was possible to write and/or draw. The text and drawings often consist of letters, bills, personal notes, inventories, sketches and scribal exercises, but also of literary texts, like love poems and wisdom texts.
The ostraka below are drawn in black and/or red ink, but yellow and grey pigments also appear.
The Turin collection also contains examples of figures carved in relief - products of sculpture rather than of drawing. The collection of pieces from Deir el-Medina originate from Schiaparelli's excavations. The ostrakon of the king's head formed Drovetti's collection. They are dated on the evidence of stylistic criteria or names present in inscriptions. They can be assigned to the 18th-20th dynasties. They illustrate every stage from an apprentice's first attempts to the most elaborate draughtsmanship. Some ostraka show the underlying sketch in red ink. Themes of these ostraka vary from gods and royal
personages to ordinary men and women along with animals represented by mammals, birds and reptiles and even architectural elements and individual hieroglyphs.
Some ostraka were clearly the practice pieces of pupils, whose work was corrected by their teachers, allowing us to learn something of their techniques. Some ostraka were products of the moment and often bear themes and motives that do not appear in official art. They are unique treasures being original works of art. As freedom is allowed to the artist, these glimpses illustrate fascinating aspects of the ancient Egyptian culture and life.
The instruments and materials used for ostraka painting were the same as those used for large wall paintings: mineral based pigments, ink, water. The writing brushes were made from the stem of a rush, the ends of which were cut and chewed to break up the fibres, and the palette was usually a rectangular piece of wood with two cavities for holding inks in the form of solid cakes. Black ink was made of carbon, probably burnt deposit from lamps, and red ink of red ochre.
Ostrakon of a woman dancer in an acrobatic position
From Deir el-Medina
Limestone, paint
Ostrakon depicting a dancer in an acrobatic position. The bare-breasted female is wearing a short black skirt and circular earrings of gold.
The artistic quality of the design is exceptional and is erotically charged. Female dancers can be seen depicted not only on tomb walls but also on
temple walls.
Cat. 7052
ME Information and photos
Ostrakon of a ram in front of a bouquet
From Deir-el-Medina
Limestone, paint
19th-20th dynasty, 1292-1070 B.C.
A ram is shown sitting before an offering table surmounted by lotus flowers. A column of hieroglyphic inscription is shown above the ram.
Cat. 7359
ME Information and photos
King crushing an enemy
From Deir el-Medina
Schiaparelli excavations, 1905
Limestone with black ink drawing
20th dynasty
One of the most typical royal scenes is reproduced on this ostrakon : the king in the act of crushing the defeated enemy. The scene was widely used on pylons and external walls of temples. On this piece the king is
shown upright, his head adorned with red crown topped by the two feathers and the ram's horn; leaning forward, he grasps the tightly bound arms of a kneeling Nubian captive with both hands. The prisoner's ethnic group is identified by the typical garb with large
festooned neckpiece and by his short curly hair. In front of the king there are two cartouches containing the king's name over a short line of text: "The Lord of the Two Lands, Usermaatre Meryamun, the Lord of the Two Lands, Ramesses, the one who crushes the foreign lands."
(The Pharaohs, 2002, p. 426).
Height: 31 cm
Width: 33 cm
S. 6279
ME Information and photos
Painted ostrakon with a head of an African man with short curly hair and an earing
From Deir-el-Medina
Limestone
New Kingdom, 1539-1070 B.C.
Schiaparelli excavations (1905)
S. 6295
Room 15, showcase 3
ME Information and photos
Animal scenes are found especially on ostraka, but they are also known from three satirical papyri. Their themes cover a broad field: fighting, worship, music, dance, courts of justice, the arbour, checker and ball games, the brewing of beer, gardening, herding and other physical labour.
The war of the mice against the cats is a subject that is extraordinarily richly documented on the satirical ostraka. The cats serve the mice as slaves, provide them with their food and drink, offer them flowers, fan cool air to the Mouse-Dames, do their hair or carry their young in their shawls. In others scenes monkeys, crocodiles, foxes, lions and gazelles appear as musicians and singers (Brunner, 1979, 11-12).
Social criticism might be hinted at in some scenes (jackals carrying an animal god in procession below).
However, most of the themes are probably illustrations of fables which have epic themes. Others may represent scenes from ancient fairy tales and animal fables. They could also represent humorous sketches, jokes or proverbs (Brunner, 1979, 14).
Some ostraka motifs have been identified as sketches for wall paintings. A small fragment with a motif of the delivery room, recovered from the base of a wall in a private house at Deir el-Medina, suggests that the walls were decorated with motifs found on these ostraka. The walls of tombs and temples were not the place for intimate and comic subjects, but the secular buildings that are almost entirely lost, can be assumed to have contained these animal murals (Brunner, 1979, 17-18).
The limestone ostraka below are attributed to the Ramesside Deir el-Medina.
Painted ostrakon dedicated to Meretseger by Amenkhau
From Deir-el-Medina
Limestone
New Kingdom, 1187–1150 B.C.
20th dynasty
Three hieroglyphic inscription in black pigment above the table of offerings with Meretseger in the form of a cobra with a modius headdress and a papyrus stalk reclining over her body, with a line of hieroglyphic inscription underneath the scene. The body of the snake, her headdress and some of the offerings are coloured yellow.
Drovetti collection (1824)
Cat. 1522
ME Information and photos
A religious ceremony
Limestone
19th-20th dynasties, 1292-1076 BC
A Mouse-god is being carried in procession by four
jackal-priests to a chapel-shrine while other
jackal-priests are burning incense and reciting the
ritual. Facing the procession is another
mouse-priest holds a tablet with a written ritual.
The figures are outlined in red, the bodies are
executed in red and black, the skirts of the
priests are white.
It is supposed to be a parody of the procession of Amenhotep I
Schiaparelli excavations (1905)
S. 6333
ME Information and photos
A cat serving food to a mouse
Limestone
Black, red and green pigment
Width: 10 cm
A mouse in a long pleated skirt, sits on a folding stool smelling a lotus flower. Before the sitting mouse there is a table full ofofferings. A cat stands at the other side ofthe table and shakes a palm leaf as a fan tocool the mouse down.
Schiaparelli excavations (1905)
S. 6296
ME Information and photos
Ostrakon of a cat
Limestone
Black ink
From Deir-el-Medina
19th-20th dynasty, 1292-1070 B.C.
The cat is drawn facing towards right. Its left paw is raised.
Schiaparelli excavations (1909-1912)
S. 9564
ME Information and photos
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