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Source Description
Twelve oarsmen, a helmsman, and a pilot, or look-out, ferry their passenger, the tomb-owner. Such models were associated with religious beliefs, as they symbolized the journey of the deceased to Abydos, the traditional burial place of Osiris, lord of the afterworld. The tomb-owner is clothed with a shroud and is shown with a blue beard. This boat was probably placed in the tomb to assist the deceased in navigating the Nile of the underworld. Typically, models of passenger ships found in Middle Kingdom tombs occur in pairs. One to travel south, equipped with a sail, as the wind in Egypt blows constantly from north to south, and the other (as this model shows) propelled by rowers aided by the Nile's current, to travel north.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
77414
label
Model of a River Boat
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/VO.1 (22.18, 22.19, 22.225)
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
77414
sourceUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/VO.1 (22.18, 22.19, 22.225)
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Model of a River Boat
description
Twelve oarsmen, a helmsman, and a pilot, or look-out, ferry their passenger, the tomb-owner. Such models were associated with religious beliefs, as they symbolized the journey of the deceased to Abydos, the traditional burial place of Osiris, lord of the afterworld. The tomb-owner is clothed with a shroud and is shown with a blue beard. This boat was probably placed in the tomb to assist the deceased in navigating the Nile of the underworld. Typically, models of passenger ships found in Middle Kingdom tombs occur in pairs. One to travel south, equipped with a sail, as the wind in Egypt blows constantly from north to south, and the other (as this model shows) propelled by rowers aided by the Nile's current, to travel north.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1913 (rudder oar and post), 1916 (boat), by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 2050 BCE (Middle Kingdom)
citationUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/VO.1 (22.18, 22.19, 22.225)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
models (representations)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
24
height
10
depth
57
dimensionsRaw
9 7/16 x 3 15/16 x 22 7/16 in. (24 x 10 x 57 cm)
Source extras
cul
Egyptian
dynasty
11th Dynasty
med
wood with cloth and paint
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
082d2bdc7fbbea24