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Model of a River Boat

A painted wooden boat with 15 wooden figures, all painted with dark skin and hair, shirtless, and white cloth around their lower halves. Fourteen figures are seated as if rowing; one figures stands facing sideways at the back of the boat.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A painted wooden boat with 15 wooden figures, all painted with dark skin and hair, shirtless, and white cloth around their lower halves. Fourteen figures are seated as if rowing; one figures stands facing sideways at the back of the boat.

Date:

Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 11–12, about 2046–1794 BCE

Artist:

Egyptian

About this artwork

In the Middle Kingdom, tomb paintings and statues were often supplemented with wooden models. This boat is fully equipped with a crew, oars, and a mast. It was thought that the model could provide the soul of the deceased not only with routine transportation, but also with the ability to make the pilgrimage to the sacred city of Abydos in southern Egypt, the cult center of the god Osiris.

Status

On View, Gallery 50

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Title

Model of a River Boat

Place

Egypt (Object made in)

Date

2046 BCE–1794 BCE

Medium

Wood and pigment

Dimensions

63.5 × 114.3 × 17.1 cm (25 × 45 × 6 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, Robert H. Fleming, and Norman W. Harris

Reference Number

1894.241

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/127874/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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