New Kingdom Limestone Relief with Scene of Fishing, 1550 BC to 1077 BC
Limestone
26 x 18.5 x 4 cm
10 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 1 5/8 in
10 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 1 5/8 in
ES.9898
An exceptional New Kingdom limestone relief with a scene of fishing on the Nile. This relief was probably part of a more complex iconographic ensemble which would have developed horizontally...
An exceptional New Kingdom limestone relief with a scene of fishing on the Nile. This relief was probably part of a more complex iconographic ensemble which would have developed horizontally to include a set of scenes. The top of the relief hosts an inscription in hieroglyphs, under which there is a figurative section bordered on the top and the bottom with a thick line with semicircular section. The extant part of the figurative section portrays a scene of fishing on the Nile, the river being identified by the presence of papyrus plants on the right.
Two men are represented: one standing and one kneeling down, both with bare chests and wearing a shendyt, the loin wrap skirt belted at the waist which constituted the fundamental item on masculine clothing from the Old Kingdom onward. The eyes are heavily lidded and the ears are carved summarily with the top part (helix and anthelix) rendered as a volute. The men are represented while they pull from the river and open a a fishing net with three fishes, the kneeling man touching one fish with the right hand. A small branch trapped inside the net adds to the realism of the representation. On the right, tall papyrus plants with buds and flowers, with a flying ibis carrying a tiny branch in its mouth. The African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) was a wild bird native of the Nile region, venerated by Ancient Egyptian as a living personification of Thoth, the God of wisdom and writing responsible for maintaining the universe and judging the dead. Papyrus was one of the main crops on the shores of the Nile. Around September of each year the river would overflow its banks and flood the entirety of the valley. When the river retired back into its bed, it left a thick layer of dark fertile soil which renewed and nurtured areas used for farming. The presence of papyrus plants allows us to locate this scene of fishing on the banks of the Nile rather than on the Mediterranean Sea.
The rendering of the net behind the fishes, along with the carving of the papyrus plants behind the kneeling man, add depth to an otherwise mono-dimensional scene.
Two men are represented: one standing and one kneeling down, both with bare chests and wearing a shendyt, the loin wrap skirt belted at the waist which constituted the fundamental item on masculine clothing from the Old Kingdom onward. The eyes are heavily lidded and the ears are carved summarily with the top part (helix and anthelix) rendered as a volute. The men are represented while they pull from the river and open a a fishing net with three fishes, the kneeling man touching one fish with the right hand. A small branch trapped inside the net adds to the realism of the representation. On the right, tall papyrus plants with buds and flowers, with a flying ibis carrying a tiny branch in its mouth. The African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) was a wild bird native of the Nile region, venerated by Ancient Egyptian as a living personification of Thoth, the God of wisdom and writing responsible for maintaining the universe and judging the dead. Papyrus was one of the main crops on the shores of the Nile. Around September of each year the river would overflow its banks and flood the entirety of the valley. When the river retired back into its bed, it left a thick layer of dark fertile soil which renewed and nurtured areas used for farming. The presence of papyrus plants allows us to locate this scene of fishing on the banks of the Nile rather than on the Mediterranean Sea.
The rendering of the net behind the fishes, along with the carving of the papyrus plants behind the kneeling man, add depth to an otherwise mono-dimensional scene.