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Prince Senbi Spearing Fish and Shooting Birds, Accompanied by His Honored but Remarkably Small Wife, While Hippopotami and Various Other Animals Move Around the Scene,
Remarkable “Series” of Pictures
Showing Just How Prince Senbi,
rh” of Cusae, Hunted, Fished and
ard His Relatively Insignificant Wife
the struggling figures with a sense of life and motion.
Like the modern Egyptians, who also at timet Indulge
In this sport, each man taunt* hts opponent, their words
being written above them. 'By your leave,' says one,
as he gets his arm round his adversary's leg. 'And
now,' he adds, ‘you will find yourself on your nose'
Replies the other, ‘I'll make you do that. See! It's
you who are coming a oropper.' The words of the
central pair are unfortunately almost entirely broken
away.
" ‘Don't talk so big,' cries the man on top in the
third group. ‘See, here we are. Now then, look out
for yourself!’ But bis apparently falling opponent
thinks that, after all, he will turn the tables on the
all but victor. ‘Come, wretch,’ ho cries, ‘I have
wriggled round. (?) See! It Is you who are yielding.”'
Interesting details of life 4,000 years ago may be
learned from the picture of the peasant, who breaks
small with a hoe the heavy clods turned up by the
ploughshare. He Is followed by a sower with a basket
full of seed-corn, which he scatters broadcast over
the prepared ground. iBehkid the ploughman are two
reapers cutting the corn with sickles, while farther to
the right Is one of the most beautiful reliefs in Senbl’s
dhapel, that of the cattle treading out the grain The
klne are being driven round and round the circular
threshing-floor by a man brandishing a twig and sing
ing the while: "How fine are the bulls abiding In the
barley till their last cornshock is trodden out!"
Between the threshing floor and the harvest field
two men are engaged in winnowing the grain. One
tosses It up with two flat wooden scoops, while the
other sweeps It Into a heap, as it falls, with two
brushes made of twigs or straw. Both of them wear a
handkerchief on their heads to protect them, as they
bend over their work, from the fierce rays of the
Summer sun, or to keep their hair clear of the flying
chaff.
We can even learn from the frescoes something
■ bout the physical ailments from which people suf
fered 4,000 years ago. Such a detail may be learned
from one of the pictures of a wild Beja or desert horse
man leading young bulls. The face is destroyed, but
the top of the mass of matted hair Is still preserved.
He is very emaciated. In addition to his long, scraggy
neck and extraordinary hunched-up shoulders, the
wretched man's legs are frightfully distorted, and he
can just go shuffling and limping along with the help
of his short but stout drover's stick. A doctor, dis
cussing a similar misshapen herdsman on the north
wall of the tomb-chapel of Senbi's son Ukh hotp, points
out that in the backward and unnatural bend of the
left leg we have a case of gneu recurvatum, a de
formity resulting probably from a kick on the knee-
joint.
On another part of the wall four peasants are bring
ing their master the produce of their labor in the
swamps and fields. This consists of two herons, two
bunches of waterfowl tied together by the feet and
strung from a yoke, two cages of ducks, also suspended
from a yoke, a tray of fruit and flowers and a small
bunch of papyrus-plants.
"The birds hung from the yoke are most lifelike."
comments Professor Blackman. ‘‘See how they thrust
out their necks and peck at one another. One of them
is quacking, as the open beak clearly indicates. This
method of carrying live birds is practised by the
fellahln at the present day. To the first three peasants
are attached short descriptive labels. In front of the
first we red, 'For thy Ka, the produce of the field;' in
front of the second, ‘The produce of the chase for thy
Kas,' and in front of the third, ‘The produce of the
field for thy Kas.' ”
Professor Blackman gives this interesting account
of the chapel from which these pictures are taken:
"The tomb-chapel of Ukh-hotp's son, Senbi, Is the
northernmost of the decorated tomb-chapels belonging
to the twelfth dynasty monarch*. It consists of a
single, almost square, rock-hewn chamber about 24
feet long and 24 feet broad. The height la about
seven feet. The entrance to the chapel, judging from
what is left of ft, was quite plain. A portion of the
face of the high desert slope, was cut back for a little
over a yard. In the back wall of the shallow recest
thus formed Is the doorway., which Is only a yard wide,
the rest of the awll on either side of It forming the jambe,
The surface of the jambs and their reveals has been
smoothed, but the north and south walls of the recess
are left rough and irregular. The threshold projects a
few Inches beyond the jambe, and Is carried along their
whole face. Against the threshold on the inner side
Is the groove for the wooden doorframe and the socket
for the lower or the two pivots on which the door
turned.
The most noteworthy architectural feature tn this
chapel Is the approach or pathway to the shrine or
statue-niche, which Juts out from the west wall, and
once, doubtless, contained a statue of the deceased
Prince. This approach Is somewhat wider than the
doorway, and Is sunk below the level of the* rest of the
floor of the chamber, which forms a wide and shallow
mastaba or bench on either aide of it. A little over
a yard from the threshold the approach la raised soma
seven inches by two steps, and it finally terminates In
front of the statue-niche In another and very shallow
step, which Is now much broken, like the lower part
of the niche itself. The north, south and eaat walls
of the chapel are adorned with painted reliefs In four
registers below which Is a black dado surmounted
with a border of blue, red and yellow lines. The back
ground of the reliefs was painted a dark grey or In
digo, from which the brightly colored figures and
hieroglyphs must have stood out In bold and pleasing
contrast. )
Professor Blackman in bis report give* an In
teresting description of the long chain of cemeteries
which form the necropolis of Cusae. in which these
dlcoveries have been made. They lie west of the
village of Melr, occupying not only the lower desert,
but also a considerable part of the steep, rocky slope
which terminates In the high desert plateau. The
tomb-chapels of the nomarchs are excavated .half way
up this slope, which in places is literally honeycombed
with the burial pita of their wealthy retainers.
So far seventeen decorated tomb-chapels belonging
to nomarchs of Cusae and their retainers have been
discovered and cleared of debris—fifteen at Melr and
two at Kuselr el-Amarna, a village on the east bank
of the Nile, opposite Nazall Ganub. Of these, the two
at Kuselr el-Amarna and nine at Melr belong to the
period of the sixth dynasty, the remainder to the
Middle Kingdom or twelfth dynasty.
In the scenes depicting sport In* the marshes and
pools the artists display an extraordinary appreciation
for, and an ability to represent, natural life.
“Gaily plumaged birds hover above the thick tangled
growth of reeds or wade In the shallows,” comments
the learned Investigator, "In one corner of the scene
monstrous hippopotami are depicted wallowing. In
the deep water among the lotus-flowers swim numbers
of fish with wondrhus rldescent scales, and one of
them has been seized and half swallowed by a croco
dile. Combined with this almost flamboyaot realism
there are extraordinary mannerisms, particularly in
the rendering of the male figures. All the men, ex
cept the Prince himself, who Is normal and painted
the usual red, have slender waists, very full busts, and
are colored yellow like the women.”
It Is remarkable to note that In such a picture as
that of Prince Senbi hunting with his wife, the artist
shows a very good sense of perspective, a principle
not generally recognized in Egyptian or very ancient
art at all. The birds and other animals grow smaller
according to their distance from the hunter.
of Egyptian life The last scene in the banquet series
on the bottom of this page shows servants, offering
Senbi and his wife joints of meat ”A haunch for the
Ka of Senbi the Justified” is written In front of the
maD with the great, leg of beef. In front of the second
offerer is written: “Offer unto the Ka of the Honored
One, the Nomarch, Senbi the Justified!” The same
text, except for slight variations In the attributes of
Benbi. accompanies the third, fifth, aixth and seventh
offerers The fourth, who presents his master with
four pin-tailed ducks,is made to say: "Bring offering
for the Ka of Senbi the Justified!"
The wrestlers depicted on this page are part of a
long series showing singers, dancers and others enter
taining the prince after he has come home from, the
chase.
"The three vocalists squatting on the ground." says
Professor Blackman, "In the attitude of tbelr modern
deecendants, like them clap their hands in time to the
Carrying Hi Highneese*
Arrows and Fla3k.
1
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Another Bringing Fat Ducks for
the Prince.
Peasant Wringing the Necks of
Herons for Prince Senbi,
song, the words of which are written
above their heads. The hieroglyphs
show what these people are saying all
(he time. 'How the Kas abide here In
this house!’ sings one of them, 'O my
lord, I desire that thou live long!' To
this his two companions who face him
reply, ‘I desire that thou live long, my
lord. T desire that thou live long! Mayest
thou make It a hundred yeara! 1 desire
that thou continue In health and life
forever!
‘'Close to them three soldiers, accom
panied by a boy who holds a battle-axe.
perform a war dance. They leap about
or crouch down on their haunches,
cracking their flngerg the while In time
to the rhythm. ‘Mayest thou make, O
praised one .... forever!’ cries
one to the watching Senbi. He in the
middle shouts out. 'Mayest thou live for
me! Behold it is a goodly day! O my
beloved lord, mayest thou live long!’
'Mayest thou repeat a million Jubilees!'
exclaims the third. ‘Smell thou Hathor
therein!’
"The coloring of the wrestlers, of
whom there are three pairs. Is the same
as In the well-known exrmples at Beni
Hasan, one being painted dark and the
other light red. But the Cuslte artists
have succeeded far better than their
brethren of the Oryx name In Infusing
Fisherman Wading in the Nile to
Draw Out a Fine Netful
of Fish
Showing Meres, the Wife of Prince Senbi, Holding the
itire Scene la Given Above on the Right.
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Servants Offering a Leg of Beef and Other Food to the Prince Before They Are Cooked.
Butchers lining and Cutting Up Oxen, with Hieroglyphs Describing the Process,