Nakht's tomb was never completed and the passage, although plastered,
did not contain the funerary scenes which would have traditionally
appeared there. The wall-paintings in the offering hall or vestibule
however, are very colourful and well-preserved and some of the more
striking ones are very famous.
The vestibule is a rectangular hall covered with scenes representing
daily life in Dynasty XVIII. The wall to the left of the entrance
passage depicts Nakht with his wife Tawi (a 'Chantress of Amun') in a
prominent position before heaps of offerings of food and perfumed
ointments and oils to be dedicated to Amun, Re-Horakhty, Osiris,
Hathor and Anubis. There are also agricultural scenes in three
registers of ploughing, sowing, winnowing, and gathering flax as well
as felling trees, depicting a idyllic life in the countryside. In one
scene a man is resting in the shade of a tree drinking from a
waterskin.
The left-hand end wall of the hall represents a false door painted to
look like pink granite, with four registers of offering bringers at
the sides and a sub-scene of Nut as a tree-goddess.
The wall to the left side of the entrance to the burial chamber
depicts the famous banquet scenes from this tomb. A naked maidservant
helps three ladies to prepare themselves for the occasion. Behind this
is a blind harpist is sitting with his legs crossed before the
festivities. One of the most famous pictures from any Egyptian tomb is
in the centre of the banquet scene where a group of three female
musicians entertain the guests with flute, lute and harp. The girl in
the centre whose head is turned to look behind, is depicted richly
jewelled but almost naked for the first time in Egyptian painting. The
grace and harmony of this composition is delightful.
On the right of the entrance to the burial chamber Nakht and his wife
appear seated before offering tables in two registers. At the end of
the wall is a double scene of hunting and fishing in the papyrus
marsh, similar to the scene in Menna's tomb with a variety of birds
rising from the reeds. Nakht, shown with a throw-stick, is with his
wife and children in a small papyrus boat. His wife Tawi cradles a
tiny chick in her hand. Below this scene are two sub-registers
depicting food preparation. Grapes are being harvested and pressed to
make wine which is then stored in large conical jars with the jar-sealings
of the tomb-owner clearly visible. Below, birds are being caught in a
net in a papyrus thicket by three naked men. They are then plucked,
cleaned and prepared for cooking on a skewer. The scenes in Nakht's
tomb show clearly how a row of men were painted with alternating dark
and light skin to represent a number of people. Where three are
represented it can also mean 'many'.
The right-hand end wall is badly preserved and incomplete but depicted
offering bearers and priests bringing food and bouquets before Nakht
and his wife. The adjacent wall shows the purification of offerings
with ointment before the couple in an unfinished scene.
The burial chamber contains the burial shaft and a statue niche but
was unfinished and undecorated. A number of objects were discovered in
the burial chamber including a statuette of Nakht holding a stela with
the 'Hymn to Re'. Unfortunately this was lost at sea while being
transported to the USA in 1915 and only copies remain today. |
