This is probably my favorite wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ boat ๐ง๐ช๐๐ model that I have seen in any museum!ย This particular model is at the MET!
This wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ model boat ๐ง๐ช๐๐ is from the tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ of a man named ๐๐ Ukhhotep ๐๐ต๐๐ช. Ukhotep ๐๐ต๐๐ช was the chief treasurer ๐จ๐ ฑ, which is why he probably received such gorgeous ๐ค funerary equipment ๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ญ.
This is one of two ๐ป funerary boats that were found in his tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ – most Middle Kingdom tombs ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ that had wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ models always contained two ๐ป boats ๐ง๐ช๐๐๐ฆ. In the tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐, one boat ๐ง๐ช๐๐ was oriented to the north ๐๐ and the other towards the south ๐๐ ฑ๐.
During the actual funeral, the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ would take one last journey across the Nile River ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐บ. Models of boats ๐ง๐ช๐๐๐ฆ (usually funerary boats), were usually found in tombs ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ as a way to symbolically bring the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ into the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐.
I really love this model because of the mummy ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ that you can see underneath the canopy! As a kid I always loved that! The canopy also has a leopard ๐๐๐๐ฎ skin on the top, and the details on the leopard ๐๐๐๐ฎ are just gorgeous! ย
The mummy ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ is accompanied by two ๐ป women ๐๐๐๐๐๐ช mourners – they are probably meant to represent Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ and Nephthys ๐ ๐๐. There is also a priest ๐น๐ (dressed in the leopard ๐๐๐๐ฎ skin) who holds a scrollย ๐ ๐๐๐ย with a funerary offeringย ๐ต๐๐ช๐๐๐ฆย on it. There is a second priest ๐น๐, also dressed in leopard ๐๐๐๐ฎ skin with his arm ๐๐บ extended outward in a mourning gesture.
Wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ models were very popular amongst Middle Kingdom tombs ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ. This particular boat ๐ง๐ช๐๐ is dated to the 12th Dynasty (c. 1981โ1802 B.C.E.)