Relief Blocks from the Tomb of the Vizier Nespeqashuty
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Object Label
The vizier was the highest-ranking governmental official in ancient Egypt. His duties included overseeing the administration of the country by supervising, for example. the bureaucracies that dealt with land management, tax collection, and judicial affairs. It appears that in the Old Kingdom the task became so formidable that separate viziers were created for the northern and southern parts of the country this division seems to have continued throughout the remainder of ancient Egyptian history.
Nespeqashuty was vizier, presumably of Upper Egypt, during the reign of Psamtik I, first king of Dynasty XXVI, and may also have served as such under Tanwetamani, last king of Dynasty XXV. For an unknown reason, rather than building a new tomb for himself, he expropriated and rebuilt an older tomb from Dynasty XI. Built high on a cliff face at Thebes, the tomb commanded a sweeping view of the Theban necropolis and was situated just above an important processional route. In addition to remodeling the tomb\'s courtyard, Nespeqashuty decorated the tomb with reliefs which had to be fashioned in freshly hewn stone and attached to the tomb walls because the tomb\'s own stone was too poor to be carved. The reliefs from his tomb that are shown here compare favorably with those from the tomb of Montuemhat, one of his contemporaries.
Caption
Relief Blocks from the Tomb of the Vizier Nespeqashuty, ca. 664–610 B.C.E.. Limestone, 40 9/16 x 63 3/8 in. (103 x 161 cm) 52.131.1a: 9 3/4 x 19 3/8 in. (24.8 x 49.2 cm) 52.131.1b: 9 3/4 x 14 3/4 in. (24.8 x 37.5 cm) 52.131.1c: 9 5/8 x 17 in. (24.4 x 43.2 cm) 52.131.1d: 16 1/2 x 25 in. (41.9 x 63.5 cm) 52.131.1e: 16 7/16 x 10 15/16 in. (41.8 x 27.8 cm) 52.131.1f: 16 3/8 x 18 in. (41.6 x 45.7 cm) 52.131.1g: 14 5/16 x 23 3/8 in. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 52.131.1a-i. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.131.1a-I.jpg)
Title
Relief Blocks from the Tomb of the Vizier Nespeqashuty
Date
ca. 664–610 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 26
Period
Late Period
Geography
Place found: Thebes (Deir el-Bahri), Egypt
Medium
Limestone
Classification
Dimensions
40 9/16 x 63 3/8 in. (103 x 161 cm) 52.131.1a: 9 3/4 x 19 3/8 in. (24.8 x 49.2 cm) 52.131.1b: 9 3/4 x 14 3/4 in. (24.8 x 37.5 cm) 52.131.1c: 9 5/8 x 17 in. (24.4 x 43.2 cm) 52.131.1d: 16 1/2 x 25 in. (41.9 x 63.5 cm) 52.131.1e: 16 7/16 x 10 15/16 in. (41.8 x 27.8 cm) 52.131.1f: 16 3/8 x 18 in. (41.6 x 45.7 cm) 52.131.1g: 14 5/16 x 23 3/8 in.
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
52.131.1a-i
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
In the Tomb Reliefs of the Vizier Nespeqahuty what is the process of relief carving?
There are hints revealing the process on the fragments we have here. Initial drawings would be done in red paint, then they would carve the larger outlines and then smaller details.Did people pay respects to the dead as they do now after mummies were buried? Also, was everybody mummified?
Yes, people paid respects to the dead with some similarities and some differences to modern Western practices. No, not everyone was mummified.A major function of an ancient Egyptian tomb was to provide a place for people to continually bring offerings and prayers for the deceased. We know that people did actually perform these tasks based on graffiti that some visitors left behind in antiquity! You can see examples of this kind of graffiti on the Reliefs from the Tomb of Nespeqashuty. It was considered a pious act to leave your mark!Graffiti is necessary! Were the people not mummified considered "not worthy" or something? Or did they not have any money to pay for the mummification process?You're right, it was a matter of money. People belonging to the middle to upper middle class and above could afford a mummification and burial of varying elaborate-ness. The lower classes would be buried in the sand with a few grave goods. Most of what you see in our galleries are very fine examples of ancient Egyptian material culture representing the most wealthy individuals.Are these replicas?
No, these are the original limestone reliefs from the tomb of Nes-peka-shuti!If you look closely, there are clues that show the process of how the fragments were made. Initial drawings would be done in red paint, then they would carve the larger outlines and then smaller details.Tell me more.
Nespeqashuty was the highest ranking bureaucratic official in Egypt during the reign of Psamtik I who is credited with reuniting Egypt under a native crown for the last time. Nespeqashuty's tomb is in the cliffs of Deir el-Bahri, an area of the Theban Necropolis.You can see three stages of the relief carving process: red outlines, carved outlines, and fully modeled relief. One of the most finished vignettes shows a mummiform Nespeqashuty and his wife making a ceremonial journey by boat from Eastern Thebes to Western Thebes where the necropolis is, mirroring the journey from the land of the living to the land of the dead.
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