Livre - Egyptian Models and Scenes

Egyptian models and scenes are frequently mistaken by the public for children’s toys, particularly the model boats. But these often crude and charmingly naive figures have a much more serious purpose, namely to provide the staple diet of bread and beer for the tomb owner in the afterlife. This book follows the development of models from their origins in human servant burials at Abydos during the First Dynasty and in Old Kingdom tomb decoration, through the stone figures from Old Kingdom mastabas and wooden models of the Eleventh and early Twelfth Dynasties, to their final demise in favour of shabtis in the New Kingdom. Chapters are devoted to single figures or groups which perform a variety of tasks associated with the production of foodstuffs, its storage and its transport by offering bearer and boat. This book discusses where models are found, who owned them, what purpose they served, whereabouts in the tomb they were placed and how they relate to tomb scenes. Middle Kingdom wooden models will be seen to span the social spectrum from king to housewife, from burials at Thebes and the provinces in particular. An analysis of the types of models found from region to region, along with regional style, is also included. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Inspired by tales of exploration inside the Pyramids by candlelight, Angela Tooley has had a lifelong interest in ancient Egypt. Studying the subject at an early age, she went on to achieve a BA Hons in the Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean, specialising in Egyptology, at Liverpool University in 1984. Following study visits to Egypt and major European museums she was awarded a PhD on the subject of Middle Kingdom wooden models in 1990. She has excavated in Egypt at Amarna during the seasons 1986 and 1987 and has worked on special projects at Liverpool Museum and as Acting Assistant Keeper at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, where she was responsible for the re-display of the Nubian collection. She has lectured on Nile cruises and has contributed a number of articles to learned journals.