Mid-to-late Fourth or early Fifth Dynasty Limestone with faint remains of paint H. 72.8 cm (28 5/8 in.); w. 77 cm (30 3/8 in.) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund and Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1922 22.1.13
An elaborate arrangement of nautical equipment dominates this relief depicting a ship under sail, one of the rare types of Old Kingdom scene in which human figures are
dwarfed by inanimate objects.1 Most imposing are the tall, tapering mast with a tightly wound truss at the bottom and the large, sweeping sail, the undifferentiated expanse of which is broken up by an array of ropes. The two men at the bow are probably piloting the craft,2 while the man behind them adjusts the sail. Slender oars rest along the side of the ship. At the prow are three bladelike objects, vertical in front and curved in back, each of which is decorated with a representation of the sacred wedjat eye, a protective symbol usually associated with the
falcon deity Horus. The device probably serves to protect the vessel physically3 and spiritually, as well as magically allowing it to see where it is going.4 At the right end of the fragment is part of the last figure aboard the preceding vessel and a line of indecipherable text. In front of the better-preserved ship a partially restored column of inscription states, “Sail well like this, hurry.”5 The scene is most notable for its fine, detailed execution and complex series of overlapping forms. Particularly striking is the tangle of legs, oars, and ropes on the
ship’s deck. Although relatively small, the figures are carefully rendered and include such features as eyebrows raised above the surface of the faces and delicately rounded cheeks. In places where overlapping occurs, the area around the forward object is carved back completely, creating a sense of depth and demonstrating the artist’s control of the stone surface. Such interest in the three-dimensional possibilities of a relatively flat plane is most striking in the small wedjat eyes, which appear to float on top of the bladelike objects.
A significant number of the reused blocks found at Lisht depict ships fitted with sails or oars.6 Because of their similar stylistic features and their scale, a group of the sailing-ships reliefs (including this one and cat. nos. io6, 107) has been recognized as belonging to a single scene.7 The group was originally dated between the mid-to-late Fourth Dynasty and the early Fifth Dynasty, but in light of the recent discovery at Lisht of a block inscribed in the name of Userkaf (cat. no. 103), it may now be possible to refine this date. That the sailing-ships group is earlier than the nautical scenes found in the pyramid complex of King Sahure at Abusir is confirmed by such stylistic criteria as the subtly handled musculature of the running figure in the relief from the Art Museum, Princeton University (cat. no. 107), and the triple aprons worn by some of the sailors. Figures from the Sahure pyramid-complex reliefs have much more explicitly rendered musculature (cat. nos. 112,-114), and nearly all the aprons there have four strips of hanging cloth. Moreover, relief representations after the time of Sahure tend to be flatter, with overlap indicated by means of either incised lines or surfaces carved back only in the area immediately around the contour line of the forward object.9
A comparison of the sailing-ships fragments and the reliefs dated to the reign of
Userkaf shows that there are strong similarities between the two groups as well as several differences. The same intricate spatial relationships characterize the sailing-ships scene and the reliefs from Userkaf’s complex, including those showing running troops (cat. nos. 103, 104) and two birds (cat. no. 102). Especially notable are the animated poses of the sailors, who are captured during an instant of their work. A striking parallel to this liveliness is found in a unique representation of rowers from the Userkaf pyramid temple.10 Here the poses of the figures are arranged to show every moment in the sequence of an oar stroke; each man is depicted in a position that could only be held for a split second. The method of carving that represents overlapping objects entirely on top of each other is also paralleled on securely dated Userkaf blocks, particularly one famous image of birds in a marsh.11
The sailing-ships group is rendered in somewhat bolder relief than the Userkaf running-soldiers blocks, and the long, narrow objects in it have rounder surfaces, suggesting that if the ships scene belongs to the Userkaf pyramid complex, it may not come from the same wall as the running troops.12 However, it should be noted that other relief fragments from Userkaf’s temple, particularly the marsh scene, are also carved in bolder relief than the running troops. Another difference is found in scenes with strips of water. Securely identified Userkaf reliefs omit the narrow ground line that is usually placed directly beneath a zigzagging expanse of water,13 but this line is included on the block of the sailing-ships group in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (cat. no. 106). Thus, while it seems likely that the sailing scene originated at the pyramid complex of Userkaf, a mid-to-late Fourth Dynasty date cannot be completely ruled out. AO
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Hull of a Ship under Sail
Mid-to-late Fourth or early Fifth Dynasty Limestone Reconstructed h. 42 cm (16 1/2 in.); w. 59 cm (23 1/4 in.) Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto 958.49.3 Among the reused blocks found at Lisht were a number of carved fragments— including these—that belong to a single scene of sailing ships. Two other sections are in this exhibition, one from the Metropolitan Museum (cat. no. 105), the other from the Art Museum, Princeton University (cat. no. 107). Our understanding of the original appearance of the entire scene is enhanced by this fragmentary relief. Here we see the slightly concave prow of one ship, the entire side of the hull, the area behind the mast, and the representation of the water on which the vessel floats. The legs of two sailors are shown at the prow of the ship, indicating that the activities taking place on this vessel differ from those visible on the fragment in the Metropolitan Museum, where three sailors stand in front of the mast of another ship.
In the present relief four sailors, whose figures are incomplete, remain behind the mast, and the one who stands second from the right seems to be adjusting the sail. This second group of sailors is placed amid a complex tangle of ropes and oars. The gesture of the third figure from the right is uncommon, although not unknown. This man holds his right arm vertically, while grasping what appear to be two short lengths of rope. His left hand bends sharply behind his back and grasps the right arm just above the wrist, in a gesture that is said to signify respect.1 The same gesture is made by a larger, apron-clad figure in a relief from the pyramid temple of Userkaf,2 but it is uncertain whether this man was part of a nautical scene. A scribe in a relief in the tomb of Prince Ka-ni-nisut at Giza,3 which probably dates to the Fourth Dynasty, assumes what may be the earliest preserved example of this pose.4 Boatmen in the Fifth Dynasty tombs of Akhet-hotep and Ti also make the gesture.5
It seems safe to say that this vessel lacks the wedjat eye standards found on the Metropolitan Museum fragment, as the bases of these objects would be visible if they had existed. The end of a braided rope belonging to the rigging of the ship is attached to the deck above the prow. Two rectangular objects can be seen just behind the prow on the side of the vessel; their function remains uncertain.6 AO
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Boat-building scene, painted limestone relief from Thebes, Egypt, c. 664–634 BCE; in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 19.4 × 27 cm. Photograph by Katie Chao. Brooklyn Museum,
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