Archaeological Museum of Bologna

The chest, with a double sloped lid and a pictorial decoration on each side, once held the prized linen of Perpaut, the “singer of Amon-Ra”.

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The scenes on the long sides show the deceased Perpaut seated next to his wife Iadyt, who is embracing him, as he receives the funerary meal from his children, a son and two daughters on one side, and two daughters on the other. A scene – in a Near Eastern style – repeated on the short sides shows two gazelles in a heraldic position as they are feeding on a sacred tree; each one is suckling its young. The motif, known in Egypt from very ancient times and documented in the tomb paintings of the Theban necropolises as far back as the Middle Kingdom (1987–1640 BC), became rather common in the second half of the 18th dynasty, particularly during the reign of the pharaoh Amenhotep III (1390–1353 BC).

Provenance: West Thebes (?). Palagi Collection (Nizzoli)
Datation: 18th dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1353 BC)
Material: Painted wood
Dimensions: cm 37 x 48 x 32,5
Inventory #: KS 1970