Athena Review Image Archive ™
Medum: Reliefs from the 4th Dynasty Tomb of Nefert
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Reliefs in the Tomb of Nefert at Medum (After Petrie 1892 pl.15).
This drawing shows a relief in the tomb niche of Nefert, the wife of Prince Rahotep. Both were buried in a double mastaba tomb (#6 in Petrie's 1892 plan) located in the North Cemetery, near the Pyramid of Snofru, father of Rahotep and first king of the Fourth Dynasty.
The relief, as described by Petrie (1892) is incised into the wall and was then painted by filling up the incised areas with colored pastes. This was an elaborate process which was only used on one other royal tomb at Medum, a process which was actually named specifically in inscriptions in the tomb of Nefert.
The design is divided vertically into three sections. The fragmentary upper parts on both sides show a list of offerings, with hieroglyphic names above pottery vessels. The lower two panels on each sides shows a list of the farms owned by Rahotep and Nefert. These are represented by male and female figures with baskets on their heads, with the farm name written beside them in hieroglyphs.
In the middle Nefert and Rahotep are shown seated in the upper panel, while their children are shown in lower panels with their names written in hieroglyphs.
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