Model of a ship

Models of ships were placed in the tomb in order to enable the deceased to travel freely in the afterlife. Kings were even provided with genuine ships. We must not forget that ships were the principal means of transportation in ancient Egypt. Other models of ships depict the transportation of the mummy to the necropolis. The model shown here is a well-made model of a luxury travelling ship. The prow and stern rise up steeply and their extremities are shaped like lotus flowers. The cabin is an open kiosk where a married couple is sitting at a table laden with food. The ship's crew is now missing its oars, and it is possible that these figures do not originally belong to the model.

Present location	KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM [09/001] VIENNA
Inventory number	3923
Dating	12TH DYNASTY ?
Archaeological Site	UNKNOWN
Category	BOAT (MODEL)
Material	WOOD
Technique	SCULPTURED
Height	20.1 cm
Width	10.2 cm

Bibliography

• Komorzynski, E., Über Fälschungen auf dem Gebiet der ägyptischen Alterumskunde, in: Mitteilungsblatt d. Vereines d. Bundeskriminalbeamten Österr. Nr. 57/58 (1954) 3.
• Komorzynski, E., Falsch oder echt?, in: Hochschulzeitung vom 1. November 1956, S. 2.
• Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM). Führer durch die Sammlungen. Wien. 1988.
• Satzinger, H., Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (museum), Braunschweig (Verlag Westermann), 1987.
• Satzinger, H., Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 14. Mainz. 1994.
• Seipel, W. (ed.), Ägypten. Götter, Gräber und die Kunst. 4000 Jahre Jenseitsglaube, Linz (1989).
• Seipel, W. (ed.), Götter Menschen Pharaonen, Speyer (1993) = Dioses, Hombres, Faraones, Ciudad de México (1993) = Das Vermächtnis der Pharaonen, Zürich (1994).

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