Wood, Linen, Plaster
circa 1900 BCE
Egypt
The British Museum
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Ancient Egypt
Theme
The Great River Civilisations outside India: Mesopotamia, Egypt and China
Subtheme
Ancient Egypt – the Land of the Nile
Case Title
Egypt: this life and beyond
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Findspot
Meir, Asyut, Egypt
Measurements
73.5 x 111.3 x 52 cm
Accession Number
EA25360
Description
A dead man’s body makes its last journey.
A boat carries his standing, coffin-shaped-mummy from the world of the living on the east bank of the Nile to a cemetery on the edge of the western desert. While ten sailors hoist the sail, the pilot stands on the bow. The Nile flows north, but Egypt’s predominant wind blows south. So, to travel between cities,
you rowed with the current if you were going north, and used sails for the wind to carry you south. Boat
models in tombs often came in pairs, the other being rowed.






