A Comparative Study of two New Kingdom Memphite panels at the Egyptian museum in Cairo Tr. 17.5.25.1 - Tr. 12.6.24.20

Abstract

This study conducts a comparative analysis of two New Kingdom Memphite panels at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, depicting funeral processions, emphasizing similarities and differences in the artistic and linguistic structural composition.Although both panels have previously been published as components of their respective tombs, this paper advances upon prior documentation by providing detailed descriptions and analytical discussions of the scenes and accompanying inscriptions that have not been examined in depth in earlier scholarship. The first panel (Tr. 12. 6. 24. 20- Sr. 11764) depicts a short version of the procession to the tomb of Khaemwaset, chief of woodworkers/carpenters of the king. Discovered in 1870 by "Vassalli" at Kafr El-Batran, in Giza, and it dates to the late 18th or early 19th Dynasty. The panel is distinguished for its unusual technique of depicting events, which may have been inspired by the private tombs of Tell el-Amarna, and for its portrayal of a detailed version of the rituals associated with breaking red pots.The second panel (Tr. 17.5.25.1- Sr. 12073) depicts a long version of the procession to the tomb of Mes, the scribe of the treasury of Ptah. Discovered in 1898 by "Loret" in the tomb, which is located within the king Teti pyramid cemetery in Saqqara North, and it dates to the mid-19th Dynasty.The panel is notable for its accompanying inscriptions, which communicate a sense of despair through its mention of the underworld, which may have been inspired by the Book of the Dead (BD. 175).