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2133-1786 B.C.
Polychromed wood
The William Hood Dunwoody Fund
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Look
- Count the people in the boat.
What are they doing?
Rowing, the oars are missing from the model.
What does this work of art tell you about Egypt's weather?
The boat suggests available water, wood suggests trees, clothing on the figures suggests hot weather.
- Do you think the artist carved everything out of one piece of wood or did she carve some pieces separately and attach them?
The pin hole at several figures' shoulders indicate where separately carved arms were attached.
Compare this technique of adding material with the subtractive process used on the Maori post-figure.
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Detail of pinholes on several figures' shoulders from the Model Boat with Figures |
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Map showing the Nile and indicating flow direction |
- Look up the Nile River, Egypt's largest river, in an atlas or encyclopedia.
In what direction does the current of the Nile flow?
South to North.
In order to sail against the current of the Nile River, what direction would a boat have to travel?
A boat with a mast was most likely used to sail against the current.
Was this model of a boat meant to travel with the current or against the current?
A sail would have assisted the oarsmen in traveling against a current.
THINK
- In Egyptian religion, life after death was much the same as life before death. The spirit of a person, called ka, traveled
in a boat to the city of Abydos to enter the land of the dead. The model boat, placed in the tomb, was critical for this mythical journey.
What else might one except to find in a tomb for the safe journey and passage of the ka?
Food, beer, furniture, games.
- The Egyptians who made this model boat did not consider it a work of art, instead it was a necessary part of a tomb for travel
to the afterlife. Today, the model is displayed in an art museum. Do you think it is art? Why or why not?
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