Teil einer Grabwand: der Grabherr Tjeti mit Amtsinsignien

Description

The relief comes from the left door reveal of a tomb entrance and shows the tomb owner Tjeti, whose name is preserved above the figure in a hieroglyphic inscription. Tjeti’s hair reaches down to his shoulders. The individual curls are indicated in horizontally arranged rows. A short beard is visible on the chin. The tomb owner is wearing a robe tapering to the front, laid in folds and held together at the front by a knot. For jewellery, Tjeti is wearing a pearl collar on his chest and wide bracelets on his wrists. In his left hand, stretched out in front, he is holding a long staff as a sign of dignity. In his right hand, which falls behind his body, he is holding a so-called Sechem sceptre. According to the ancient Egyptian conventions of representation, the sceptre’s staff does not overlap the pleated robe, but is passed behind the body. The upper part of the sceptre only becomes visible again in front of the robe.

The representation of the tomb owner and the reproduction of his name serve to remember the deceased, which is of crucial importance for survival in the hereafter. The tomb secures the afterlife and is also intended to maintain the social status of the deceased.

The image has been completed in sunken relief. This made the image on the outside of the tomb more resistant to damage and helped create a more vivid effect in the play of light and shadow.