tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-988211931416812162024-02-08T07:00:11.385-08:00Ancient Egyptian ArtworkJesica J. Bogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296468931401714729noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-98821193141681216.post-72707230589788503152007-08-03T13:59:00.000-07:002007-11-30T13:10:26.377-08:00Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep Masaba<div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_northface_mastaba.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Mastaba of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_northface_mastaba.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Photo of the north-face of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep's Mastaba. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">The tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep is one of the most beautiful pieces of artwork from the Old Kingdom, as well as one of the more contraversial. Their mastaba is generally referred to as "The Tomb of Two Brothers," however, this title can be slightly misleading, as nowhere in the tomb is there any reference to them being brothers. There are other theories into their relationship, such as them actually being siamese twins, or them being the first ever same-sex couple known from history. Both these ideas are primarily based on the ways in which they were depicted together in the artwork of their tomb, and their names and titles which they had during their lifetime. They are both generally credited with living during the reign of the 5th dynasty pharaoh, Nyussera, although, it's said they may have lived in Menkauhor's reign, whom was the successor of Nyuserra. This is based on their titles, which include; "Priests of Ra in the Sun Temple of Nyuserra," "Wab Priests of the Mortuary Temple of Nyuserra," "Supervisor of the Manicurists of the Palace," and "Confidant of the King" among others. Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep's titles show that these men were highly favoured by the king regardless of their relatiionship to each other. The name Niankhkhnum means "Life Belongs to Khnum" and Khnumhotep means "Khnum is Satisfied."</span><br /><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/img010.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="Layout of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep's mastaba" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/img010.jpg" border="0" /></span></a> <p></p><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Right - Layout of the mastaba (not to scale). E: Entrance, V1: First vestibule, V2: Second vestibule, C1: First chamber, C2: Second chamber, X: Courtyard, A: Antechamber, B: Burial chamber, and S: Serdab. Red squares: Burial shafts of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, and Blue squares: Other shafts. Click on the map to see the diagram close-up.]</em></span> <p></p><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">The mastaba is situated beneath the Causeway of the Unis pyramid at Saqqara. The entrance is situated on the north side whch leads you straight into the first vestibule.</span><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/1stchamber_east_scene.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep scene at the first chamber" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/1stchamber_east_scene.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Scene from the first chamber in the mastaba of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_fulls.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep scene at the second vestibule" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_fulls.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Scene from the second vestibule in the mastaba of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_close.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep scene at the second vestibule" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_close.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Close up scene from the second vestibule in the mastaba of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_lefti.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep scene at the second vestibule" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_lefti.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Scene from the inside of the doorway at the second vestibule in the mastaba of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_niank.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankhkhnumhotep_2ndvestibule_niank.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Close up of Niankhkhnum from the mastaba of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankh.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep embrace" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/niankh.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Reproduction of a scene located in the south-west area of the chapel of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep embracing. By <a href="http://www.troycap.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Troy Caperton</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/offeringchamber_west_falsedoors.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep's False doors" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/offeringchamber_west_falsedoors.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - False doors of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep along the west wall in the offering chamber of their mastaba. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/offeringchamber_west_finalembrace.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep's final embrace" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lotus9977/offeringchamber_west_finalembrace.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#990000;"><em>[Above - Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep's final embrace along the west wall in the offering chamber of their mastaba. Photo supplied by <a href="http://www.egypt-kemet.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Carla</span></a>.]</em></span></div>Jesica J. Bogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296468931401714729noreply@blogger.com0