#nakht

[egypt-museum]

The Three Musicians, 1910

Reproduction of the famous mural from the Tomb of Nakht, depicts three female musicians playing a flute, lute, and a harp, celebrating the joys of life and the afterlife in ancient Egypt.

by Walter Tyndale (English, 1855-1943)

[smokiebomb]

S H A M A N • K I N G

19 - 20 - 21

[tyrellsimsoficeandfire]

There he stood - the first man in this strange country who ever showed kindness to her. Tadukhipa still remembered the boy he was almost ten years ago. She still remembered the girl she was then. When looking at her own refection on the water, she now saw a woman grown and when looking at him she saw the man she never saw before...

Tadukhipa and Nakhtmin.

[egypt-museum]

Nakht receives libation from the tree goddess, c. 1400 B.C.

▫️Worship of the Lady of the Sycamore flourished especially during the New Kingdom, when images of the tree goddess were painted on tomb walls, and prayers were offered to her for fertility, healing, and protection. Tree goddesses might also appear in the likeness of Isis or Nut, each embodying the maternal and life-giving aspects of the natural world.

In the spiritual landscape of Ancient Egypt, the sycamore tree (“nehet” in the Ancient Egyptian tongue) held a place of deep reverence. More than a mere provider of shade in the searing sun, the sycamore was seen as the Tree of Life, a sacred conduit between the earthly and the divine. It was believed to offer protection, nourishment, and even the breath of life to the deceased in the afterworld.

At the heart of this veneration stood the Lady of the Sycamore, a nurturing goddess often portrayed emerging from or standing beneath the branches of the tree, arms extended in a gesture of blessing. She is most commonly associated with Hathor, the radiant goddess of love, music, motherhood, and the afterlife. In this gentle, arboreal form, Hathor was believed to extend water and sustenance to souls journeying through the Duat; the Ancient Egyptian underworld.

The Book of the Dead of Nakht is now at the British Museum. EA10471,8

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[egypt-museum]

A detail of painting of one of three musicians from tomb of Nakht (TT52). New Kingdom, 18th dynasty ca. 1421-1372 BC. Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. Thebes.

[egypt-museum]

A guest smells the lotus flower while the others pass along the fruit in a banquet scene.

New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, c. 1421-1372 B.C. Tomb of Nakht (TT52), Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Thebes.

[egypt-museum]

Grape harvest and bird catching

In the upper register, two men harvesting grapes, one of the men has grey hair. Harvested grapes are placed in a white stone press where they are treated by five men. Man collects juice outside the press where it is placed in earthenware jars.

In the lower register, bird capture and removal of the plumage, a hexagonal net used to capture birds in the papyrus swamp by three men. The lookout ,half hidden, from behind the papyrus background, signals to the three men to pull on the rope, to close the large net. Two men pluck feathers of previously captured birds. In an unseen part of this illustration these are given as offerings to the scribe Nakht and his wife the singer of Amun, Tawy.

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Thutmose IV-Amenhotep III, ca. 1397-1353 BC. Tomb of Nakht (TT52), Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Thebes.

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[egypt-museum]

The Tree Goddess, or ‘Lady of the Sycamore’. She is usually identified with either Nut, Hathor or Isis.

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty ca. 1421-1413 BC. Tomb of Nakht (TT52), Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, West Thebes.