Antiquity · Art Institute of Chicago · 120368
Tomb Wall Fragment Depicting Offering Bearers and Butchers
Egyptian; Saqqara, Old Kingdom, mid–Dynasty 5–early Dynasty 6 (about 2445–2287 BCE)
Art Institute of Chicago · W. Moses Willner Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Egyptian; Saqqara
- Date
- Old Kingdom, mid–Dynasty 5–early Dynasty 6 (about 2445–2287 BCE)
- Medium
- Limestone
- Dimensions
- 45 × 94.3 × 13.7 cm (17 3/4 × 37 1/8 × 5 3/8 in.)
- Era
- Antiquity
Why it matters
In the upper register, priests and servants prepare food offerings, including birds and ribs of beef. The lower register portrays butchers at work. Their kilts are tucked into their waistbands to keep them clean. To the left, butchers carry away a cow’s heart and a jar of blood.