The Hunt in the Desert from the Tomb of Ra-em-kai. Saqqara; Fifth Dynasty, probably reign of Djedkare-Isesi (ca. 2381–2353 B.C.E.). Painted limestone; H. 36 1/4 in. (92 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.201.1g).



This scene comes from a chapel that was decorated for a man named Nefer-iretnes but was later appropriated for Ra-em-kai, the eldest son of the king. In the upper register, a hunter (identified as such by the hieroglyphs near his head) watches two hunting dogs attack a fox and a gazelle in the uneven terrain. Above, a hare and a gazelle hide in low vegetation. The gazelles and the dogs are identified by the hieroglyphs above them. In the lower register, two hunters attempt to capture a group of ibexes, which will be fattened for slaughtering. Above the hunter at the left, a hedgehog is rooting in the dry soil. The text in front of the hunter at the right describes his actions: "Lassoing of an ibex by a hunter."