Search
Model of a Man Plowing, Painted wood

Model of a Man Plowing

Period:
Middle Kingdom
Dynasty:
early to mid-Dynasty 12
Date:
ca. 1981–1885 B.C.
Geography:
From Egypt
Medium:
Painted wood
Dimensions:
H. 20 cm (7 7/8 in.); L. 49.8 cm (19 5/8 in.); W. 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.)
Credit Line:
Gift of Valdemar Hammer, Jr., in memory of his father, 1936
Accession Number:
36.5
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 113
The peasant, feet deep in the sodden ground, trudges behind the hook-shaped plow pulled by two oxen. Ancient Egyptian plows were made of wood and had the shape of a hook. It is not possible to turn the soil with such plows, they only serve to open the ground. The ultimate aim of this kind of plowing was, therefore, to place the seeds well into the soil. Texts appear to indicate that while a plow may have been the farmer's property, the oxen were leased by state or temple institutions. Egyptians believed that they also had to work in the fields in the afterlife; and this may be the reason why a model such as this was included in among burial equipment.
Donated to the Museum by Valdemar Hammer, Jr., 1936.

Hayes, William C. 1953. Scepter of Egypt I: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 265, 266, fig. 173.

Arnold, Dorothea 1995. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, new ser., vol. 52, no. 4 (Spring), New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 51, no. 62.

Timelines
Egypt, 2000-1000 B.C.

The Scepter of Egypt: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom
"An Egyptian Bestiary": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 52, no. 4 (Spring, 1995)

Egyptian Art (27,193)
Related Objects
Model Sailing Boat Transporting a Mummy

Model Sailing Boat Transporting a Mummy

Artist: Date: ca. 1900–1885 B.C.
Accession Number: 32.1.124a Date: ca. 1900–1885 B.C. Medium: Wood, paint Accession: 32.1.124a On view in: Gallery 109
Coffins and Mummy of the Lady Nephthys

Coffins and Mummy of the Lady Nephthys

Artist: Date: ca. 1981–1802 B.C.
Accession Number: 11.150.15a–c-related Date: ca. 1981–1802 B.C. Medium: Painted wood, cartonnage, linen, human remains, mummification material Accession: 11.150.15a–c-related On view in: Gallery 112
Model of a Porch and Garden

Model of a Porch and Garden

Artist: Date: ca. 1981–1975 B.C.
Accession Number: 20.3.13 Date: ca. 1981–1975 B.C. Medium: Wood, paint, copper Accession: 20.3.13 On view in: Gallery 105
Model of a Granary with Scribes

Model of a Granary with Scribes

Artist: Date: ca. 1981–1975 B.C.
Accession Number: 20.3.11 Date: ca. 1981–1975 B.C. Medium: Wood, plaster, paint, linen, grain Accession: 20.3.11 On view in: Gallery 105
Model Shield, Spear Case, and Spears

Model Shield, Spear Case, and Spears

Artist: Date: ca. 1981–1802 B.C.
Accession Number: 17.9.3–.11-related Date: ca. 1981–1802 B.C. Medium: Wood, stucco, paint Accession: 17.9.3–.11-related On view in: Gallery 112
A curatorial staff member looks at an ink drawing using a magnifying lens

Who Cares for the Collection?

Learn more about the curatorial staff and the scientists and conservators who collaborate to study, exhibit, and care for the objects in The Met collection.

A collage of various public-domain works of art in The Met collection

Open Access at The Met

Stay up-to-date on the Museum's Open Access initiative, which makes more than 375,000 images of public-domain artworks from The Met collection available for free and unrestricted use.

Book cover and selected pages from "The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings"

The Met Store

Explore publications and products inspired by The Met collection, which spans 5,000 years of culture from around the world.

Young woman talking in front of a painting

Guided Tours

Explore highlights of the collection through a variety of tours.