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Burial chamber of Sobekmose

New Kingdom
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 119
The burial chamber of Sobekmose, a treasury official under Amenhotpe III, is from el-Rizeiqat in Upper Egypt. Decorated burial chambers were not common in private tombs of Dynasty 18, and the scenes and texts usually distributed among several rooms in contemporary tombs are condensed here into a single chamber. The ceiling blocks, south wall, and partially preserved east entrance wall are the parts of the sandstone lining of the tomb installed here. The ceiling's inscriptions include a prayer to the sky goddess, Nut, recitations by Isis and Nut, and standard formulae claiming that "the Osiris [the overseer of the House of Silver] Sobekmose" is "honored by" the Four Sons of Horus and various gods. The east entrance wall as reconstructed is decorated with protective texts and guardian figures of Anubis on the lintel, and scenes of ritual ablution are depicted on the door jambs. The long south wall shows a priest burning incense and pouring a libation, and the rest of the wall is taken up by seven prayers to numerous deities. The north and west walls, now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (MFA 54.648), depict Sobekmose's funeral procession and his presentation to the gods of the underworld–Osiris and Anubis. The texts include selections from Spells 1, 15, 125, 130, and 151 of the Book of the Dead, and Utterance 32 of the Pyramid Texts.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Burial chamber of Sobekmose
  • Period: New Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18
  • Reign: reign of Amenhotep III
  • Date: ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Southern Upper Egypt, Rizeiqat
  • Medium: Sandstone, traces of paint
  • Dimensions: Dimensions of room: l. 315 cm (124 in); w. 219 cm. (86 1/4in); h. 222 cm. (87 3/8 in)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1908
  • Object Number: 08.201.4
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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