Birds in a cage and offering bearers

Mentuemhat was the virtual ruler of Thebes alongside the concurrent God's Wife during part of Dynasty 25 and early 26. He constructed a large tomb in the Asasif, as did other major figures of late Dynasty 25 and Dynasty 26, most of the others closely associated with the God's Wife. His huge tomb is sometimes referred to as a palace tomb. It is marked at its eastern end by a large brick pylon with an arch. The actual entry is from a gate and descending entry at the northeast corner of a huge sunken open court west of the pylon. A second smaller open court follows. Subterranean rooms and corridors branch off these courts, and descending corridors continue further west to suites of rooms and the burial chamber, Although parts have long been known, this huge edifice has only been recently completely cleared, and the tomb remains under study.

While the stone is poor and walls of relief decoration in the tomb have greatly suffered, this relief ha been assigned to the west portico which opens from the west side of the first sunken court and leads to the second. This is the only area known at this point to have raised relief, and other fragments that can be assigned to this area relate to the current relief by subject matter.

The relief shows four birds in a cage, while fowlers try to stuff in more birds, and one duck tries to escape. Fowling scenes are often associated with fishing scenes, and scenes of similar activities. While many of these large Asasif tombs drew inspiration from the painted 18th Dynasty tombs in the vicinity, and while the general subject matter is found in those tombs, no very close model has been identified.