Bottom of a footcase with bound prisoners

The image of a prisoner with his hands tied behind his back and his ankles bound together appears in Egyptian art from the earliest eras through the Roman Period. The placement of this motif literally under the feet of the king, for example on the soles of sandals or on footstools, is known from earlier periods in Egyptian history, most famously on objects from the New Kingdom tomb of Tutankhamun (around 1300 BCE).

In the Late and Greco-Roman Periods, images of sandals were often used to decorate the bottoms of cartonnage cases placed over the feet of mummies, serving as magical protection for the deceased. In this example, each sandal is divided into five horizontal compartments containing small figures of traditional enemies of Egypt, identifiable through their skin colors and stylized costumes. In six of the compartments, the captives are tied to stakes or trees. Most of the inscription in the column between the sandals has been lost, but what remains reads: "...under his feet, against his enemies." Thus, the deceased would magically trample on the enemies of Egypt every time he or she took a step.