4. The
Tribute of the Nations - East Wall . ( Plates 37 comprising Plates 38 to 40,
and 47 ) .
The scene on this wall not only is new in kind and
manifestly records an historical event, but a descriptive note and a date are
appended to it . The one, it is true, is brief and very bald, and the other too
broken to be reliable ; but fortunately there is in the adjoining tomb a
second, though very differently treated version of the same or a similar
occurrence, the dating of which is clear, and agrees with what remains of the
numbers here . The inscription is as follows :— " Year [ twelve, second
month of the winter season, eighth day ] of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
living on Truth, Lord of the Two Lands, Nefer-kheperu-ra, Son of the Sun,
living on Truth, Lord of [ Diadems ], Akhenaten, great in his duration, and the
great wife of the King, his beloved, Nefertiti, living for ever and ever . His
Majesty appeared on the throne of the Divine and Sovereign Father, the Aten,
who lives on Truth ; and the chiefs of all lands brought the tribute .....
praying favour at his hand (?) in order to inhale the breath of life . The
inscription in the tomb of Huya records the event as the bringing of tribute
from Kharu and Kush ( Syria and Ethiopia ), the East and West, and the islands
of the sea " ; a description probably more rhetorical than exact .
The scene is cleverly set out. The King, drawn to a large scale, sits
enthroned in the middle of the picture, accompanied by his family . On the
right the tribes of the South ( Plate 38 ), on the left the nations of the
North ( Plate 39 ), approach the platform humbly . The dado ( Plate 40 ), shows
the foreground — the crowd on this side of the pavilion . The canopied platform
on which the King sits to receive the gifts is similar to several shown on
these tombs, and yet cannot be identified with any of them ( Plates 32, 31-a
and 14-a ) ; for the light columns here are as unique as those on the south
wall ( Plate 32 ) . They carry a triple capital, formed by the papyrus, the
lotus (?), and the lily, superimposed one upon the other in an ungraceful
combination . The royal pair sit on cushioned chairs side by side, with their
feet resting on double hassocks . Even at this public appearance before men of
foreign nations their attitude to one another is still most amatory . The Queen
has her right arm thrown round her husband's waist, and her left hand reposes
in his . So much is perceptible ; but the bodies of both have been almost
erased from the hips upwards in ancient time . As usual, all but the bare
outline of the farther figure was covered by the nearer .
Six princesses are shown, a number greater than is
found elsewhere . The new comers are Nefer-neferu-ra, whom we have already seen
on the south wall, and Setep-en-ra . The pretty groups have been injured by
time and ruined by thieves, but the names and attitudes are preserved in
several earlier copies and squeezes . Meketaten turns her head to her sister,
and so shows us the side without the hanging lock . Attracted by the smell of a
persea-fruit ( pomegranate ? ) which Ankhes-en-pa-aten is holding to her nose,
she is stretching out her hand for another which is in her sister's right hand .
Nefer-neferu-aten seems to be holding up a tiny gazelle, and her sister behind
has a similar pet on her right arm, which Setep-en-ra is tickling . Both hold
flowers in the other hand . The different ages of the children is not indicated
by their height or demeanour . As Setep-en-ra does not appear on the south
wall, it may be that she was born during the decoration of the tomb, about the
fourteenth year of the reign . Three nurses of the children stand by the side
of the platform .
The titulary of the sun above contains some
indecipherable additions to what is usual ( perhaps " in the great desert
of Akhetaten " on the left ) .
In front is depicted, in six registers, the bringing
of gifts by negro tribes of the South, and though the picture does not convey
the idea of a spontaneous and unforced payment of tribute, this may be a
mistaken impression . In the topmost register are specimens of the gifts . On
native initiative and artistic impulse, apparently, the tribute of the South
was wont to be made more presentable by the inclusion of set pieces, which were
sometimes very complex and even, in a barbaric way, picturesque . One of the
commonest and simplest methods was to decorate a yoke with skins and tails of
animals, and with rings of gold suspended in long chains or sewn on a
foundation of skin or cloth . These hung from the yoke, while a row of ostrich
feathers adorned the upper side . One such pole is seen resting on a stand, and
two others are being borne by negroes .
A second trophy, of which an example is seen here, takes the form of a
representation of the dom palm, presumably in
precious metal . It is set in a basket, but here the blocks ( ingots of silver
? ) instead of being built into an elegant pyramid are merely placed in two
rough piles . Behind these trophies are seen trays holding ingots (?), bags of
gold dust, and rings of gold ; also shields, bows, and arrows, &c . Below,
similar gifts are being presented by negro chiefs, from Wawat or Mam in Ethiopia,
to judge by their dress ( Plate 35 ) . Ivory, and the eggs and feathers of the
ostrich, form part of the tribute, and the Egyptian love of animals is
gratified by the inclusion of tame leopards, a wild ox (?), and an antelope (?)
.
In the third and fourth registers we see prisoners
taken in a raid, or perhaps slaves as a natural item of the tribute . About a
dozen male negroes are being dragged forward by ropes tied round their necks
and fettering the wrists also . Half that number of women are being led in the
same way, except that their hands are left free . Each is accompanied by three
or four children, the elder ones led by the hand, the youngest one or two
carried in a pannier which rests on the back, but is supported by a band
passing round the forehead . This seems to have been a custom general among
several tribes .
The next register exhibits a war-like scene, but as
weapons are absent, it is to be interpreted as a series of athletic exercises
by the troops, who show their prowess in this more pacific form . The sports
are of three kinds, wrestling, singlestick, and boxing . In the first
competition, two out of the eight combatants have thrown their men, who lie
helpless on their backs as dead . Two of the contests are still being
stubbornly disputed, though the victors can be easily foretold . The execution
of these scenes is very rough, but their vigour is unmistakable . There are
only two rivals in the fencing, and one of them has already received a decisive
blow on the head . Of the three sets of boxers, one pair is still struggling
for the victory, but the victors of the other rounds are already jumping for
joy and loudly proclaiming themselves .
Meanwhile Meryra (?) and four other officials are humbly ascending the
platform to present themselves to the King . They are followed by their shade
and fan-bearers, and by others who may be a select body of the troops which
took part in the expedition, or formed the escort to the mission . In the midst
the street boys give unrestrained expression, after the manner of their kind,
to their delight at the whole proceedings ( Plate 14-a ) . A little group also
shows proleptically the intended decoration of Meryra with the double necklace .
Honours appear to be reserved for his companions also ; for as many necklaces
are displayed on stools, and the closed coffer may also contain something more
in the way of reward .
On the left of the platform ( Plates 39 and 47 ) the peoples of the
North ( our East ) are seen . Those in the six registers immediately behind are
evidently Syrians, to whom the Egyptians applied the loose term Retnu . Nearly
all have the bushy hair and full beard, and the robe wound in several turns
round the body from ankles to neck . Some, however, have the head shaven,
though the beard is long ; — a type which Professor Petrie classes as Amorite .
At the top of the picture we see a large part of the
gifts grouped, consisting of those weapons of war which their Syrian campaigns
had taught the Egyptians to prize and use . There are bows and quivers (?),
falchions and daggers (?), spears, shields, coats of mail (?), and a chariot,
with its two horses. Beneath, we see other presents in the hands of men of the
Retnu . Three young girls who form part of the tribute are pushed forward in
front, as likely to win favour for the rest . The kneeling figures in this and
succeeding rows show, no doubt, the leaders of the embassy . Among the gifts
here are a metal vase, a casket, an elephant's tusk, a bow and arrows, and
three animals, an Antelope, an Oryx, and a Lion . In the next row nine captives
or slaves are led forward by Egyptians : their hands are fettered by handcuffs .
The two vases shown here may have had ornamental covers ( Hay credits the
shorter with a panther's head ), but the state of the wall prevents the exact
forms of the vessels on it being ascertained with accuracy .
The next register seems to show a separate deputation,
perhaps from the land of the Amorites . Their gift comprises two maidens, a
chariot and pair, and various vases of fine workmanship, including a mounted
trophy with the head of a lioness on the lid . The lower two registers may show
still another tribe of the Retnu, but there are no means of distinguishing it .
Their gift consists chiefly of vases in fine metal work . Besides these, there
are two antelopes, and a file of slaves, including women and children .
The enumeration of the tribes of the north who
presented tribute at this time is continued in the long registers below, perhaps
with this difference, that there is no longer any show of force, but a much
greater likeness to embassies of peace .
In
the topmost of these three rows ( Plate 40 ) a small deputation of seven men is
seen, who are clothed simply, and much after the Egyptian fashion . Their
offerings are of an equally simple nature, and clearly from a fertile, but not
a manufacturing land . There are calves ( or calf-shaped metal weights ), piles
of grain or incense shoulder-high, which two men are measuring up, and precious
metal (?) formed into a flattering imitation of the two characteristic Egyptian
structures, the pyramid and the obelisk . It seems certain from these offerings
that they are sent from the land of Punt, its people being grouped here with
the northerners as a non-negro race .
The next embassy is as plainly that of a desert
population. The eggs and feathers of the ostrich are all they have to offer .
Their flowing, open mantle, and the side-lock, and the feather in the hair
proclaim them to be Temehu or Libyans .
While the dress of the remaining nation marks it out
as Syrian, the queue into which the hair is drawn behind indicates the
formidable Kheta ( Hittites ? ) of the distant north . So far, however, from
appearing as members of an invading horde, the elaborate and tasteful
metal-work which they have to offer, as rich no doubt in material as in form,
betoken the highest civilization .
When we seek a more definite origin for these vessels
by a comparative study of the metal-work of Syria we find it a difficult task,
though vessels of similar types are often seen on Egyptian monuments . They are
generally attributed there to the Retnu, a term which at its loosest could
cover all Syria ; for to the Egyptians, as to us, these racial names were
largely only rough geographical distinctions . The vase, adorned by a bounding
bull, as well as that in which the full-faced head of a bull with a disc
between the horns forms the cover, is seen in the tribute of Ramses III at
Karnak, where they are attributed to the Retnu . Hittites, however, are seen to
be included there under this name . In the tomb of Rekhmire at Thebes, where a
more careful classification is to be looked for, the finely-chased vases with
richly ornamented rims are put in the hands both of the Keftiu ( Cretans ? )
and of the Retnu ; but the use of animals, or animals' heads, as ornaments, and
the more elaborate creations, are assigned to the Keftiu . Amongst them are
pieces which are almost duplicates of the heads of the ox and the lioness found
in our picture . The long-necked lipped jug here brought by the Kheta is
carried both by Keftiu and Retnu elsewhere .
Where, then, was the centre of this cultured
manufacture ? The answer may be supplied by a scene in a Theban tomb, where the
chiefs of the Kheta, the Keftiu, Kadesh and Thenpu ( probably Tunip, a city
which in Akhenaten's time was in the hands of the Kheta ), are presenting vases
very similar to those shown here . " A sculptor " follows the chief
of Tunip, carrying a piece of plate . He wears the dress of the Keftiu, and
most of the men who follow, bearing vases, are of the same nationality . A few
resemble in face and dress " the chief of the Kheta " there shown ;
but he does not show the peculiar Hittite face or garb . From this and other
evidence we might gather that the country of the Keftiu was the home of the
craft, and that the neighbouring nations, the Hittites, Retnu, and others
imported these splendid products, and perhaps even learned to imitate the less
elaborate forms ; so that it was as much by their agency as by direct trade
with the Keftiu that they were introduced into Egypt . The recent discoveries
in Crete render this hypothesis extremely likely by pointing to that island as
the home of the Keftiu .
There is no reason, then, why such vases should not be
found in the hands of the Kheta, though it is just possible that our artist has
erroneously drawn Hittites for Keftiu ; for the Hittites, by reason of
distance, are less likely to have sent tribute, and while they are not named or
seen in the tomb of Huya, the people of " the islands of the sea "
there named are not depicted .
The remaining groups on the wall do not form part of
the embassies, but are Egyptian . Below, i.e. on this side of the royal pavilion,
is ranged a large body of troops. The six men drawn up in line in front show,
perhaps, the number of files, but of these only two are actually depicted .
They are curiously armed . Some men of the first file are dressed in the short
tunic of the Egyptians, and carry a long staff curved at the upper end, and a
battle-axe . Two feathers are worn in the hair . Others wear a longer tunic and
carry only a javelin or curved staff . The hair is worn short and a ribbon
attached to the back of the head. The men of the second file carry a spear and
a hooked staff alternately .
The two palanquins of the King and Queen rest beside
the platform . They take the form of state-chairs, each of them carried by two
strong poles . Sphinxes bearing the head and crowns of the King of the two
Egypts ( the Upper and the Lower Egypt ), serve as arm-rests, and the chair is
guarded on each side by the carved figure of a walking lion . The floor on
which the creature stands is attached to the poles before and behind by a uaz column, and, in the King's larger chair, by the figure of a kneeling
captive also .
Here we meet also the personal attendants of the King,
his censing priest, his servants, whose backs are loaded and hands full of all
that he may call for, and the police . The two royal chariots wait in front of
the platform, gaped at by a little crowd . Here also is the military escort,
and several servants who bring forward, for sacrifice or feasting, bouquets,
fowl, and three stalled oxen, whose misshapen hoofs show their fat condition .
Although it is given the aspect of a payment of
tribute in due course, the depiction of the scene in these tombs alone shows
that it was extraordinary, and that its presence here is much less due to any
part Meryra or Huya had in it than to the stir which it caused . It may have
been that missions from such widely separated regions as Coele-Syria, Ethiopia
and Punt met by chance in Egypt, and that the opportunity was taken for a
parade of Egypt's greatness . Or, late as it was, it may have been the first
time that Akhenaten was able to convince the nations that he was firmly seated
on the throne of his fathers, and to arrange an exhibition of loyalty . Or, not
unlikely, it was the result of timely military demonstrations on the North and
South frontiers . The promptitude and the liberality with which the tribute was
paid by many tribes probably always depended on such significant hints . Even
if we regard the prisoners in these scenes as slaves, not captives of war, the
military sports suggest that there had been some such expedition on the South
frontier at least . But whether the inducement to bring tribute was more
warlike or diplomatic, Meryra seems to have taken a leading part in it . Some
unnamed official at any rate is being rewarded, and we may hope that Akhenaten
had this excuse for making a political event so prominent in the eternal house
of his servant .
5. Meryra
rewarded by King Se-aa-ka-ra - North Wall : East side . ( Plate 41 ) .
The unfinished picture on this wall seems to reflect
the troubles which gathered round the new capital in the later years of the
reign or upon the death of Akhenaten . Hastily executed, or left in the rough
ink-sketch, the figures of the King and Queen, with the familiar cartouches of
Akhenaten and Nefertiti replaced by those of Merytaten their daughter and her
husband, Ankh-kheperu-ra, the interrupted project speaks of events, actual or
menacing, in which leisured art could have no place . It is somewhat difficult
to decide whether the design as well as the cartouches belong to Se-aa-ka-ra's
reign, and whether, therefore, these figures represent Akhenaten and his wife
or their successors on the throne . In the absence of sufficient grounds of
suspicion, we must assume that the whole belongs to the reign, or at least to a
co-regency of the new King . Yet it is not obvious why not even one small
design should be completed by him, or why the sun and the royal pair should be
left untouched . The cartouches seem somewhat large and clumsy in comparison
with the rest of the inscription, but the execution of the whole also is very
different from that of the other walls . ( We cannot object to there being two
scenes of the rewarding of Meryra ; because that occurs in the neighbouring
tomb, and there is, therefore, even a presumption in favour of it ) . It might
be put forward as a plausible theory that the King's sculptors were called away
to work in the tomb of Meketaten, and returned later to complete the scenes . But
the execution of the work coincided with an illness of the King, which
threatened to prove fatal, and under the circumstances the royal cartouches and
figures were not proceeded with ; then, when the apprehension concerning the
King was justified, the cartouches of his successor were hastily inserted as a
date ; though events, or the disinclination of the new King, stopped any
further progress with the tomb . The burial shafts were never made, and
Meryra's hopes of a splendid interment here shared the general ruin . The
roughly sketched figures of the King and Queen, the ink of which is now almost
invisible, stand under the radiating sun in the centre of the picture . Behind
them is the palace and before them their faithful palace official, with his
friends and attendants . A part of the group has been removed by the formation
of a recess here at a later date . Meryra is standing on a stool, or up borne
by his friends with officious care, to receive the guerdon of golden necklaces
from the king . His breast is already covered with these marks of royal favour
; and it was no doubt a wise proceeding on the part of the new monarch to make
sure of the devotion of an official so influential in the royal harem .
Part ( 13 ) .. Coming SoOoOon .....
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