Oarsmen and an Official
Old Kingdom
In the upper register, rowers wield their oars, each man with one foot braced on a rail to increase leverage. Lashed to the deck behind them is the ship's cargo, perhaps a large block of stone or an architectural element for a royal construction. The faint shapes of the oar blades beneath the zigzag lines of the water indicate the water's partial transparency.
In the lower register, an official wearing a cylinder seal on a cord around his neck seems about to put on another such cord, which he holds in his hands-perhaps an award bestowed by the pharaoh.
The small bow in the official's hair and the complex overlay of carved levels in the rowing scene point to a date in the reign of Userkaf.
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