Bed legs

These Nubian bed legs belonging to a funerary bed are rare items. Only a few other examples are known in the whole world. Because of centuries of colonization Nubian culture was strongly influenced by the Egyptian kingdom. As early as 2500 B.C. the Egyptian Pharaohs wanted to annex the area situated along the Nile’s middle reaches with its copper and gold deposits. Added to these, there was a lucrative transit trade in luxury goods from Central-Africa. It proved relatively easy for Egypt to conquer Lower Nubia, but not so Cush, further down south in Africa.
Around 712 B.C. Egypt – weakened by that time – was even conquered by an African dynasty. The roles were simply reversed. The African Pharaohs even put themselves forward as the restorers of the greatness of the Egyptian past. Their temple ruins and burial fields are a fascinating mixture of indigenous Nubian and Pharaonic elements.
The Nubians did not adopt all Egyptian customs. Thus they buried their dead lying on a bed. These legs belonging to such a funerary bed have the shape of a sphinx – a lion with a human head. The sphinxes have negroid faces. The pedestals are inscribed with hieroglyphic spells for good luck. The hairdo with the little braids is very African. The details were done in yellow paint, in order to make them look like gold. The two other legs belonging to this bed are in the Louvre and in the British Museum.