Wall Fragment from the Tomb of Amenemhet and His Wife Hemet

This fragment from a vividly painted tomb illustrates how a tomb interior might have looked. Amenemhet and his wife are surrounded by haunches of meat, vegetables, jars—perhaps filled with beer—and loaves of bread needed to sustain them in the afterlife. The receding space of the room is suggested by objects stacked up so that no loaf or jar is hidden from view. Finally, by naming food and supplies such as linen for clothing in the hieroglyphic text, the tomb owner was assured comfort in life after death