The Painting of Lady Tjepu is a fragment from a large fresco from Tomb 181 in Thebes (

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

). It dates to the 18th Dynasty reign of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(.w), ''Amānəḥūtpū'' , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different ...

. The painting depicts an elegantly dressed woman with much jewelry. She holds her head upright and faces straight ahead, her right arm is bent and held up, her left is held at hip height. In her left hand she holds a

menat In ancient Egyptian religion, a menat ( egy, mnj.t, ar, منات) was a type of artefact closely associated with the goddess Hathor. Operation The menat was held in the hand by its counterpoise and used as a rattle by Hathor's priestesses. It ...

. Her white garment is slightly translucent and in many places her body can be seen underneath it. Her wig is finely worked with a crown of flowers on top. A small

head cone Head cones, also known as perfume cones or wax cones were a type of conical ornament worn atop the head in ancient Egypt. They are often depicted on paintings and bas-reliefs of the era, but were not found as archaeological evidence until 2019. ...

on top of her head is made of grease or fat. As a symbol it indicates Tjepu's membership in the upper layer of society. Her name and role as "Lady of the House" are inscribed behind her head. The complete image showed Tjepu behind

Nebamun Nebamun (fl. ) was a middle-ranking official "scribe and grain accountant" during the period of the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt. He worked at the vast temple complex near Thebes (now Luxor) where the state-god Amun was worshipped. His name was ...

, her son. Nebamun shared the grave with another sculptor, Ipuki. The depiction of the mother in this position is unusual, as most graves depict the owner's wife in this location. Perhaps this diversion from usual practice indicates a special connection between Nebamun and Tjepu. The space was probably free for the mother because Nebamun married the widow of Ipuki (and made use of his grave) and she was already depicted with Ipuki. Son and mother stand before a shrine, where they bring an offering for the

Beautiful Festival of the Valley The Beautiful Festival of the Valley (Egyptian: ''heb nefer en inet''; ar, عيد الوادي الجميل, Eid al-Wadi al-Jamil) was an ancient Egyptian festival, celebrated annually in Thebes (Luxor), during the Middle Kingdom period and lat ...

in honour of the

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

Amun Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...

. In accordance with tradition, Tjepu is not shown at her real age, but in an idealised, youthful form. The image is dated to the late 18th Dynasty, in the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1390–1353 BC). The clothing of Tjepu conforms to the fashion of this time. It was painted on the plaster of the walls of the tomb. The image entered the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

in 1916 as part of the collection of

Charles Edwin Wilbour Charles Edwin Wilbour (March 17, 1833 – December 17, 1896) was an American journalist and Egyptologist. Wilbour is noted as one of the discoverers of the Elephantine Papyri and the creator of the first English translation of ''Les Misérables' ...

, where it remains a key piece of the ancient Egyptian collection to this day (inventory number 65.197). Thus, it has been the title image of catalogues of the collection since 1999 and also appeared on the title page of the catalogue edited for the travelling exhibition of pieces from the Brooklyn Museum in Berlin in 1976.

Literature

* ''Painting of the Woman Tjepu.'' In: Richard A. Fazzani, James F. Romano, Madeleine E. Cody: ''Art for Eternity. Masterworks from ancient Egypt.'' Brooklyn Museum of Art/Scala Publishers, New York 1999, {{ISBN, 0-87273-139-1, S. 90.

External links

Brooklyn Museum: Image of Lady Tjepu
Paintings in the Brooklyn Museum Ancient Egyptian painting Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt