Although Tutankhamen probably was considered too young to
fight, his position as king required that he be represented as a con-
queror. He is shown as such in the panels of a painted chest (FIG. 3-35)
deposited in his tomb. The lid panel shows the king as a successful
hunter pursuing droves of fleeing animals in the desert, and the side
panel shows him as a great warrior. From a war chariot pulled by spir-
ited, plumed horses, the pharaoh, shown larger than all other figures on
the chest, draws his bow against a cluster of bearded Asian enemies,
who fall in confusion before him. (The absence of a ground line in an
Egyptian painting or relief implies chaos and death.) Tutankhamen
slays the enemy, like game, in great numbers. Behind him are three tiers
of undersized war chariots, which serve to magnify the king’s figure and
to increase the count of his warriors. The themes are traditional, but the
fluid, curvilinear forms are features reminiscent of the Amarna style.76 Chapter 3 EGYPT UNDER THE PHARAOHS3-35Painted chest, from the
tomb of Tutankhamen, Thebes,
Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1333–1323
bce.Wo o d , 1 8 long. Egyptian
Museum, Cairo.
Tutankhamen is here represented
triumphing over Asian enemies.
The artist contrasted the orderly
registers of Egyptian chariots with
the chaotic pile of foreign soldiers
who fall before the king.
3-36Last judgment of Hu-Nefer, from his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1280 bce.Painted papyrus scroll, 1 6 high. British
Museum, London.
The Book of the Deadcontained spells and prayers. This scroll depicts the weighing of Hu-Nefer’s heart against Maat’s feather before the deceased
can be brought before Osiris, god of the Underworld.
1 in.1 in.