Model of a wooden boat with rowers. Ancient Egypt, Middle Kingdom, circa 2050-1750 BC.

Model of a wooden boat with rowers. Ancient Egypt, Middle Kingdom, circa 2050-1750 BC.
Wood.
Restored. Partially reconstructed from ancient and modern elements: the oars are recent.
Provenance: Private collection, Francois Antonovich, Paris, France; Purchased at auction SVV M. D. & O. C. S., France, 2024. From his childhood in Cairo, his Italian family life and his French schooling, François Antonovich derived an insatiable curiosity that has influenced his vision as an antiquarian and collector. Starting in 1970 he opened several galleries in Paris, and for almost 50 years he collected furniture, sculptures, works of art, paintings and drawings by old masters.
Measurements: 91 x 17 x 48 cm.

Model of a funerary boat with five rowers, two masts (incomplete), a rudder and a stylized cabin. This type of boat is characteristic of the funerary offerings of the Early Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom. Its purpose was to ensure the bodily well-being and mobility of the deceased in the afterlife. In ancient Egypt, the origins of navigation date back to the Predynastic period. Sailing and rowing boats were the most commonly used means of transportation on the Nile. In addition to their practical use, these boats were used to transport the mummy of the deceased on its last journey, but also to allow post mortem navigation in the afterlife.

The funeral boat is a traditional Egyptian offering created to symbolize the transport of a deceased person from life to the afterlife. Scholars believe that the Egyptians imagined death as a boat trip across the Nile River, the sacred river that ran through the center of the country and was respected as a resource for agriculture, trade, transportation and a symbol of fertility.