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the tomb of hesy-ra
Page 6 of 9
The tomb of Hesy-ra features an arrangement of
rooms and two long corridors. The western corridor
served as a sort of chapel for offerings. It was painted with life scenes as well as depictions of
funerary items. (Saleh, pg. Ills. 21) Along the west side of the tunnel is carved a series of eleven
deep-set niches. Each panel was placed on the back of the door to a niche. (Smith, 1958, pg. 66)
This arrangement seems to have allowed for the image of Hesy-ra to always face east and slightly
north towards the rising sun. Similar to Djoser’s
funerary complex at Saqqara, Hesy-ra’s tomb
featured an elaborate façade emulating a palace. This was setup on the Mastaba’s western wall.
The façade was brightly painted in traditional Egyptian tones. Like many other traditional
Egyptian funerary decorations, the current building material is painted to emulate earlier
textures. The artist patterned the wall after the papyrus mats once used to form walls. (Smith,
1958, pg. 66) This concept of tribute to the past continued even into the centuries ahead. This can
be seen in the construction of papyriform (Wittmer, 4-1-99) columns, which emulate the ancient
bundles of papyrus once used as support structures in the absence of large trees or stone cutting.
The ancient Egyptian, over time, seamlessly blended newer technology into their tradition and
cherished memories of the past. Hesy-ra’s tomb paintings serve as an important precursor to this
practice as well as a turning point in the state of Egyptian painting.
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