Читать книгу Art History For Dummies - Jesse Bryant Wilder - Страница 118

Tombs weren’t simply covered with hieroglyphic spells. They were also elaborately painted, some with depictions of daily life that the dead could observe, but no longer participate in. The most common images were those of gods protecting the deceased. The most elaborate surviving tomb is that of Nefertari, Rameses II’s favorite wife (he had half a dozen wives, as well as countless concubines) in the Valley of the Queens. In vibrant colors, Gods escort the lovely Nefertari on her journey through the afterlife. (See Figure 6-6.) On the left, Nefertari holds the sekhem scepter as an offering to Osiris seated behind the four sons of Horus. On the right, she raises the scepter to Atum. The tomb also features a creation myth and stories of resurrection.

NPL - DeA Picture Library / Bridgeman Images

FIGURE 6-6: Detail from Nefertari’s tomb, located in the Valley of the Queens.