Boat-Building Scene
Description
Object Label: Some boat-building scenes are known from the New and Middle Kingdoms. Nevertheless, this relief finds its best parallels In Old Kingdom works, that is, in works done before circa 2200 B.C. Unlike those earlier compositions, however, this scene is strongly based on curving lines, such as the unusually exaggerated pose of the man swinging an adze. The workmen's faces are related both to Old Kingdom figures and to faces such as those on the Hatshepsut temple relief in this vitrine. Caption: Boat-Building Scene, ca. 664–634 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 7 5/8 x 10 5/8 in. (19.4 x 27 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 51.14. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
Bas-relief fragment showing parts of a wooden boat hull and associated workers/figures at the left, consistent with a boat-building activity scene.
The image depicts a large, curved boat hull in profile with multiple ribs/planks carved in low relief. Across the hull, a long beam/pole and folded mat-like elements are shown. At the left interior area, a seated or kneeling human figure with arms extended is carved next to the hull; additional small staff/hand-held elements and another simplified human figure appear along the lower edge. The right side includes a partial vertical element (possibly a post or support) and parts of tools or fittings. The surface is weathered with losses along edges; pigment is not clearly visible in this monochrome photo. No legible hieroglyphic text or cartouches are visible in the provided view; any marks are too unclear to identify. No specific deity attributes or named figures can be confirmed from the fragment.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 51.14 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3553 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.