5th Dynasty tomb-relief
- Gallery: Room 4
- Culture: 5th Dynasty
- Object type: tomb-relief
- Materials: limestone
- Museum number: EA994
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a 5th Dynasty tomb-relief carved from limestone and painted to capture lively activities from ancient Egypt. This fragment once formed part of a multi-level scene. At the bottom, you see a fishing scene on the right and a harvest taking place on the left, where workers gather grain and lead away loaded donkeys. The middle level shows dancing girls and boys playing, with one young figure wearing a unique mask. The uppermost preserved section includes half of a boat-building scene and laborers preparing wood.
The figures retain traces of color—reds on their skin, yellow on the grain, and blue on the water. Scholars have long debated the meaning of these images, with many interpreting them as part of a harvest festival celebrating renewal and fertility. The dancers may have been key figures in such ceremonies across ancient Egypt.
See it in person
5th Dynasty tomb-relief is on display in Room 4 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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