Feature object: Relief fragment from the Tomb of Metjetji, Old Kingdom

Feature object: Relief fragment from the Tomb of Metjetji, Old Kingdom
These delightful donkeys form part of a harvest scene from a late 5th-early 6th Dynasty tomb chapel from Saqqara. The scene records the balance of sheaves (1,300) of grain (Triticum turgidum) depicted on the left. Scenes of agriculture and food production are common in tomb chapels where they represent the process of ongoing sustenance being provided for the tomb owner.
Later New Kingdom ostraca from Deir el-Medina record how donkeys (often owned by village women) were hired out as a means of income.
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Object details:
Title: Relief sculpture of harvest scene with donkeys
Date: 2375-2321 BC
Location: Tomb of Metjetji, Saqqara, Egypt
Physical Dimensions: w48 x h41.8 cm
Medium: Painted limestone
Period: 5th Dynasty-Early 6th Dynasty
Accession Number: 953.116.2
From the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/relief-sculpture-of-harvest-scene-with-donkeys/ygF-QINu9YM3Pw