W924

W924

Model of a boat with a dead or sleeping person in it. This item seems to be a fake.

In the Predynastic Period the Egyptians buried their dead in a crouched position. Therefore, it could be that such items as this show a dead person on his way to the afterlife. Such boats are sometimes found in Predynastic graves (Naqada II-III 3500-3200 BC).

However, it seems likely that our boat is a fake. The Oxford Authentication Unit dated the boat to less than 150 years old. However, this is the date of the last firing. It is possible that the boat itself is a genuine ancient item and that the figure was added in recent times.

The item has been published with parallels and as a genuine item in: Brunner-Traut, E. 1975, ‘Drei Altagyptische Totenboote und Vorgeschichtliche Bestattungsgefasse’ in Revue D’Egyptologie 27, 1975. Also see Petrie, 1920 Prehistoric Egypt, 8 for a boat with human figure therein. 

Other fakes in the Egypt Centre