British Museum: Egyptian Physical and Bodily Experiences... Featuring Food, Feasts, and Family

The trip to the British Museum was an educative and pedagogic experience for me. This institution documents the story of human culture from the beginnings to the present. I saw many historical collections dedicated to human history, art and culture. As I was walking around the museum, I came across the wall paintings in the tomb-chapel of Nebamun from 1350 B.C.E during the 18^th Dynasty (Khan Academy). I have read and studied a bit about funerary cults in Pharaonic Egypt so when I encountered this section of the museum, I was highly intrigued.  From my observation, the fragments seem to be vignettes of Nebamun and his family enjoying both work and play. Some of the paintings showed scenes of Nebamun’s life as an elite official as others show him and his family enjoying life. I found that these fragments decorated the small tomb-chapel with vibrant and engaging images of an elite lifestyle that Nebamun would want to have even in the afterlife. I thought the wall-painting, “A feast for Nebamun”, was astounding and awe-striking. The scene shows naked servers waiting on Nebamun and his relatives. What I found most engaging about this scene was the sexuality/sensuality depicted in the imagery and the portal of the physical relationships between men and women. The two sexes are separated except for the tomb owner and his wife (Kroester). It was fascinating to see the women caressing one another and lifting flowers to one another’s noses. There was one example of a women holding a flower to her companion’s nose, gently stroking her shoulder while her friend caresses back with her hand laying on her thigh. I was not quite sure whether this proliferation of touches was meant to be erotic. I do think that sensations of touches were meant to focus more on physicality and bodily experiences. After I spent sometime in the tomb-chapel of Nebamun, I walked over to the next room and came across real mummies. I was so fascinated by the concept that the Egyptians were able to preserve dead bodies for centuries.

Although I had walked around the different galleries throughout the British Museum, I was most intrigued by the Egyptian gallery. I found that the concepts of sensuality and death were significant during this time period and it was truly a great sight to have witnessed.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/new-kingdom/a/paintings-from-the-tomb-chapel-of-nebamun

https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/school-of-art-history/pdfs/journalofahandms/sensualbanquet.pdf