The false door of Ka
Image taken from Saleh, Mohamed/Sourouzian, Hourig:
Die Hauptwerke im Ägyptischen Museum Kairo. Mainz 1986, Nr. 58.
Basics
Inv.-No. Egyptian Museum Cairo, JE 72201
Material: Acacia wood
Dimensions: H. 200 cm W. 150 cm
Location: Saqqara
Dating: 5. Dynasty (ca. 2470-2320 B.C.)
The false door of the Ika is made of acacia wood. This is a special feature because wood was rare in Egypt. False doors were usually made of stone that was painted. The fact that Ika had a false door made of wood in his tomb may indicate his important position as an official. The individual parts of the false door were assembled with pegs, dowels and leather cords. The architrave depicts the deceased, Ika, with his wife Imerit. Both are sitting at a set table. The hieroglyphics above describe which gift is depicted.
Architrave = Architectural element; a picture window that connects column representations and supports the roof
In the doorway in the centre of the false door stands Ika as the Wab priest ("pure priest") and head of the Great Palace. His son Tyenti stands next to him. On the left wing of the door (as seen from us), Ika is depicted with his son Abedu. Ika is holding a staff and sceptre, indicating his rank as an official. The right wing of the door shows his wife Imerit, a priestess of the goddess Hathor. Her daughter Tjentet stands before her. Imerit wears a long dress with wide straps that expose her breast. She smells a lotus flower. In Egypt, the lotus stood for regeneration and resurrection. This meaning goes back to the observation that the lotus flower closes after sunset and dives underwater. At sunrise, it looks as if it is being reborn.
Present on the false door is the Htp-dj-nsw formula (sacrificial formula). The king and a deity (generally Osiris, but here Anubis), present offerings to the deceased.
The false door as a tomb element
False doors were an important part of the Egyptian tomb, especially in the mastabas of the Old Kingdom.
Mastaba = Arabic-Egyptian for "bench"; rectangular brick building with sloping walls; pyramids replaced them as royal tombs but continued to be used for private tombs.
The false door was the point of contact between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The deceased should be able to step out of the grave to receive offerings. The false door was the main place of worship in the tomb and was usually made of stone, even if the tomb itself was built of bricks.
It imitates the different parts of a door. Above the entrance is a cylindrical roll. It represents a rolled-up straw mat that could be lowered. The lintel sits above the side niche panels. The outer frame is formed by further posts with a lintel.
Painted stone false door. © British Museum London. Inv.-No. EA 682.
False door of Ankhet.
© Museum of Art History Vienna.
Inv.-Nr. 6125.
After the Old Kingdom, the false door gradually loses its importance. It is still occasionally found in the Middle Kingdom. There, however, it is no longer an essential part of the tomb. Painted false doors are found on wooden coffins, such as that of Anu. The elaborate false door is replaced by naos-like niches with statues of the deceased.
Naos = free-standing, lockable shrine for the storage of cult images, in tombs or temples.
Coffin fragment of Anu.
Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty.
Christie's Auction House London.
Another possibility was slab-shaped gravestones, but these were only intended as memorial stones. In the New Kingdom, however, the tradition did not completely disappear. The cult sites in a tomb could be indicated by false doors.
Information Ika
Felde, Rolf: Gottheiten, Pharaonen und Beamte im alten Ägypten. Norderstedt 2017, S. 128.
Rice, Michael: Who’s Who in Ancient Egypt. London/New York 1999, S. 75.
Saleh, Mohamed/Sourouzian, Hourig: Die Hauptwerke im Ägyptischen Museum Kairo. Mainz 1986, Nr. 58.
Information False door
Arnold, Dieter: Lexikon der ägyptischen Baukunst. Düsseldorf 2000, S. 226-227.
Bonnet, Hans: Lexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte. Berlin 2000, S. 677-679.
Wiebach-Koepke, Silvia: Die ägyptische Scheintür. Morphologische Studien zur Entwicklung und Bedeutung der Hauptkultstelle in den Privat-Gräbern des Alten Reiches. Hamburg 1981.
Comments