Bowl Buried with Rennefer wife of Noferkhawt

This bowl was found inside the coffins of Rennefer next to her head. She lived during the reign of Thutmose III and her husband, Noferkhawt, was a scribe – she’s buried in his tomb (MMA 729, excavated by the Met in 1935 and this piece is now in that museum acc. no.: 35.3.78).

It’s decorated with a marsh scene – the square in the centre is the water, with lotus plants growing from it. Some of these are in flower, while some are still just buds. There are also some marsh birds (6 in total tho I think only see 4 in the photo) and 2 tilapia fish.

It has become rather discoloured over the course of the 3500 years it’s existed, but you can still see some of the original turquoise colour of the faience on the left of the photo. When new this would’ve been vivid and shiny, and really rather nice to look at.

The design is notable given the find context. The marshes are a place of fertility, the lotus flower is associated with rebirth and the tilapia fish is associated with Osiris. So it was included in her funerary goods as part of the process of getting her into the afterlife.