Life and Death in Ancient Egypt: Scenes from Private Tombs in New Kingdom Thebes - Hardcover

"It is the rare book that not only is beautiful but also fills a significant gap in scholarly literature.... Life and Death in Ancient Egypt will be an essential reference for all persons interested in New Kingdom art and funerary cult, and it belongs in the libraries of all colleges and universities." "Eleven Theban tombs... are beautifully presented and illustrated.... This first English translation is a wonderful addition to public and private libraries. This book should be required reading for art lovers, Egyptophiles and travellers alike." "Aiming to be more than a guidebook but less than a scientific publication for scholars, this volume updates the 1991 German edition with an introductory chapter reflecting new work at Thebes and including far more and far better plates than the original version, significantly adding to its value." -- Denise M. Doxey, Religious Studies Review "The private rock tombs of ancient Thebes comprise an important corpus for the study of ancient Egyptian life as well as of the genius of New Kindgdom painting. This work presents a selection of these tombs with interwoven commentaries on history, theology, and esthetic theory... It is a competent and enthusiastic introduction not only to the tombs but also to the culture that produced them. Cornell University Press is to be congratulated on including this volume in their ongoing project of bringing German and French Egyptological works to an English speaking public." -- Lana Troy * Journal of the American Oriental Society *

This stunning volume is a rarity among Ancient Egyptian art books in being devoted not to remains of royalty but to the tombs of private people-it is the first book in English on this subject.Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes leads us on an expedition to the cemetery used by the officials of New Kingdom Egypt on the eastern flanks of the Western mountain across from Thebes, between the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. She examines the contents of eleven tombs belonging to civil servants, the private people of this ancient city. (All of these tombs are currently accessible to the public in a vast open-air museum.) Lavishly illustrated, with many color photographs and a selection of line drawings, the book provides details of the location, layout, structure, and decoration of the tombs. Hodel-Hoenes addresses such subjects as the two-dimensional art of New Kingdom Thebes, the contents of the tombs, the pigments used in the artists' paints, and the symbolism of the colors and the scenes depicted in the tomb paintings and reliefs A generous bibliography facilitates further exploration of the tombs and their meaning.