Although there is some variation in the subsidiary figures in the registers beneath Mehi’s feet, the scene on the upper part of the east wall (pls. ii0, iii; fig. i05) essentially duplicated that on the west wall. Once again Mehi and a son stood facing outwards towards marsh dwellers in superimposed registers before them. The figure of the son and those of the two marsh dwellers on the same ground line are badly damaged and only their legs remain. Traces of five other marsh dwellers appear on an isolated block high up on the wall (pl. iii).
40 See below, pp. i46, i50.
41 Called by Vandier, Manuel 6, p. 56, a “baudrier” or “bretelle.” For other examples, see Ti 3, pl. 155; Two Craftsmen, fig. 9.
42 For partially hidden figures in Egyptian art, see above, p. i34 and n. 20.
43 See p. 40 above.
In 1842-43 the bottom of the wall, as high up as Mehi’s feet, alone remained in place (fig. 104).790 Two fallen blocks also copied by Lepsius, the first with the upper part of Mehi’s figure, the second the isolated block with the figures of the marsh dwellers, have subsequently been returned to the wall, albeit not quite to their original places. In fig. 105 these blocks have been restored approximately to their original positions. There is considerable damage to Mehi’s figure, so it is not certain that his costume was identical in every respect to the portrayal on the opposite wall. Nonetheless, it is clear that he once again wore a double-flower knot diadem with streamer over a short wig and carried a walking stick knob-end up at a diagonal in his front hand. Above his head appears the identifying caption: hsty-™ ms™ Sndm-ib rn. f Mhi rn. f nfr, “The true count whose great name is Senedjemib and whose good name is Mehi.”791 Presumably here too, the space above would have been occupied by columns of text giving his titles and epithets. Before Mehi’s face is part of the long column of text that served as a caption to the scene. Assuming that it was identical to the column on the west wall, it probably read: [mss kst sht ht nb(t) nfri innt m phww m sht. f niwwt. f [hwwt. f nt Ts-mhw Sm™u!, “[Inspecting the work of the countryside and every good thing] which is brought from the hinterlands, from his countryside, his villages, [and his estates of Lower and Upper Egypt].”
The isolated block at the top of the wall preserves most of one register and parts of two more. The traces remaining in the uppermost register are difficult to make out. From the posture of the first marsh dweller, it is likely that he knelt in and paddled a papyrus skiff. The figure of the second individual is only represented by a few surviving lines, but it is possible that he held up a goose by the neck and wings. The first marsh dweller in the middle register carries two papyrus stalks with his left hand, the arm bent at the elbow and fist closed on his chest, and a splayed basket in the hand hanging behind. The second man may have carried a small animal, since what appear to be a snout and ears(?) are to be made out at his right shoulder. Only the very top of the register below survives. It may similarly have contained two figures originally. All that is visible now is the top of the head and face of the marsh dweller at the right and part of the offering he carried.
The representations in the two broad registers underneath Mehi’s feet are badly weather worn. Enough remains though to show that the composition in both registers differs in a number of particulars from that on the opposite wall. For example, the lead skiff in the upper register was evidently propelled by punters rather than by rowers as on the west wall. In the middle of this skiff are the legs and feet of a standing figure who may have held up an offering to Mehi in his destroyed right hand. The upper part of his figure and that of the boatman in the prow are destroyed, but a broken line suggests that his left arm hung behind. Both punters were clearly poised in a deep crouch. Presumably the man in the prow, like his fellow in the stern, held his punting pole across his chest with one hand close to his head and the other hand close to his hip. As is the case with the harpoons of the hippopotamus hunters on the north wall of the portico to the east of the entrance, the punting poles here were apparently never carved. The figures in the second skiff are badly damaged, but there appear to have been only two occupants instead of the three as on the opposite wall. Traces suggest that the first man sat on his heels, and probably rowed with a paddle. The other individual clearly stood and faced backwards. He was almost certainly the headman making the gesture of conjuration, for his spell survives in the space over the head of the swimming cattle: ush s ihu hsf mt hsf mzh in mniu, “The channel has been prepared for the cattle. ‘When the crocodile is repulsed, then the dead man is repulsed!,’ says the herdsman.” As on the opposite wall a group of polled and longhorned cattle swims behind the boat, but the figure of the crocodile is omitted. The calf at the rear of the file appears to be confused or distracted, for it faces in the wrong direction.
The attitudes of the boatmen in the lower register likewise differ from those in the corresponding register on the west wall. Although the figures are badly damaged, they were much better preserved in Lepsius’s day (fig. 104). The first and second men in the first papyrus skiff were punters, their knees bent, the pole held close to the top and lower down, in the case of the first man at chest height and in that of the second man close to the hip. The man at the stern faced in the opposite direction and evidently pushed on the top of his pole to propel or direct the boat. The attitudes of the boatmen in the other two skiffs show little variation and, even then, mostly in regard to how they hold the poles or where they place their feet. Once again, the poles of the first three punters, and evidently also of the punter at the prow of the second skiff, were never carved, in contrast to the poles of the punters on the right side of the register. The man in the center of the second skiff held a goose or duck in both arms in front. The figure of the calf lying down between his wide-spread legs is now completely destroyed. In contrast to the west wall, Lepsius’s artist shows the boatmen in this register dressed in the round-edged kilt with the belt-sash tied behind and the private parts exposed. The curious outline at the stern of the last boat was also seen and drawn by Lepsius. It appears to be the raised arm and back of the head of a boatman who has fallen overboard and is hauling himself out of the water. This detail and that of the calf above, neither of which are part of the standard repertoire of motifs, may represent a rare instance of an ancient artist inserting his own personality into the composition, perhaps in this instance even with comical intent.
Entrance
Both the drum and the lintel over the entrance to the interior chapel were already missing when Lepsius cleared the mastaba.792 Flanking scenes of Mehi and his eldest son Senedjemib decorated both entrance thicknesses.
World History
