Nebamun Hunting in the Marshes is a mural fragment dating from around 1350 BCE. that was found in Nebamun’s tomb-chapel. He was a wealthy Egyptian official. Egyptians believed that in order to have things in the next life they had to have them buried with them. Due to this, the Egyptians that could afford it had many burial goods entombed with them, including murals and everyday tools like palettes. Murals depicted scenes that the dead would want to be able to partake in during their afterlife. This one shows all of the different wildlife of the marshes so that Nebamun would be able to enjoy hunting them on the other side. Chemistry can serve the similar purpose of allowing for more things in this life. The birds, fish, plants, and people in this mural all appear flat, but that was the style of the time. Dimension wasn’t viewed as necessary information to put into the murals when so much else had to be included. Like the Egyptians, chemists must make decisions about what data is worth recording and what is unnecessary. In addition to that, they must be able to make detailed observations on what they deem is important, as the Egyptians did when they drew the patterns on the birds and put shimmer on the fish. Nebamun’s murals can be used to demonstrate the Egyptian canon of proportions. The Egyptians painted all people of rank on a grid and with prescribed color schemes and postures. Having conventional procedures and ways of communicating information benefit chemists as well as artists. A chemist’s “canon of proportions” is the scientific method and the use of a regular form of documentation. Being able to recreate experiments is essential for the credibility of results. The ability to communicate well with written language also serves chemists well. Today we have a far more advanced language than the Egyptians had, but Egyptian hieroglyphs are an essential part of its history. There are hieroglyphs in the background of Nebamun’s hunting scene that add additional information the the picture.
Nebamun Hunting in the Marshes
Thebes, Egypt
New Kingdom (Early Dynastic)
Thebes, Egypt
New Kingdom (Early Dynastic)