Photo courtesy of The
Egypt Archive The lifesized statue of
Ti in his Serbad.
The original is in Cairo Museum.
The mastaba-tomb is to the north of the rest house. Ti was a
court official in the 5th
dynasty. He married a woman from the royal blood and so
his children were treated as royals. Ti was also an overseer
of the estates and a court hairdresser. His marvelous tomb was
discovered by August Mariette in the 1860s.
The tomb is indeed an expressive tomb for the Old
Kingdom art and it shed much light over life in that era.
Though the tomb was in a shape of a mastaba, it is now sunk
in the sand.
The huge tomb is approached by a two pillared entrance that
opens into the pillared court. The court has a central hole
that leads to burial chamber through passageways.
There are also several other passageways and storerooms in the
tomb. One of the most famous reliefs of the tomb is a one in
which Ti is depicted inspecting the work standing on his boat.
Another big scene illustrates Ti on a boat sailing through papyrus
marshes while his workers are hunting hippopotami and fishing.
Other scenes include everyday life scenes and work activities
of Ti.
A small room attached to the court contains a statue of Ti which
is actually a replica of an original one that is now in Cairo's
Egyptian
museum.
