- - - OUSE OF ETERNITY The Tomb of Nefertari John K. McDonald The Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles Cover/title page: Detail a/Queen Nefertari 0/'1 the north wall of Chamber G. All photographs are by Guillermo Aldana unless credited otherwise. The Getty Conservation Institute works internationally to further the appreciation and preservation of the world's cultural heritage for the enrichment and use of present and future generations. This is the first volume in the Conservation and Cultural Heritage series, which aims to provide in a popular format information about selected culturally significant sites throughout the world. © 1996 The J. Paul Getty Trust All rights reserved Printed in Singapore Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McDonald. John K. House of eternity: the tomb of Nefertari I John K. McDonald. p. cm. ISBN 0-89236-415-7 1. Nefertari. Queen. consort of Rameses II. King of Egypt-Tomb. 2. Mural painting and decoration. Egyptian. 3. Tombs-Egypt. 4. Valley of the Queens (Egypt) I. Title. DT73· v34M35 1996 932-dc20 96-24123 C1P Contents Foreword 5 Introduction Dynasties of Ancient Egypt II Nefertari: Radiant Queen A Letter from Nefertari The Queen's Titles and Epithets 19 The Valley of the Queens Ernesto Schiaparelli 25 Conveyance to Eternal Life: The Royal Tombs of Egypt Tomb Paints and Materials 33 The Tomb Builders' Village 37 After Nefertari's Burial 41 Resurrection and Recurrent Risks 47 The King of the Dead and His Divine Family Divine Guidance 55 Among the Immortals: A Walk through the "House of Eternity" The Texts in the Tomb III Conclusion 116 Acknowledgments II HOUSE OF ETER ITY an honored and < > beloved queen, still in the prime of earthly existence, set off upon a voyage to the netherworld, in quest of eternal life. In our own time, the art and culture of ancient Egypt have come to reflect the aesthetic imagination and spiritual aspira­ tions of peoples everywhere. In Egypt, enduring yet endangered monuments embody some of the finest craftsmanship that has ever graced the planet. The tomb of efertari, its brilliant images vividly depicting her voyage to the hereafter, ranks among the most precious and most fragile of Egyptian treasures, indeed of humanity. Moreover, it repre­ sents perhaps the most exquisite gift to be passed down through more than a hundred generations, a centerpiece of cultural heri­ tage and a priceless patrimony of our time. Yet ever since its modern discovery in 1904, the art in Nefertari's tomb-among the most beautiful examples of pharaonic wall paintings ever found - has been known to be in fragile and precarious con­ dition. Consequently, for most of this time, the tomb has been closed to the public. If the Nefertari paintings had contin­ ued to deteriorate, the world would have suffered an incalculable cultural loss. Instead, between 1986 and 1992, the The last four columns Previolls page: of text behind Nefertari Sections of the north on the north waLL of and east walls of Chamber G. The Chamber G. On the inscription, which reads left, Nefertari pays from right to left, is homage to Thoth, the from Chapter 94 of the god of writing. On the Book of the Dead. right, she makes offer­ ings of incense, food, and cowhide . .. FOREWORD 3 Egyptian Antiquities Organization and the and a material plane. To decipher this Getty Conservation Institute undertook an record is to know our past. And so, our­ intensive collaborative effort to conserve the selves. To preserve it is to pass that knowl­ wall paintings in the queen's "house of eter­ edge on to future generations. In this sense, nity." This joint project proved exemplary in the tomb of Nefertari belongs to - and preserving for posterity one of the greatest must be preserved by-all of us. treasures ever yet created by the human We have already learned that the pub­ mind and hand. lic's interest in the tomb is remarkable. In In 1986, I was privileged to see the 1992 the J. Paul Getty Museum and the tomb for the first time. Like so many before Getty Conservation Institute organized an me, I was both awed by the beauty of the exhibition devoted to enhancing public paintings and appalled by the damage they awareness of the conservation problems had sustained. Ten years later, the ravages of and created a replica of one of the cham­ time, nature, and humankind have been bers. The exhibition, which subsequently arrested. The surviving paintings have been traveled to Rome and Turin, proved to be a rescued from destruction, with their his­ great success. torical integrity and authenticity intact. At the Getty Conservation Institute, Now, more than ever before, these our goal is to ensure that people every­ marvelous paintings have a chance to where come to recognize, appreciate, and survive for future generations. But only a acknowledge that the tomb of Nefertari chance. The tomb has been open to the and similarly rare and delicate works of art public since November 1995. Consequently, comprise precarious treasures of humanity. in spite of all the painstaking conservation Paradoxically, they need to be protected work, the paintings remain vulnerable. above all from the risks of unrestrained Today, they stand as vibrant testimony exposure to those who admire them most. to the creative genius of ancient Egyptian In entering the tomb of Nefertari, artists and as a celebration of art by an you are about to experience a unique and international community of policymakers sublime example of human creativity, in its and conservation professionals. Tomorrow, aesthetic, material, and spiritual aspects. the paintings' survival will depend largely As we marvel at this priceless heirloom, let on the vigilant protection they receive in us find equally creative ways to provide not the years that lie ahead. only public access to the treasures housed The mutual mandate of the renamed within the tomb, but also the means for Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities their perpetual existence. and the Getty Conservation Institute In this way, we may both respect the will not be fulfilled until we succeed in gen­ original intent of the creators and inspire erating broad awareness of the pressing future generations, as they too embark on problems facing endangered cultural prop­ our collective journey to the beyond. erties worldwide. Solving these problems is not the exclusive privilege or responsibility of cultural, scientific, and political elites. Miguel Angel Corzo It is rightly a matter of general public con­ Director cern. Cultural treasures provide a record of The Getty Conservation Institute our human condition on both a spiritual 6 HOUSE OF ETERNITY Tunneled into the northern slope of the necropolis, Nefertari's "house of eternity" is one of the finest tombs ever created by ancient Egypt's master craftsmen. Emblazoned on its walls and corri­ dors, some 520 square meters of exquisite wall paintings reveal a ritual process and illustrate Nefertari's journey of transfor­ mation into a blessed soul in the hereafter. It would prove a long and perilous passage; but she could rely on these hieroglyphic texts and illustrations to be her beacons to the beyond. The Valley of the Queens is not renowned for the quality of its limestone. Indeed, like much of the rock in the Theban area, the limestone has been frac­ tured by earthquakes and is banded with veins of flint. As a result, it is not well suited to painting or carving. Several layers of plaster had to be applied to the walls to Stereo view of the build a suitable surface for the wall paint­ tomb entrance taken ings. Vignettes and texts were lightly carved by Don MicheLe into the plaster when dry. The walls were PizziolFrancesco then primed with a gypsum wash and BaLLerini, members of painted in brilliant color. the Italian Mission The carved plaster in Nefertari's led by Ernesto tomb is an early but sublimely successful SchiapareLLi in 1904. instance of what was then a novel tech­ Photo: Courtesy of the nique. The multitude of colors in her tomb Museo Egizio. Turitl. is exceptional, especially the lighter ones, set off against the luxurious blacks and blue-whites. Previous page: Opposite: The Valley of the DetaiL from the south Queens, across the face of Pillar I in the river NiLe from Luxor. sarcophagus chamber before conservation. Conservators at work The theme of the tomb is timeless­ respiration from contemporary visitors during finaltreat­ ness: the decoration exclusively funerary. eager to view its marvels, have all served to ment on the northeast No references are made to any specific his­ mobilize the salt, bringing it to the painted corner of Chamber K. toric events or to anything that actually surfaces, where it crystallized to damage happened to Nefertari in her lifetime. Both and in some cases irretrievably destroy the aesthetically and spiritually, the transient art within the tomb. concerns of this life are considered to be To combat these dangers, the inter­ incompatible with eternity. national team of conservators assembled in Similarly incompatible is the salt­ 1986 by the Getty Conservation Institute laden nature of the limestone from which (GCI) and the Egyptian Antiquities the tomb was hewn, as well as the Nile Organization (EAO) undertook conserva­ River mud used to plaster its walls. In the tion of the tomb. First, emergency stabi­ presence of moisture, salt, dormant in lization of detaching painted plaster; then the rock and the plaster, migrated to the meticulous conservation to preserve the surface of the walls. Over time, fluctuations tomb for present and future generations. in humidity within the tomb, whether Nowhere in this process has "restora­ from the workmen who built it, subsequent tion" of the paintings been undertaken.