Meketre's Ship

The powerful courtier Meketre lived in Eleventh Dynasty Egypt and served as an advisor and counselor to Pharaoh. Egyptologists and maritime scholars have been able to draft accurate plans of Meketre's personal yacht based upon models and information found in his tomb in Thebes.

This carving represents that yacht, complete with the chairs under the cabin canopy where Meketre and his wife or guest would sit to enjoy a day on the Nile.

The shield shaped designs on the cabin with animal hide patterns were most likely to serve as decorations with no specific symbolism. The designs on the rudder are of a stylized lotus blossom, a national symbol in ancient Egypt. The purpose of the unusual prow piece from this period in Egyptian ship building remains a mystery to Egyptologists.