Private Burials In New Kingdom Of Ancient Egypt: Banquet Scenes And The Identity Construction Of Elites

The banquet scenes in the New Kingdom period have become one of the most popular decorative themes of private burials,which are generally considered to have the cultural connotation of the tomb owner’s resurrection in the afterlife.Banquet is not only a communal diet consumption activity but also a representative social interaction activity with highly concentrated social relations.Therefore,banquet scenes of private burials can be used as one of the media through which elites to construct their own identities.Based on a large collection of banquet scenes of private burials in the New Kingdom,the first chapter divides them into three phases according to their style: the Pre-18 th Dynasty,the Amarna period,and the Rameses period.Through a chronological overview,it is found that the banquet scenes in private burials showed a simplification trend as a whole in the New Kingdom,which may be related to the change in decorative functions of burials.The second chapter analyzes the status of the tomb owner in each type of banquet scene based on the classification of the nature of banquet scenes and finds similar elements in different types of banquet scenes,such as the main participants,food and beverage(i.e.,the icon of the offering table),incense cone paste,or flowers;However,some elements,such as musicians,monkeys and other animals,mirrors,and other objects,show the differences in banquet scenes,further illustrating the possible personality of the tomb owner.The third chapter further illustrates the identities of the elite cemetery owners in banquet scenes,which are divided into three categories: family centers,state officials,and ceremonial recipients.There’s a shift from king to family.The ultimate goal of establishing multi-level identities in banquet scenes is to endow oneself with potential vitality and promote its transformation.The fourth chapter mainly analyzes the interaction between elites and society behind private burials in the New Kingdom period and finds that the complex concepts of afterlife,sacred kingship,and international relations in the New Kingdom period have a far-reaching influence on the selection of banquet scenes in elite burials.The identity construction of elites in banquet scenes of private burials from the New Kingdom reflects the relationship between individual life and the changes of the times,which is conducive to deepening the understanding of society,religion,and culture in the New Kingdom.At the same time,from the perspective of social culture,it is helpful to some extent to broaden the horizons of understanding social changes in the New Kingdom.