L’iconographie du programme funéraire dans les tombes thébaines du Nouvel Empire égyptien. Évolution des pratiques funéraires et de leurs représentations.
The subject of this dissertation is the iconography of the funerary cult in the Theban tombs of the XVIIIth and XIXth dynasty. The Elite burial shown in the first half of the XVIIIth dynasty does not look at all like the one that can be found in the Ramesside tombs. In fact, the burial can easily be traced back to the iconography of the Middle Kingdom, with examples such as the tomb of Antefiqer (TT60). The deceased is carried in a long procession to the ancient cities of Saïs and Buto. He is the subject of many funerary rites and travels through strange places where he meets priests with archaic titles and other divine beings. This symbolic journey through a mythological Egypt will completely disappear from the tomb’s decoration by the end of the XVIIIth dynasty. Then the owner of the tomb simply depicts the tomb procession and the rites that take place during the funeral. At the same time, as shown by J. Assmann, the very nature of the tomb is undergoing profound changes that can be summed up as a shift of the monument’s function, that moves from a commemoration of the deceased to a divine ritual.
The aim of this research is to have a holistic understanding of the wall where these funerary rituals are depicted. To achieve that we must first rekindle the link between the image and the text that has been mostly omitted by prior researchers. Then we will try to understand where this iconography comes from, whether we can link some scenes to passages of other sacred texts such as the Book of the Dead, the Coffin Texts, the Pyramid Texts or the totenliturgien, and whether we can find similar motives in other iconographical repertoires used on funeral furniture or the wall of prior tombs. Then we will try to put these scenes back into the context of the tomb, to see how the depiction of these processions, rites and pilgrimages helps the deceased on the journey into the Afterlife and most importantly why does the iconographic programme from the XVIIIth dynasty disappears? Is it linked to the functional change of the tomb, or to a shift in funerary practices or beliefs?