Donkeys in the Old and Middle Kingdoms According to the Representations and Livestock Counts from Private Tombs

Abstract

The Egyptian artist in the Old and Middle Kingdoms showed great interest in representing the details of the physical characteristics and behaviour of various animals surrounding him in the Egyptian environment. However, donkeys seem to have received less attention from the artist than other animals. The paper examines the representations of donkeys in the wall scenes of the Old and Middle Kingdom tombs, and analyses the changing interest in reflecting this animal’s physical traits and behaviour. Finally, studying the role of donkeys in the so-called livestock counts allows us to better understand the phenomenon which is observed in the iconographic sources from the period under investigation.