Model of a Carpentry Workshop

This model from Meketre’s funerary furniture shows some carpenters in their workshop. They are busy with woodworking of various kinds.

One carpenter in the middle is sawing a piece of wood while other workmen are working around the sides holding hoes. A workman sits in the middle of the scene and uses a mallet and chisel to cut out the mortise holes. At the corner, a number of men gather around a fire to reshape and sharpen the metal blades of their tools.

Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1981-1975 BC. From the Tomb of Meketre (TT280), Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 46722