Model Boat and Figures, 22nd-18th century BCE, 27 x 37 1/2 x 6 in. (68.58 x 95.25 x 15.24 cm), Polychromed wood, Egypt, 22nd-18th century BCE, This boat, manned by eighteen oarsmen and equipped with a mast and a mount for the steering oar, is of the type commonly placed in the tomb of a deceased noble or government official. It faithfully represents the vessels used in daily life for fishing and for transportation on the Nile. A model boat enabled the deceased to make a pilgrimage by magical proxy to the city of Abydos, the cult center of the god Osiris. Sometimes two boats were provided, one with a mast for sailing south (against the current) and one with only oarsmen for sailing north (with the current.)