The Mastaba of Kaninisut (or Ka-ni-nisut ['"KҘ(j)-nj-nśw.t"]),Hermann Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen Vol.1, J. Augustin, Glückstadt, 1935, p.340/9 or Mastaba G 2155, is an ancient Egyptian mastaba tomb, located at the west field of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The cult chamber of the mastaba is now on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna with inventory number 8006. Kaninisut was a high state official in the Fourth dynasty or early Fifth dynasty in the Old Kingdom ( 2475-2440 BC), as demonstrated by the location and size of his tomb and his numerous honorific titles. The cult chamber of Kaninisut was built of the best quality white Tura limestone and decorated with fine, raised reliefs, which mainly depict offerings, scenes of funerary ritual and Kaninisut with his family. Kaninisut's descendants built additional smaller tombs within the large mastaba.Hermann Junker, Mastabas mit Darstellungen und Inschriften., Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, 1913, p. 163-169Hermann Junker, Gîza II. Grabungen auf dem Friedhof des Alten Reiches bei den Pyramiden von Giza, Leipzig, Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1932. S. 132–153,
Location
The Mastaba of Kaninisut lies in the Giza West Field, the western cemetery of Giza. There are clearly planned fields of mastabas to the east and west of the Great Pyramid. The closest relatives of Khufu, the owner of the Great Pyramid, were buried in the East Field and high officials and dignitaries were buried in the West Field. Through this privilege, the deceased could be included in the conceptual world of the royal afterlife and receive the necessary offerings via the funerary cult operated from the royal mortuary temple. Construction, alignment and decoration of the individual private tombs reflected the contemporary cultural hierarchy. During Khufu's reign, a total of 77 tombs were built in the two grave fields and numerous graves were added in later times. The regular arrangement of the individual mastabas indicates that they were constructed altogether. Apparently the completed mastabas were handed over undecorated to their owners, who were responsible for any further decoration.Michael Haase: Eine Stätte für die Ewigkeit. Der Pyramidenkomplex des Cheops aus baulicher, architektonischer und kulturhistorischer Sicht. von Zabern, Mainz 2004, pp. 71ff. The mastaba of Kaninisut is located in the westernmost part of its section of the cemetery, which is referred to as a cemetery "en échelon" on account of the arrangement of its tombs.Gustav Reisner, A History of the Giza Necropolis I., Cambridge University Press, London 1942
Discovery and sale of the cult chamber
In 1902, the Giza West Field was divided into three parallel sections for each of the nations which had been granted an excavation concession - from east to west, the United States, Italy, and the German Empire. Between 1903 and 1907, Georg Steindorff undertook three excavation campaigns. In 1911, Steindorff and Hermann Junker, who had previously excavated in Nubia, decided to swap their concessions. Thus, the Austrian Academy of Sciences took over the German concession at Giza. On 10 January 1913, Hermann Junker and his colleagues discovered the Mastaba of Kaninisut. Shortly thereafter, it was decided that that cult chamber would be sold to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, so that it could be displayed there as a typical example of Old Kingdom funerary architecture. Hermann Junker remarked that "The entire chamber is in every respect so beautiful and instructive that I consider it pre-eminently suitable for being transferred to Vienna.""Die ganze Kammer ist in jeder Beziehung so schön und lehrreich, dass ich sie in erster Linie für geeignet halte, nach Wien übertragen zu werden."
The Viennese industrialist Rudolf Maass covered the costs of the sale and transfer - around 30,000 krone. On 27 January 1914, the k.u.k. Oberstkämmerer and the Egyptian antiquities service signed off on the sale. The cult chamber was removed over the course of a month and was transported to Vienna in 32 crates with a total weight of 65 tonnes. They began to arrive at Vienna in July 1914. Due to the First World War and the poor economic situation after the war, the reconstruction of the cult chamber did not occur for more than 10 years. The rebuilt cult chamber was first made accessible to the public on 17 June 1925.
Kaninisut and his family Kaninisut was a high official during the fourth or early fifth dynasties, as is shown by the location and size of his tomb at Giza and by his numerous honorific titles. The exact reign in which he lived is not currently clear. His family may have continued into the fifth generation, since his descendants had their graves built in the immediate proximity of his mastaba. From the tomb architecture and titles of his descendants, however, the social decline of his family can be discerned. Apparently, his family increasingly lost the high position he had enjoyed in the royal court.Regina Hölzl, Die Kultkammer des Ka-ni-nisut im Kunsthistorischen Museum Wien, Kunsthisorische Museum Wien, 2005, p.21/55 Kaninisut bore titles such as "Lord of the kilt," "Sole Friend" and "Beloved son of the king," which were originally only used by relatives of the king, but came to be honorific titles for very important non-royals over the course of the Old Kingdom. They do not indicate much about Kaninisut's actual role. Most of the time in his titularies, the title of Sem priest is in first position. This indicates a significant role in divine and funerary cult. Kaninisut's wife Neferhanisut , had two sons Harwer, Kaninisut II. and daughter Vedjethetep as they are also depicted in the cult chamber.
Description and function of the mastaba
The tomb of Kaninisut was a mastaba tomb. The term mastaba, which is Arabic for bench, derives from the appearance of these tombs: the upper building is rectangular with slightly inclined side walls and thus looks like an oversized bench. The core structure of Kaninisut's mastaba is 24 meters long by 10.2 meters wide, the original height can no longer be determined due to its destruction. The outer walls were made of limestone blocks clad with a layer of fine white Tura limestone. There are no rooms in the interior of the upper building; it is filled in with rubble. Towards the end of the reign of Khufu, it was becoming increasingly common to place the cult rooms within the upper building, before this they were added to the east facade of the tomb. Apparently in the case of Kaninisut's mastaba, the basic structure of the tomb was completed towards the end of Khufu's reign, but it required numerous adaptations in order to fit the new building style. Rather than to hollow out the mastaba, it was apparently decided to extend the tomb to the south, in order to install the cult chamber there.
A mudbrick porch was erected on the east facade in front of the entrance to the cult chamber. A 2.55 m long and 0.75 - 1.05 m wide passageway led to the cult chamber, which was sealed with a wooden door. The 3.6 m long, 1.45 m wide and 3.16 m high chamber contained two false doors in the west wall, which offerings were placed in front of. Behind the false door was the serdab, a small room which was completely walled off, in which the ka-statue of the tomb's owner was located. However, Hermann Junker was not able to locate the Ka-statue of Kaninisut. The chamber was robbed in ancient times, leaving traces of forceful entry.
The substructure of Kaninisut's mastaba was a 17 m deep vertical shaft grave, which led, via a short corridor, to a grave chamber roughly hewn from the rock. The rough execution of the grave chamber stands in sharp contrast to the fine execution of the cult chamber. Apparently, the underground spaces' execution was increasingly neglected in the later fourth dynasty. No remains of the deceased could be found.
On the east side of the mastaba, the son of Kaninisut, who was also called Kaninisut, had a modest tomb for himself added to his father's mastaba. The upper building is 8.8 m long and 3.5 m wide. Through the east side of this addition, one could access its cult chamber, which also had two false doors in the west wall. The underground chamber for the sarcophagus was found largely empty and was probably robbed in ancient times. Despite this, some grave goods were found lying around, including fine alabaster vessels, small copper tools and four clay jars which had held the organs of the mummy. A further addition is located on the north side of the main mastaba of Kaninisut. This tomb belongs to another Kaninisut, probably the grandson of the owner of the main tomb. Not much now remains of this tomb.
In the immediate proximity of the mastaba, Iri-en-re and Ankh-ma-re, probably the great-grandson and great-great-grandson of Kaninisut also erected their tombs. The small street between the Mastaba of Nisut-nefer (G 4970) and Mastaba G 4980 was perhaps the only practical space available for their tombs. The tomb of Iri-en-re was built at the northwest corner of the mastaba of Nisut-nefer and that of Ankh-ma-re was built further to the east.
Relief decoration of the cult chamber The cult chamber of Kaninisut is made of the best white Tura limestone and decorated with fine raised reliefs, which are now displayed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Some remains of the original paintwork still survive. Typically for Egyptian art, people are depicted in a combination of frontal and side views. Thus, eyes, shoulders, and chests are shown in frontal view while heads, arms, and legs appear in side view.
Entrance corridor On the northern and southern walls of the entrance corridor are dining scenes. In each of them, Kaninisut sits at an offering table with twelve loaves of bread stacked close together on it, symbolising his food supply in the afterlife. Kaninisut wears a leopard pelt, the symbol of the Sem priest. On the south wall it is a long pelt and on the northern wall a more rarely depicted short pelt.Regina Hölzl, Reliefs und Inschriftensteine des Alten Reiches II. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein 2001
To the right of the dining scene on the northern wall, there are four priests, who are depicted on a smaller scale than Kaninisut, carrying out ritual offerings for the dead: the first one is labelled as the "cupbearer of the great full table" and is kneeling with a vessel and a loaf of bread in his hands. Behind him, an Ut-priest carries out the offering ritual, extending the fist of his right hand and touching his forehead with his left hand. The third priest holds up a washing bowl, which was used for cleaning cult places. Behind him stands a Heri-wedjeb-priest with his hand raised in a speaking gesture. He takes the gifts involved in the offering ritual: incense, anointing oil, green eyeshadow, black eyeshadow, wine, wˁḥ-fruit, weh-fruit, buckthorn bread, figs, four loaves of dpt bread, buckthorn bread, t3-rtḥ bread, roasted wheat, white and green zẖt barley. On the southern wall, another man is depicted behind the Heri-wedjeb-priest, holding a large cow's leg.
South wall at the door jamb At the south door jamb, the delivery of an antelope is depicted on the south wall. Two men, wearing only kilts with three bands, bring the animal as an offering. The funerary priest Ankh-haf holds the antelope at the mouth and horns. The "leader of the hall" drives the animal forward with a stick. A man in front brings other offerings. The antelope is a donation from a property which provided materials for the funerary cult of Kaninisut. Above it are further images of offering gifts, arranged in two rows.
East wall
On the east wall above the entrance are two ship scenes. The upper scene depicts a sail boat, the lower a row boat. A long narrow band underneath the boats symbolises the water and simultaneously forms the dividing line between the two scenes.