One hand – many faces. Painterly practices in the Theban Tomb of vizier Amenemope (TT 29)

Since 1999, the Belgian Archaeological Expedition in the Theban (Mission archéologique dans la Nécropole thébaine - MANT) is executing fieldwork in several tombs located in the southern part of Sheikh Abdel Gurna. As part of this fieldwork, the project “Painters and painting in the Theban Necropolis under the 18th Dynasty“ (FNRS – Univeristy of Liège) aims at studying painterly practices and working procedures of artists and workshops in charge of the decoration of elite tombs in this cemetery. The paper will present the results of recent work carried out in this context in the tomb of Amenemope (TT 29), vizier under Amenhotep II. Unlike in many other Theban tombs of the 18th dynasty where different painters are attested, evidence points to a single hand, responsible for the execution of the entire wall paintings preserved in this funerary chapel. Nevertheless the style of human figures or hieroglyphs is not completely consistent but to the contrary shows certain variability in the layout and execution of motifs, that the paper will address as an issue.