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the 6" dynasty, in the tomb of Djau Semaj and his son, Djau." On the south wall of the
tomb, the man offering a cattle leg in front of the sitting tomb owner is labelled as wdpw
with the vessel sign.“ All the other attestations, slightly more than a dozen, came from
Lower Egypt, from the 1* and 2! nomes dated to the 4""—6" dynasties. In several cases,
more than one wdpw appear in the same depiction, and most of the figures are labelled
with their names and titles above them. The functions in which they are represented can
be divided into two main categories: offering bearers and participants in actions connected
to the preparation of food.
In the first function, the wdpw mainly takes part in the procession of the offering
bearers, carrying different types of bread, birds, various kinds of meat and pots in his
hands and on his shoulders, as in the tomb of Nikauhor in Saqgara from the 5" dynasty,*
or in the mastaba of Seshathotep in Giza from the early 4" dynasty. More than one
wdpw is depicted in the tomb of Kaninisut in Giza from the 4" dynasty, where three men
are labelled as wdpw in the offering procession in the lower register on the western wall
of the cult chamber,“ or in the mastaba of Nisutnefer in Giza from the 5" dynasty where
two wdpws are depicted in one scene. There is only one example where an attribute was
given to the wdpw, although the name itself was missing from the label. In the tomb of
Satjut in Giza dated to the 4"~5" dynasty, an offering table scene can be seen on the right
side of the door and an wdpw hnt-wr ‘cupbearer of the great cellar’ is depicted kneeling
in front of the deceased holding two bowls in his hands.*
The second function, in which an wdpw appears in offering scenes, is as a participant
in food processing. He can be seen engaged in making bread, slaughtering cattle or
preparing food, as in the tomb of Uhemka in Giza from the 5" dynasty” or in the mas¬
taba of Idu in Giza from the 6" dynasty, where a label above a man says pst jwf wdpw
Tjdwj ‘cooking meat (by) the cupbearer Tidui’. Another food making scene can be seen
in the tomb of Mehu in Saqqara from the 6" dynasty. In the bottom register of the relief
at the entrance of the corridor a man is sitting in the centre of the scene, roasting a bird
60 Davies, 1902, 4-5 pl. iv.
Based on the publication, the two signs before the vessel cannot be identified for certain, but the
reading is probably hg3.
® Quibell, 1909, 25-26, pl. LXIV.
® Junker, 1934, Abb. 28.
° Junker, 1934, Abb. 18.
® Junker, 1938, Abb. 28.
°° Lepsius, 1970, 72; Bl. 86b.
7 Kayser, 1964, 32.
5 Simpson, 1976, 25-26, fig. 38.
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