Middle Kingdom, 2050-1710 BC. A substantial wooden tableau of a male worker seated wearing a shendet kilt, with painted features to the face and red pigment to the body, holding a fan in the right hand, both arms pegged to the shoulders; before him a barrel-shaped oven with separate lid and opening to the front for bread; the whole resting on a rectangular base. Cf. Taylor, J.H. Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, London, 2001, fig.62 showing a kitchen scene with bread oven and attendant. 22.5cm (8 7/8"). From an early 20th Century Collection. A model of a combined bakery and brewery was discovered in a hidden chamber in the tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, who began his career under King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty (2134-1991 BC) and continued to serve successive kings into the early years of the 12th Dynasty (1991-1802 BC").