Gefässaufschriften aus KV 40

A majority of the large storage jars from KV 40 were inscribed with a short text written in Hieratic or cursive hieroglyphs in black or yellow, or in a combination of both colours. The inscriptions were placed on the final coating on the already sealed jars. The personal name is the principal information of these texts, preceded by the person's title, and sometimes followed by the mention of the institution «the house of the royal children» for some of the royal daughters. Several inscriptions refer to a date in year 25 (of Amenhotep III). Besides royal daughters and royal sons, the texts bear witness to a «royal ornament», two «noble ladies», and several women without a title, some with Nubian or Near Eastern names. Some jars reveal a complex use history with two distinct phases of inscription and several layers of coating. Some first-phase inscriptions, written on the still open jars, mention not only the person's name, but also a product - natron - presumably one of the intended contents of the containers. The subchapter by Erico Peintner presents the materiality of the various overlying coatings and conservational measures. A palaeography shows all forms of signs attested both on the wooden tags (chapter 3) and the jar inscriptions. The catalogue presents 93 jar inscriptions classified according to social category.