Tomb Relief of the Chief Physician Amenhotep and Family, c.1279-1257 BC (limestone with traces of...

Ancient Egyptian medicine was held in high esteem, and doctors made a good living. In this scene, the chief physician Amenhotep leads his family in prayer. Arms uplifted in worship, they all wear the intricately styled wigs and elaborately layered, pleated, billowing linen garments that were the height of fashion during the long and prosperous reign of Ramesses II. Amenhotep’s tomb chapel at Asyut was excavated in 1913-14 by the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Its reliefs are now divided among four cities in three countries. The right side of the wall directly adjoining the Cleveland relief is in Zurich, Switzerland. It shows the goddess Hathor taking Amenhotep by the hand and leading him and his family into the presence of the gods (see photo). The other sections are in the Toledo Museum of Art and the Egyptian Museum, Berlin, Germany.