Human Flower Project
Sennufer’s Lotus May Bloom Again
Will Egypt put Sennufer’s elaborate garden back on the map, palms, pools and all? After 34 centuries, it’s time.
Sennufer (gardener to the Pharaohs) with lotus flower
Tomb of the Vineyards, Luxor
Image: Tour Egypt
So far as we know, Sennufer is the highest ranking gardener of all time. He lived in the 14th Century BC, and oversaw the fields and vineyards of two Egyptian Pharaohs. Among his many titles were Chancellor to Amenhotep II, Overseer of the Granaries of Amen, and even High Priest of Amen in Menisut. We know some pretty uppity gardeners but Sennufer has them outranked – and outlasted.
In his day the tomb, not the clothes, made the man. Sennufer’s extensive, embellished burial chambers at modern-day Luxor prove he was a big shot in his own time and recommend him to ours, 34 centuries later.
According to garden historian Tom Turner, Sennufer also left behind one of the earliest surviving garden plans – a marvelously detailed painting with lily pools, palm trees, and “a central vine-shaded courtyard, presumably for outdoor living.” (“Garden rooms” are nothing new.)
Garden designed by Sennufer, 14th C. BC;
19th C. drawing copied the original painting found in the chapel above Sennufer’s tomb
Image: Garden Visit
The original painting is gone, but a meticulous copy was made by 19th century archaeologists. And Turner writes us that there’s now an effort to reconstruct Sennufer’s garden based on this image. Turner thinks it’s a splendid idea and is calling on garden writers to spread the word.
“I believe it is the best tourism investment Egypt could make,” Tom writes. “Garden visiting is an extremely popular tourist activity, with the Alhambra said to be the most visited garden in Europe
. A new tourist attraction on the East bank in Luxor will take some of the pressure off the ancient monuments on the West bank of the Nile.”
Turner notes that this sophisticated garden is also “in some respects astonishingly modern.” For example, it combines ornamentals with food plants, “just what many gardeners are doing in response to the credit crunch.”
Many thanks for the education and the alert, Tom, and good luck to all who are advancing this exciting garden reconstruction project.
Comments
Georgia,
Dang!
I hope you’ll get in touch with Jim Wandersee and Allen Bush to pursue this fine, un-cheesy goal. and can I tag along?
j.
I’ll visit!
A friend’s husband, his father and his brother have an annual ritual: they travel to a city-region and visit its baseball fields, stadiums. On hearing this, I told myself I could do the same but with gardens and arboreta. I already visit parks whenever I am in a new city.
In fact, in college, I submitted a proposal to the Watson Foundation to travel across Europe documenting public education programs sponsored by gardens and arboreta. (I think I was edged out by the student who proposed to learn cheesemaking from French (?) monks.)