Kagmeni (also known as Memi) was an official, a judge, and a priest. The apotheosis of Kagemni's career took place under the Sixth Dynasty ruler Teti (2321-2290 BC), when he became vizier and head of all the judges of the country. He was a son-in-law of King Teti through marriage to Nebty-nebu-khet. Kagemni is also famous from a literary view point which is explicit in the famous "Teachings of Kagemni", the celebrated didactic text which dates to the Sixth Dynasty. Thanks to his new position and his royal connections, Kagemni was able to organize in the necropolis of Saqqara the construction of a mastaba for himself close to the Pyramid of Teti and to the northeast of the Step Pyramid of Djoser (of the Third Dynasty).
Discovered in 1843 by Richard Lepsius, the Mastaba of Kagmeni dates back to the Fourth Dynasty. He had his mastaba built and decorated by the best workshops and workers of the country, which explains the extraordinary quality of the decor which decorates the walls of his mastaba. On the facade of the mastaba, can still be found a long biography of Kagemni, who was a very great character of his time. The tomb has beautiful multi-colored reliefs of fishing, crocodiles, Geese, hyenas, greyhounds, monkeys and birds. The lower registers of the walls of the mastaba are well preserved, having preserved in many places the vibrant colours; but the upper registers are nearly all lost, except toward the rear of the tomb.