Description
The fragment, discovered in the lion temple at Meroë, capital of the Meroitic Kingdom, was part of a commemorative monument to King Tanyidamani. One side depicts the ruler in royal costume with ram's-head earrings, an Egyptian crown, and a scepter in his hand. An image of the lion-headed war- and fertility-god Apedemak appears on the other side. The deity holds a bundle of sorghum and a scepter topped with a small seated lion. The inscriptions are in Meroitic script and name the king and the god.





Votive Plaque of King Tanyidamani
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
1/01/1941 | Treatment | cleaned |
9/15/1976 | Treatment | technical study; cleaned; loss compensation; re-housed |
1/05/1980 | Treatment | examined for loan |
10/13/1992 | Examination | other |
5/10/1995 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
4/26/1996 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
1/02/1997 | Examination | condition |
10/20/1998 | Examination | survey |
11/23/1999 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; coated |
Exhibitions
- Africa in Antiquity: The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; The Hague Municipal Museum, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague. 1978-1979.
- Africa: The Art of a Continent. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. 1996.
- Egypt in Africa. Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis. 1996.
Provenance
Excavated by John Garstang, 1909-1910, in the Temple of Apedemak, Meroe; William MacGregor, Tamworth, Staffordshire, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, London, June 26-29 and July 4-6, 1922, no. 469; Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, 1922, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1923, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Credit
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1923
Period
mid 2nd century BCE (Meroitic)Accession Number
22.258Measurements
7 5/16 x 3 3/4 x 5/8 in. (18.5 x 9.5 x 1.7 cm)Geographies
- Sudan, Meroë, Temple of Apedemak (Place of Origin)