Funeral Stele

This piece is a rectangular, round-topped stela, its images carved in low raised relief, while it's inscription is carved in sunk relief. It depicts the deceased and his wife seated before an offering table, facing to the left. The male wears a collar and a long kilt and has a shaved head, while his wife wears a long, narrow, strapless garment, and an elaborate wig surmounted with a cone of fat. He holds a lotus blossom to his nose, while his wife places her hands on him in a loving gesture. On the opposite side of the table is a sem-priest holding a closed "Hst" (water)-vase. Above these three people, in the curved portion of the stela, is a symmetrical image: two recumbent Anubis-jakals (one has Inp-"Anubis" written above his back), each sitting upon a shrine, facing each other. Between them is the hieroglyph for "imnt"-meaning the "West" (i.e. the Necropolis). Behind each of the jackals is a "wDAt"-eye, and above the left jackal is preserved a "Sn" hieroglyph (symbolizing protection) on top of a cup/basket hieroglyph. There are remnants of red and black pigment on the stela. The stela was broken into two large fragments and the top right corner is broken off; large metal staples and plaster have been added. There is an odd-looking divot between the back of the female and the back of the chair.

Inscription

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [claimed from Abydos]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1913, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.