Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Stela of the Chamberlain Khnumhotep
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
This two-register stela has text and images related to trade along the Red Sea coast and Egyptian interest in the Eastern Desert. Above, representing the royal and divine realms, King Senwosret II (left) receives blessings from the god Sopdu (right), who as lord of the Eastern Desert was charged with protecting Egyptian mining and trading expeditions. An Asiatic beard, tall headdress, and unusual girdle characterize him. Below, the chamberlain Khnumhotep describes the supervision of a royal construction project in "God’s Land," likely a reference to the Red Sea coast, where this stela was found. Egyptian trading expeditions embarked from this area to the Land of Punt, a region rich in exotic products such as myrrh; it was possibly located in present-day Sudan or Eritrea.
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