Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Relief of Sekhemre-sewadjtawi Sebekhotep III Offering to the Goddesses Anuket and Satet
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.
Egyptian kings and deities had a relationship of mutual dependency—the pharaoh needed them to bless and affirm his rule, while the gods relied on the king to build their temples and maintain their cults. Their interdependence is reflected in such seemingly simple scenes as this back-to-back depiction of Sebekhotep III offering nemset vessels containing water to the goddesses Anuket (right) and Satet (left), both of whom had their cult centers in Aswan. In return for the king’s attention, the goddesses present him with ankh signs symbolizing life. The block originally formed the back of a small shrine. It was observed on Sehel Island south of Aswan in the early nineteenth century, but was subsequently used as a millstone, resulting in the circular hole in the center.
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