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Stela of the Gatekeeper Maati

First Intermediate Period
ca. 2051–2030 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 104
Maati is shown seated in front of an offering table with a jar for a sacred oil in his left hand. The text on this masterpiece of early Middle Kingdom relief art contains references to other prominent figures of the time, including Maati's overseer, the treasurer Bebi, who later became a vizier, and an ancestor of the ruling family called Intef "the Great." The inscriptions demonstrate the close ties that bound together rulers and followers in Theban of the time.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Stela of the Gatekeeper Maati
  • Period: First Intermediate Period
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 11
  • Reign: reign of Mentuhotep II, early
  • Date: ca. 2051–2030 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes; Probably from Tarif
  • Medium: Limestone
  • Dimensions: L: 59 cm (23 1/4 in.), H: 36.3 cm (14 5/16 in.), D: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1914
  • Object Number: 14.2.7
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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Cover Image for 3280. Funerary Stela of the Gatekeeper Maati

3280. Funerary Stela of the Gatekeeper Maati

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In this stela, the gatekeeper Maaty inhales a floral aroma from a perfume vase and surveys the food in front of him, enjoying his funeral meal. The offerings are carefully composed, almost as a surreal still life. The joint of meat and an ox head hover above a duck, a fish and an antelope head, each floating in its own world. Below the table are two beer jars and a basin and ewer for washing the hands. The stela is carved with beautiful clarity in what is called sunk relief, with the design actually cut into the surface of the slab. For embellishment, the artist provided such details as Maaty’s fine bracelets and broad, beaded collar with a row of scarab amulets at the bottom, and the the ripples of fat down his chest—signs of his good fortune and prosperity.

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