On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Ankhy before an offering table
Old Kingdom
Not on view
This relief was originally part of the decoration of a tomb chapel. It showed Ankhy, a high official and royal scribe, seated at his offering table. Only the upper part of his body and the chair back remain. Ankhy's left hand holds a small handkerchief; the right hand is stretched toward the offerings. Above his head is a fragment of an elaborate offerings list.
Scenes of this type in the earlier part of the Old Kingdom (Dynasties 3 through 5) depicted tall narrow loaves of bread on the offering tables. By the time this relief was carved, artists had transformed the loaves into the hieroglyphic rendering of the Egyptian word for "offering field," showing upright reed plants.
