Votive Obelisk of the Overseer of the Storehouse Amenemhat
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.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 small obelisk was inserted into a stone or mud-brick pavement, most likely as a votive monument in a temple. The prominence given to the gods of Abydos in the prayer texts on all four sides suggests that it originated in the Osiris temple. One side depicts the owner Amenemhat seated and being censed by a priest. A second side depicts the ithyphallic god Min-Horus-Nakht. The other two sides show the owner standing and probably reciting the prayers written below the figures, which name his relatives Bebi and Henenu, to whom the monument was also dedicated.
This small obelisk was inserted into a stone or mud-brick pavement, most likely as a votive monument in a temple. The prominence given to the gods of Abydos in the prayer texts on all four sides suggests that it originated in the Osiris temple. One side depicts the owner Amenemhat seated and being censed by a priest. A second side depicts the ithyphallic god Min-Horus-Nakht. The other two sides show the owner standing and probably reciting the prayers written below the figures, which name his relatives Bebi and Henenu, to whom the monument was also dedicated.
Artwork Details
- Title: Votive Obelisk of the Overseer of the Storehouse Amenemhat
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty: Dynasty 13
- Date: ca. 1802-1640 B.C.
- Geography: Probably from Egypt, Abydos
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: obelisk only: 29 3/4 × 4 5/16 × 4 5/16 in. (75.5 × 11 × 11 cm)
with original base: 32 1/2 × 13 × 9 1/4 in. (82.5 × 33 × 23.5 cm) - Credit Line: Oriental Museum, Durham University
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art