Stela of a Nubian, Nenu
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.
Nubian archers frequently served as mercenaries in Egypt. During the First Intermediate Period, a group of them appears to have settled in towns south of Thebes, seat of the emerging Upper Egyptian rulers in whose army the Nubians may have fought. This stela shows the archer Nenu, his Egyptian wife Sekhathor, their son and daughter, a servant, and Nenu’s hunting dogs. The three males and the daughter wear Nubian costumes, the wife a white Egyptian dress.
Nubian archers frequently served as mercenaries in Egypt. During the First Intermediate Period, a group of them appears to have settled in towns south of Thebes, seat of the emerging Upper Egyptian rulers in whose army the Nubians may have fought. This stela shows the archer Nenu, his Egyptian wife Sekhathor, their son and daughter, a servant, and Nenu’s hunting dogs. The three males and the daughter wear Nubian costumes, the wife a white Egyptian dress.
Artwork Details
- Title: Stela of a Nubian, Nenu
- Period: First Intermediate Period
- Dynasty: early Dynasty11
- Date: ca. 2124 - 2030 BC
- Geography: Said to be from Egypt, Upper Egypt, El-Rizeiqat
- Medium: Limestone, paint
- Dimensions: H. 37.1 cm (14 5/8 in.); W. 45 cm (17 11/16 in.); D. 6.7 cm (2 5/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Emily Esther Sears Fund
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art