Relief of a Sunshade Bearer
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 woman carries a long wood pole ending in a stylized lotus bud, from which hangs a piece of cloth with red-orange stripes. When stretched, the cloth would have served as a shade against the blazing Egyptian sun. Neferu’s tomb featured a large number of sunshade bearers. Though no surviving inscriptions explain their significance, they seem to have been connected to the rituals enacted for the goddess Hathor, a prominent element of the decorative program of Neferu’s tomb.
This woman carries a long wood pole ending in a stylized lotus bud, from which hangs a piece of cloth with red-orange stripes. When stretched, the cloth would have served as a shade against the blazing Egyptian sun. Neferu’s tomb featured a large number of sunshade bearers. Though no surviving inscriptions explain their significance, they seem to have been connected to the rituals enacted for the goddess Hathor, a prominent element of the decorative program of Neferu’s tomb.
Artwork Details
- Title: Relief of a Sunshade Bearer
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty: Dynasty 11
- Reign: Mentuhotep II
- Date: ca. 2051-2000 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Tomb of Neferu
- Medium: Limestone, paint
- Dimensions: 7 11/16 × 5 1/8 in. (19.5 × 13 cm)
- Credit Line: Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Olsen
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art