Relief Fragment from the Enclosure Wall of King Senwosret I, Lisht

The elaborate, intricate geometric design preserved on this fragment originally filled the lower part of King Senwosret I’s Horus name, one of the five names adopted by most Egyptian kings. The design is thought to represent the façade of a palace with a central door and flanking projections and recesses; the prototypes are likely facades constructed from perishable materials in the earliest periods of Egyptian history. The step on one side of the piece indicates the transition from the projecting panel to the wall surface. No color is preserved and it is uncertain if the panels were originally painted.
The inner enclosure wall Senwosret I’s pyramid complex at Lisht South was decorated with one-hundred rectangular emblems topped by the Horus falcon wearing a double crown, followed by inscriptions juxtaposing the kings Horus name with birth and throne names that alternated from panel to panel. Below were geometric palace façade designs similar to the one on this fragment. Finally, so-called fecundity figures were carved beneath the names, personifications of abundance with large bellies, and trays covered with sacred vessels.