Stele

Stele of Amenemhat and his wife Hemet

Stele of Amenemhat and his wife Hemet

This stele was colored with a mixture of pigment and tempera. First, however, it was sculpted in raised and sunken relief; only later were some of its surfaces embellished with black, brown, green, yellow, and white paint. The stele commemorates for all eternity a man named Amenemhat and his wife, Hemet. Before them are two...

cippus of Horus

Cippus of Horus

This stele is known in Egyptian art as a cippus (pl. cippi) or magical stele. The instructions found on some cippi indicate that they were used to heal afflictions caused by snake or scorpion venom. Specifically, Egyptians believed that the water poured over these cippi would be transformed into a curative remedy that the afflicted...

Cult Stele of King Ahmose

Cult Stele of King Ahmose

This unique stele commemorates the deceased ruler Ahmose (1539-1515 BC), who inaugurated the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom. The relief style places the stele’s manufacture later in the reign of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 BC). At this time, royal cults were reinstated after the reign of Akhenaten, who wiped out the cults of other gods in...

Metternich Stela

Metternich Stela (Cippus of Horus)

The Metternich stela belongs to a group of stelae known as the “Cippi of Horus” or ‘Stelae of Horus on the crocodiles’. The top half of this stela was skillfully carved in the hard dark stone. On the part below the central figure panel, rows of hieroglyphs record thirteen magic spells to protect against venomous...

Amenhotep III stele

The Victory Stele of Amenhotep III The stele, was erected to commemorate King Amenhotep III’s (c. 1391-1353 BC) triumph over his opponents. This part displays two concurrent scenarios, with the king standing in his horse-drawn chariot. Above him, the goddess Nekhbet extends her protective wings, symbolising life, stability, and dominion. A quiver of arrows hangs...

Stela of Neferhotep

Neferhotep’s limestone stela has two registers on the face of its spherical top. In the upper register, Amenhotep I and Queen Ahmose-Nefertari sit on thrones facing an altar with a water pot and a floral bouquet. The figurines and text are all carved in raised relief. In the lower register, the foreman Neferhotep, son of...

Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye before offering table

Amenhotep III & Queen Tiye receive offerings

This limestone stela dates from after the twelfth regnal year of king Akhenaten, and it depicts king Amenhotep III, and his Great Royal Wife Tiye. The couple sit under the rays of the Aten, before a grand display of nourishing offerings, in the form of vegetation, grains as well as a floral display of lotus...

Fragment of stela with Amarna Royal

Fragment of stela with either Akhenaten or Nefertiti seatedNew Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1372-1355 B.C.Tel el-Amarna. House N.50.22.Formerly in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum. 22264.Now in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung, Vienna. Inv. 8038.

Stelа of the Royal Scribe Ipy

Stela of the Royal Scribe Ipy

This stela of Ipy, who held the titles “fan-bearer on the right hand [of the king]”, “royal scribe”, and “great overseer of the royal household”, carries a depiction of its owner making offering to Anubis, the embalmer deity, who is seated at the offering table. The introduction of this subject is an extremely important characteristic...

Stela dedicated by Ramose to the goddess Qadesh, shown between Min and Reshep

Goddess Qetesh

The functions of Qetesh in Egyptian religion are hard to determine due to lack of direct references, but her epithets (especially the default one, “lady of heaven”) might point at an astral character, and lack of presence in royal cult might mean that she was regarded as a protective goddess mostly by commoners. Known sources...