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Category

architectural element

Name

stelae

Description

round topped stela, with two wedjat eyes on either side of a shen sign; below is a Htp-di-nsw of Ptah and Osiris, inscribed for Snbwy (Senebuy) who held high priestly titles, including 'chief priest of his god', 'lector priest', as well as 'the great controller of craftsmen of the Lord of All' (title held by the High Priest at Memphis) and 'one whose coming to the temple is awaited on the day of the rising of Sothis', referring to celebrations at the beginning of the new year; below the inscription is Senbuy (centre) with his wife, Nubemheb (left) and his son Ra-Seth (right); the faces and feet of the figures, Senebuy's left wrist and Ra-Seth's elbow have been deliberately damaged, as has the Seth-hieroglyph in the son's name

Field Collection

Memphis ? Egypt

Dimensions

hieght 34 cm
width 18.5 cm
depth 4 cm

Period

Thirteenth Dynasty
Middle Kingdom

Date

1773 B.C. — 1648 B.C.

Provenance

bought: Petrie, William Matthew Flinders, Sir (Filtered for: Antiquities)

Inscriptions/Marks

1. inscription
   Position: main text
   Method: incised
   Content: Htp di nsw ptH rsy inb.f nb anx-tAwy wsir nb Ddw di.sn prt-xrw t Hnqt kA Apdw Htpw DfAw m prt Hr xAyt Hr wDHw nb-(r-)Dr n kA n iry-pat HAty-a sAw r it.f m Hwt-nTr ra prt spdt wr xrp Hmwt n nb r Dr Hm-nTr aA n nTr.f Xry-Hb snbwy mAa-xrw
   Description: six lines of hieroglyphs, orientated from right to left
   Translation: An offering which the king gives (to) Ptah, South of his Wall, Lord of Ankh-Tawy (and to) Osiris, lord of Busiris, that they may give an invocation offering of bread and beer, oxen and fowl, and food offerings coming from upon the xAyt-offering table and the wDHw-offering table of the Lord of All for the ka of the 'hereditary prince and count', one whose coming to the temple is awaited on the day of the rising of Sothis, the great controller of craftsmen of the Lord of All, chief priest of his god, lector-priest, Senbuy, true of voice.
   
2. inscription
   Position: in front of the woman
   Method: incised
   Content: Hmt.f mrt.f Xkrt-nswt, nbw-m-Hb (mAat-xrw)
   Description: vertical hieroglyphs, orientated from left to right, possibly sharing the mAa-xrw-signs to the left of her head
   Translation: His beloved wife, the 'royal ornament', Nubemheb (true of voice)
   
3. inscription
   Position: above the head of the man at the bottom right
   Method: incised
   Content: sA ra-stX mAa-xrw
   Translation: His son, Ra-Seth, true of voice
   

Documentation

1. Bourriau, J.D.
   Three monuments from Memphis in the Fitzwilliam Museum [page: 51-55]
   Source title: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (1982)
   [comments: ]
2. Nibbi, A.
   Some Remarks on the God Amun [page: 61]
   Source title: Göttinger Miszellen (1983)
   [comments: n.17]
3. Porter, Bertha
   Moss, Rosalind
   Burney, Ethel W.
   Malek, Jaromír
   Topographical bibliography of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, reliefs and paintings. Vol.3, Memphis. Part 2, Saqqâra to Dahshûr. Fascicle 3 [page: 738]
   [comments: 2nd edition]
4. Martin, G.T.
   (2005) Stelae from Egypt and Nubia in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, c. 3000BC - AD1150 , Cambridge (Cambs.) : Cambridge University Press (2005) Cambridge (Cambs.): Cambridge University Press [page: 48-49]
5. Ryholt, K.S.B
   (1997) The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period , Copenhagen : Museum Tusculanum Press (1997) Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press [page: 185, n.668]

Material/s

limestone

Accession Number

E.SS.37 (Antiquities)
(Reference Number: 63411; Input Date: 2003-03-25 / Last Edit: 2011-07-22)