Relief block with the names and titles of Amenemhat I and Senwosret I

Relief block with the names and titles of Amenemhat I and Senwosret I

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is one of several relief blocks discovered in the foundations of the funerary temple of Amenemhat I at Lisht. Like this one, most bear his name, sometimes with that of his son and coregent, Senwosret I. Because of thier protected location many of the blocks are complete, and the colors are still fresh; several sculptural styles are represented. The site and buildings from which the blocks were taken have not been identified, but possibly they all derive from an earlier funerary temple at Lisht. It is not known when the funerary temple of Amenemhat I was built. He may have begun it himself near the end of his reign, for the temple foundation deposits confirm an early Dynasty 12 date. Prominent on this block are the Horus name of Amenemhat I to the right (Horus Wekhemmesut) and his birth name, Amenemhat, in a cartouche (an oval ring representing infinity and eternity) on the left. See below for a full translation of the inscription.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Relief block with the names and titles of Amenemhat I and Senwosret IRelief block with the names and titles of Amenemhat I and Senwosret IRelief block with the names and titles of Amenemhat I and Senwosret IRelief block with the names and titles of Amenemhat I and Senwosret IRelief block with the names and titles of Amenemhat I and Senwosret I

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.