Stela of King Intef II Wahankh

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Horus Wahankh Intef II was the third king of Dynasty 11, a period when Egypt was not unified under one ruler. Intef II engaged in numerous battles with the rival rulers of Heracleopolis (the capital of the northern part of the country) and eventually secured control over southern Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. This laid the foundation for the reunification of the country under King Mentuhotep II (07.230.2; 26.3.29) This stele was probably one of a number of small stela set up in the courtyard of his tomb at Thebes. The king presents a bowl of beer and a jug of milk to the god Re and the goddess Hathor. He is wearing a minutely pleated kilt, heavy broad collar and elaborately curled wig. The figure is well carved in very high raised relief. The text of the stele includes a request to Re for protection during the night and a hymn of praise to Hathor as well as a prayer for mortuary offerings.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art