Stela of Amennakht

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This fine round-topped stela belongs to an official named Amennakht. In the large scene that takes up the bottom three-quarter of the stela, the owner is shown accompanied by his wife, whose name is not recorded. Amennakht has short hair, and wears a broad collar and a starched short kilt. He stands with one foot forward, holding a long walking stick in one hand and a shorter staff of office in the other. Despite some erosion on the surface, red pigment remains on much of his skin. Amennakht’s wife wears a long sheath dress, and her head is adorned with two ornaments in the form of papyrus umbels. She places one hand on her husband’s shoulder and holds a water lily blossom, a symbol of regeneration, in the other. In front of Amennakht’s face is a pile of food offerings placed on a mat. A tall, slender libation jar known as heset and three ovoid jars placed on a rack also appear in front of his legs. On the farthest right are three ground lines, each supporting a small-scale unnamed figure. On top stands a man, perhaps the couple’s son, wearing a short kilt and placing one hand over his chest. In the middle is a woman, perhaps the couple’s daughter, holding a water lily flower up to her face. On the bottom is a very small man, probably a butler, presenting a cup and bringing a fowl as an additional offering. The five lines of inscription in the top portion of the stela include an offering formula and an appeal to the living, both meant to magically sustain Amennakht for eternity.

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