Cornice Block with Relief Showing the Baptism of Pharaoh

Cornice Block with Relief Showing the Baptism of Pharaoh

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This block originally formed part of a screen wall that connected the four front columns and the sidewalls of the temple of Harendotes ("Horus the Avenger") on the island of Philae. The relief represents the "Baptism of Pharaoh," a purification ritual that was part of Egyptian coronation ceremonies. The gods Horus (not preserved) and the ibis-headed Thoth poured water-here represented by streams of ankh (life) and was (dominion) hieroglyphs-over the head of the king. The pharaoh whose head is partially preserved is a Claudian emperor, most probably either Claudius or Nero.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cornice Block with Relief Showing the Baptism of PharaohCornice Block with Relief Showing the Baptism of PharaohCornice Block with Relief Showing the Baptism of PharaohCornice Block with Relief Showing the Baptism of PharaohCornice Block with Relief Showing the Baptism of Pharaoh

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.