Relief of Seated Akhamenru

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This block came to the Museum before the Egyptian Art Department was founded in 1906, and records of its arrival do not exist. The inscription, however, tells us that it depicts Akhamenru, the Chief Steward of the Divine Wife Shepenwepet II, so it must have originated in his tomb in the Asasif valley. The hole ground into the block suggests it had been removed from the tomb at some point in the past millennia to serve some more mundane purpose. Akhamenru's fine figure is seated on a low backed chair, holding a staff and a folded cloth. He wears a sash and about his neck hangs an amulet that was worn by royalty in the MIddle Kingdom. An affinity for the MIddle Kingdom also influences his hairstyle and dress. He might have faced an offering table or possibly a family member. Over his head appear the ends of three columns including, from right to left, the remains of traditional wish that he should see the sun shining before his face in the afterlife, his name, and the name of his father the priest of Amun Pekiry. A small silver divine figure that probably names his mother Mereskhonsu (2014.159) is displayed in the same gallery.

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