Stela of Qenamun worshipping Amenhotep I and Senwosret I

Stela of Qenamun worshipping Amenhotep I and Senwosret I

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Amenhotep I, second pharaoh of the New Kingdom, was the focus of a popular cult best attested in monuments from the town of the royal tomb builders at Deir el-Medina. On this stela, which probably comes from the vicinity of this town, a priest named Qenamun burns incense and pours a libation before figures of Amenhotep I (right) and a second deified monarch, Senwosret I of the Middle Kingdom (left). The kings are seated on thrones set on a low platform, with an offering table heaped with choice foods in front of them. Qenamun, his head shaved in priestly fashion, stands before the platform to perform an offering ritual. In the two lines of text at the bottom of the stela a small kneeling figure of Qenamun asks that Amun-Re give offerings to the divine Amenhotep I.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Stela of Qenamun worshipping Amenhotep I and Senwosret IStela of Qenamun worshipping Amenhotep I and Senwosret IStela of Qenamun worshipping Amenhotep I and Senwosret IStela of Qenamun worshipping Amenhotep I and Senwosret IStela of Qenamun worshipping Amenhotep 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.