Description:
Limestone obelisk dedicated to Amenemhat, Overseer of the Antechamber of the Store of Fruits. There are inscriptions on all four sides of the obelisk, quite roughly carved into the limestone.
On the front of the obelisk is the figure of a man facing to the right, wearing a long kilt and wesekh collar. Below the figure are 14 rows of hieroglyphs.
On the left side of the obelisk is the figure of a man facing to the left, wearing a long kilt and wesekh collar. Below the figure are 12 rows of hieroglyphs.
On the back is a scene depicting two men, the King's son Beb and Amenemhat. Beb is seated facing to the right, holding a lotus flower in his left hand. He is wearing a short pleated shendyt kilt and wesekh collar. Amenemhat stands before him, facing to the left with his right hand raised and holding a censer in his left hand. He is wearing a long kilt and wesekh collar. The name Amenemhat is inscribed above the scene in one row of hieroglyphs; below the scene are 22 rows of hieroglyphs.
On the right side of the obelisk is the figure of the god Min facing to the right. Min is depicted as an ithyphallic mummiform man with a beard and short hair. He wears a headdress of two tall feathers and holds a flail high in his right hand. Below the figure are 13 rows of hieroglyphs inscribed in dedication to the god Min.
Relational references:
Bourriau, J. 1988. Pharaohs and mortals: Egyptian art in the Middle Kingdom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 66-67 Budge, E. W. 1926. Cleopatras Needles and other Egyptian Obelisks. London: The Religious Tract Society, p.260-267 Hart, G. 1986. A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. London New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, p. 121-125 Martin, K. 1977. Ein Garantsymbol des Lebens. Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, p.90-92 Rice, M. 1999. Who's Who in Ancient Egypt. London: Routledge, p. 9Notes:
Most obelisks are set up by kings and are much larger than this example; obelisks dedicated by private individuals are rare.| Object details | |
|---|---|
| Type of object: | obelisk |
| Type category: | Architecture |
| Material: | Limestone |
| Width: | 111 mm |
| Height: | 775 mm |
| Depth: | 106 mm |
| Origin | |
| Style/Period: | Aegean Bronze Age periods, 13th Dynasty |
| Date range: | 1756 - 1630 BCE |
| Discovery site: | Aegean Bronze Age periods, 13th Dynasty |
| Environment: | |
| Creator | |
| Technique: | |
| Personal name: | - |
| Role: | - |
| Culture: | Egyptian |
| Record data | |
| Artworld id: | 00009 |
| Current accession number: | - |
| Former accession number: | N1984 |
| Credit line: | - |
| Recorded by: | LW |
| Record date: | Mon, 5th Nov 2001 |
| Copyright: | Copyright© by the Oriental Museum, University of Durham, Durham, 2002. All Rights reserved |

