ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Naos of Petenebimaou

AAT Object Form/Functionnaoi (chambers)

AAT Object Form/Functionshrines (structures)

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodLate Period, late Dynasty 26

Date589-525 BCE

MediumLimestone

Credit LineGift of Clara M. and John S. O'Shea

Dimensions13 1/2 x 8 1/8 x 4 in. (34.3 x 20.6 x 10.2 cm)

Object number2005.005.003

Label TextA naos is a shrine in which a sculptural divine image would have been placed. This beautiful limestone naos now lacks its sculptural occupant but retains text that commemorates the dedicant's name, occupation, and genealogy. The hieroglyphs carved into the frame of the naos visually and spiritually linking the dedicant to the sculptural figure within state that the naos belonged to Petenbimaou, son of Psamtek and Tagemiraset. The text tells us that Petenbimaou held the title of "Chief of the West", which was most likely a military post. The text also records his father's titles-Prophet of Osiris and Prophet of the Statues of the King Apries. This mention of King Apries has enabled scholars to date the naos to the later years of the Saite Period.

Such meticulous mention of the names and titles of Petenbimaou's father may seem strange at first. However, Egyptians believed that as long as an individuals name remained, so too their vitality in the afterlife. When a person spoke or read a name, the Egyptians believed it functioned as a sort of prayer to help sustain the dead. Therefore, Petenbimaou not only gave respect to his parents by including their names on his naos but also ensured their existence in the next life.
Exhibition HistoryFrom Pharaohs to Emperors: New Egyptian and Classical Antiquities at Emory, Michael C. Carlos Museum, January 14 - April 2, 2006
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2008 - June 3, 2013
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, March 29, 2016-Present
Published ReferencesHerman de Meulenaere, "Cults and Priesthoods to Imaou (Kom el-Hisn) at the time of Saite and Persian Dynasties," Le Bulletin de l'Institut francais d'archeologie orientale 62 (1964): 156, number 12, plate XXVI.
Parke-Bernet Galleries New York, Antiquities: Egyptian, Western Asiatic, Greek, Etruscan, Roman (January 20, 1967), 28, lot 88.
Sotheby Parke Bernet, Important Ancient and Islamic Glass, Classical, Egyptian, and Near Eastern Antiquities (December 13, 1979), lot 76.
Egyptian Antiquities from the Charles Pankow Collection (San Francisco: Van Doren Gallery, 1981), 3.
Sotheby's, New York, The Charles Pankow Collection of Egyptian Art (Wednesday, December 8, 2004), 89, number 82.
MCCM Newsletter, December 2005 - February 2006.
Peter Lacovara and Jasper Gaunt, "From Pharaohs to Emperors: Egyptian, Near Eastern & Classical Antiquities at Emory," Minerva 17 (January/February 2006): 9-16.

ProvenanceEx coll. Theodore Bachman, Scarborough, New York, from at least 1964. With Parke Bernet Galleries New York, January 20, 1967, lot 88. Ex private collection, New Jersey. With Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, December 13, 1979, lot 76. Ex coll. Charles Pankow (1923-2004), San Francisco, California, from at least 1981. Purchased by MCCM from Sotheby's New York, December 8, 2004, lot 82.

Status

On view

Collections