© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Peter Harholdt.

ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Stela

Place FoundEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodNew Kingdom, Dynasty 19

Date1279-1191 BCE

MediumLimestone

Credit LineCollected by William A. Shelton, funded by John A. Manget

Dimensions3 7/16 x 7 11/16 x 1 7/16 in. (8.8 x 19.5 x 3.7 cm)

Object number1921.012

Label TextThis fragment formed the uppermost portion of a small votive stela. The top of the white crown with uraeus along with the wearer's ear and eye are visible to the far left. The name Usermaat-setepenre Montuemtawy is inscribed in front of the figure, identifying it as a deified form of Ramesses II (reigned 1279-1213 BC). The inscription continues to the right, stating that the stela was made by the scribe Paenmehit. No other figures are preserved, although Paenmehit himself most likely appeared below his name, perhaps kneeling before the king.

The Ramesside and subsequent periods saw a proliferation of votive offerings in temples throughout Egypt. Wealthy individuals would commission statues inscribed with their name, titles, and filiations, to be conspicuously placed within a temple. This allowed the donor to perpetually take part in the particular cult of that temple. Those with scarce resources might erect a stela such as this one in order to receive the beneficence of the gods and the offerings of temple visitors.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 11, 1993 - Spring 2001
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, October 6, 2001 - March 2006
Published ReferencesPeter Lacovara and Betsy Teasley Trope, The Realm of Osiris (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum 2001), 28.

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