ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Stela of Satsobek

AAT Object Form/Functionfunerary sculpture

AAT Object Techniquereliefs (sculptures)

AAT Object Form/Functionstelae

CultureEgyptian

PeriodMiddle Kingdom, Dynasty 12

Date1939-1760 BCE

MediumLimestone

Credit LineGift in honor of Gay Robins

Dimensions20 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 2 7/8 in. (51.4 x 32.4 x 7.3 cm)

Object number2007.023.001

Label TextA tombstone or stela bearing the name and titles of the owner and inscribed with prayers and offerings on behalf of the spirit of the deceased was often placed outside of Egyptian tombs. This stela is dedicated to a woman named Satsobek, who is shown seated at a table of offerings. Opposite her, a priest pours a libation from a ritual hes vase into a hemispherical bowl on a stand. A large jar with a conical cap stands beside it. Above and below are hieroglyphic bands of the traditional offering formula urging that "bread, beer, meat and fowl and every good and pure thing" be given to the spirit of Satsobek.

Below these bands is a pair of udjat eyes that, just as on coffins of this period, would enable the deceased to look out into this world and participate in it. The molding and cavetto cornice that framed the stela have been hacked away, suggesting that at some later point it was reused for building stone.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2009 - Present
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, March - May 2008.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 17.

ProvenanceEx coll. Francois De Botton, Switzerland, from early 1960s. Ex private collection, United States, ca. 1991-2003. Ex private collection, Netherlands, 2003-2007. Purchased by Joop Bollen for MCCM from Treasuregate Gallery, Netherlands, June 27, 2007.

Status

On view

Collections