Stela of Nehemya Offering to Re-Horakhty

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodNew Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Thutmose IV - Amenhotep III

Date1400-1353 BCE

MediumLimestone, paint

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions13 3/8 x 8 7/8 x 1 15/16 in. (34 x 22.5 x 5 cm)

Object number2018.010.129

Label TextThe worship of the solar god Re-Horakhty grew in popularity during the reigns of Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III. Votive stelae depicting private individuals worshiping deities face-to-face also became popular. This direct access, without the king as an intermediary, is one of the indicators of personal piety in ancient Egypt.

Re-Horakhty is seated on a raised block throne before an altar with a lotus flower. The falcon-headed god is crowned by a red sun disk encircled by a cobra. He wears a broad collar and a kilt with a lion’s tail. He holds a was-scepter in his right hand and an ankh in his left. On New Kingdom stelae, divine images were often placed under the winged sun disk. On this stela, the disk stands alone in the central register, perhaps carved by mistake without wings. Nehemya stands before the god, offering incense in his upraised hand and pouring a libation on the altar with his other. He wears a short wig, broad collar, and short kilt under a long apron. The skin color of the god and Nehemya are painted red. Re-Horakhty’s eye was indicated in pigment. The facial features of Nehemya date the stela to the reigns of Thutmose IV or early Amenhotep III.

The inscription above the god says, “Re-Horakhty, Great God, Lord of Heaven.” Above the offerer, it reads, “Offering (wdn) everything good and pure for your ka, made by Nehemya.”
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 23.

ProvenanceEx coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, possibly purchased from Jean-François Mignon, Aix-en Provence, France.

Status

Not on view

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