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Relief from the Tomb of Metetu
ca. 2400 BCE-2250 BCEOld Kingdom (2686-2125 BCE)
10 5/8 x 25 13/16 x 1 3/4 in. (27 x 65.5 x 4.5 cm)
Egyptian artist
Egypt
Egyptian; made in Saqqara
Object Type:
Sculpture
Medium and Support:
Limestone
Credit Line:
Gift of a Friend of the Gallery
Accession Number:
1973.64
Location: Currently on view
This fragment of carved stone was once part of the decorative walls of a tomb for an Egyptian man called Metetu, who is pictured seated at the top left corner of the block. The hieroglyph signs in the top row of the fragment spell out his name and his position. They tell us that Metetu worked in the “great house,” or the king’s court, as a metalworker.
Tomb carvings from Metetu’s time used colorful scenes from daily life to illustrate the sources of the food offerings required by the dead. The bottom row of this fragment shows two men, identified as “guardians of the flock.” The man on the right holds the horn of a valuable long-horned cow, while the hieroglyphs around his head tell of “bringing the fattened calf” from the farm known as “Keth.”
[Gallery label text, 2009]
Tomb carvings from Metetu’s time used colorful scenes from daily life to illustrate the sources of the food offerings required by the dead. The bottom row of this fragment shows two men, identified as “guardians of the flock.” The man on the right holds the horn of a valuable long-horned cow, while the hieroglyphs around his head tell of “bringing the fattened calf” from the farm known as “Keth.”
[Gallery label text, 2009]
Provenance
Family of Charles D. Kelekian since before 1913; purchased from him by the Gallery in 1973
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Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Susan Dodge Peters, ed. Memorial Art Gallery: An Introduction to the Collection. New York, New York: Memorial Art Gallery in association with Hudson Hills Press, 1988.
- Article Title: La Chronique des Arts. Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Paris, France: Gazette des Beaux-Arts Volume Number: 88, Issue Number: 1261. Issue Date: February 1974. Page Number: 97, Figure Number: 315
- Article Scope: Mention. Bertha Porter. Topographical bibliography of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, reliefs, and paintings: Saqqara to Dahshur 3/2, Memphis. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1981.
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