This brightly painted, well-preserved relief came
from the upper right hand corner of a wall of a
tomb, as is indicated by the rectangular motifs
within the framing elements at the top and right
hand-side. The figural decoration consists of two
registers with the ground line upon which the
upper figure stands serving as a divider. That
figure is depicted bare-chested and bare-footed
wearing a belted kilt woven of white linen, a full
wig, and a bandoleer arranged transversally
across his chest. He is sporting a goatee and
holds a papyrus scroll in his lowered hand. The
column of hieroglyphs in the field to the left
contains his title and name. He is Senwesret, the
lector priest. The lector priest, whose insignia
include the bandoleer, is the individual charged
with
reading the sacred spells and prayers,
symbolically contained within the papyrus he
holds in his hand, on behalf of the deceased.
There are traces of a column of hieroglyphs to
the left of the caption identifying Senwesret, but
these are is too fragmentary to provide a
comprehensible translation.
The lower register contains a representation of a
second individual who is likewise clad in a white,
belted linen kilt and wears a similar wig. He is
clean shaven and does not wear a bandoleer. The
hieroglyphs to his left identify him as, Ptah-
hotep, the overseer. He is shown presenting two
fowl, perhaps to be identified as geese, to the
deceased, one of which he holds by the head.
This is an accomplished work of art to judge
from the quality of the wafer-thin relief style and
the degree of paint still preserved. The lector
priest, Senwesret, is a constant reminder of the
role of learned priests within Egyptian society.
His name may also be rendered into Greek as
Sesostris, which is the name by which several
famous pharaohs of Dynasty XII are known.
References:
For similar, contemporary relief representations,
see, J. Bourriau, Pharaohs and Mortals. Egyptian
Art in the Middle Kingdom (Cambridge 1988),
catalogue numbers 36 and 39.
- (X.0358)
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