Beschreibung:

An Egyptian limestone stele fragment, Middle Kingdom, 11th-12th Dynasty, circa 2050-1950 B.C. Carved in shallow relief with two registers, the upper register with a hieroglyphic inscription, the lower with figures, the owner partially remaining at either end, on the far left the seated owner holding a drinking vessel to his mouth, the hand of his wife or mother resting on his left shoulder with three men wearing short kilts tied at the waist and a woman wearing a close-fitting dress facing him, the men bearing offerings, the first a leg of a cow, the other two bearing live fowl, on the right of the scene he is shown seated with his son and daughter before him, the son holding an incense burner, the inscription above in sunk relief bearing horizontal text which includes part of a biographical text, standard offering formulae from the Book of the Dead and a reference to ‘Id, the blessed, the late, the son of Nedjem(?)’ 50.8cm x 72.4cm, mounted Provenance: Ex Charles Pankow Collection of Egyptian Art Sotheby's New York, November 21st 1985, lot 118 Sotheby’s New York, December 8, 2004, lot 118 Bonham’s, London, Antiquities, April 27 2006, lot 5 Condition report disclaimer