Egypt
Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, 18th century BCE
Kalkstein
16.5 x 21.6 x 5.0 cm HWD

The custom of setting up funerary stelae was first introduced in conjunction with private burial rites during the early Middle Kingdom. Funerary stelae marked the gravesites as well as cenotaphs and therefore played a part in the celebration of the rites for the dead. Various types of funerary stelae are documented, although the most common is the vertical rectangle that is rounded at the top. Only the lower section of the funerary stela shown here is preserved, but the existing bead moulding at the edge indicates that the stela was originally shaped in the form of a shrine with a grooved end at the top.

The upper pictorial field with the groove is lost. The grave owner was probably represented here. A woman sits on the ground at the left of the still-preserved lower pictorial register – perhaps the tomb owner’s mother – and raises a lotus blossom to her nose. A low offerings table with piles of vegetables can be seen at the right of the same picture. Two columns of inscriptions containing the following text mark the centre: “An offering which the king gives to Iasen, Lord of transfiguration, born of Ukit, justified”.

Most stelae dating from this time were found at Abydos, where the dramatic festival devoted to the myth of the god Osiris’ death and resurrection was annually celebrated. Although information regarding the context in which stelae were found is rarely available, we know that they were set up in the vicinity of the temple of Osiris. They were either located in small chapels along the procession route leading to the temple or set up along the sanctuary’s exterior wall. They served to guarantee direct contact to Osiris, the god of the dead, providing the owner of the stela with eternal care and rebirth.

André Wiese. 2011

Literatur
On the stelae of the Middle Kingdom, see: R. Hölzl, Die Giebelfelddekoration von Stelen des Mittleren Reiches, Beiträge zur Ägyptologie, vol. 10, Vienna 1990. H.W. Müller, Die Totendenksteine des Mittleren Reiches, Ihre Genesis, Ihre Darstellungen und Ihre Komposit­ion, MDAIK 4, 1933, 165 – 206. On Abydos as the location of the stelae see: W.K. Simpson, The Terrace of the Great Gods at Abydos. The Offering Chapels of Dynasties 12 and 13, New Haven 1974. A. Wiese, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Die ägyptische Abteilung, Mainz 2001, 72, no. 38. Ägypten | Egypt, André Wiese, Duisburg 2011, 52 – 53, cat.-no. 19.