1884.98.3

Collection type

Object

Description

Stone stela with hieroglyphics. The stone is rectangular with a round top. [MJD (Verve) 19/4/2016]

Long description

Stone stela with hieroglyphics. The stone is rectangular with a round top. It depicts four figures in the upper register; one seated, one kneeling and two standing. The register below depicts eight kneeling figures. Hieroglyphics are inscribed in four lines below. The back shows tool marks. [MJD (Verve) 19/4/2016]

Geographical reference

Egypt

Africa > Northern Africa > Egypt

Person

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection

Date / Period

Archaeological period: Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom

Date collected

By 1874

Acquisition information

Donated: 1884

Materials and processes

Material Stone, Process Carved

Dimensions

Depth: max 34 mm, Width: max 230 mm, Length: max 430 mm, Weight 7800 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1884.98.3

Research and responses

This stela was examined by Dr Elizabeth Frood, University of Oxford. It depicts the owner in the upper register, the scribe of the temple of Ptah, Seba, kneeling in adoration before Osiris, Isis, and Hathor. The register below depicts eight kneeling figures, including Seba’s father Mose, craftsman in the place of truth, and possibly his wife and daughters. An offering formula to Osiris, Horendotes, Isis, and Ptah-Sokar for Seba and his father is inscribed in four lines below. [AS 06/09/2010]

Associated publications

Illustrated in colour as Figure 6.5 on page 95 of 'Egypt and Sudan: old Kingdom to Late Period', by Elizabeth Frood, in World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum: A Characterization, edited by Dan Hicks and Alice Stevenson (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2013), pp. 90-114. Caption (same page): 'Figure 6.5 (right) Round-topped limestone stela (PRM Accession Number 1884.98.3) of late New Kingdom date (c. 1200-1075 BCE), depicting the owner in the upper register, the scribe of the temple of Ptah, Seba, kneeling in adoration before Osiris, Isis, and Hathor. In the lower register, Seba's father Mose, craftsman in the place of truth, is shown as the first male figure after three women, two of whom are on a noticeably larger scale; these women are probably Seba's wife and daughters.' and referred to on page 94. Frood writes 'Two small round-topped limestone stelae of late New Kingdom date (c. 1200– 1075 BCE) are also typical of the inscribed Egyptian objects that were desirable to Victorian collectors. ... The second stela also depicts the owner in the upper register, the scribe of the temple of Ptah, Seba, kneeling in adoration before Osiris, Isis, and Hathor (1884.98.3; Figure 6.5). The register below depicts eight kneeling figures, including Seba’s father Mose, craftsman in the place of truth, and possibly his wife and daughters. An offering formula to Osiris, Horendotes, Isis, and Ptah-Sokar for Seba and his father is inscribed in four lines below. Both stelae, which are unpublished, are of prosopographic interest and will be the subject of a more detailed study (Frood in prep.).'. [MJD 27/05/2014; 7/1/2016]

Search terms: Writing, Figure, Inscription