Important Limestone Relief with Three Offering Bearers

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Old Kingdom, 5th dynasty, 2504-2347 B.C.

Material: Limestone

Dimensions: 18 cm x 47 cm

Price: Sold

Ref: 1158

Provenance: Private collection Paris, acquired 1990 at gallery Segredakis, rue de l’Échelle. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Condition: Fragment of high quality with some minor wear.

Description: Important limestone relief with three offering bearers with their heads in profile to the right. The three men with naked upper bodies wearing short wigs with tight curls set in lines. The left one holding a staff wrapped with lotus plants, the blossoms on top standing sideways. The middle one holding a goose, and the right one carrying a basket with vases on his shoulder (probably beer). Around his bent arm a cord with another basket. The relief fragment originates from the funeral chapel of a Mastaba around Memphis. The vertical band on the side of the offering bearers indicate quite precisely the position within the chamber. The three figures seem to carry from left the offerings to the abundant banquet, where the owner – possibly a courtier or a high-ranking official – and his family are already waiting. Reliefs like this one should immortalize for the deceased the privileges of the world, which he just left. Mounted.