Limestone Stele of a Woman from Terenuthis

Culture: Egyptian/Terenuthis

Period: 2nd-3rd century A.D.

Material: Limestone

Dimensions: 37.5 cm x 24.3 cm

Price: 8 000 Euro

Ref: 1444

Provenance: From the archaeological collection of the artist Bernard Gantner (1928-2018), exhibited from 1993 to 2013 in the Musée Gantner in the eastern French municipality Lachapelle-sous-Chaux. Auctioned on 19 January 2014 with Osenat, lot 37.

Condition: Professionally reassembled from two pieces.

Description: Rectangular limestone funerary stele of a woman, once with color and inscription. A reclining woman on a kline is depicted on a sunken relief. She has braided hair, cascading over her shoulder. Her gaze is straight to the observer. She wears a finely ribbed, long tunic with a belt around her waist. Her right arm is stretched out, she holds a bowl in her hand. Her left elbow rests on two pleated pillows, below an also pleated mat. Below the depiction a smooth area (“tabula ansata”), where at least name, origin and age of the deceased were written. The stele originates from the necropolis of Terenuthis in the eastern Nile Delta, halfway between Naucratis and Memphis. Mounted.