A unique piece of Old Kingdom art: the Funerary Stela of Sekhemka and Henutsen from Abusir South
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[1] Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague
Chequia
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- Localización: Ägypten und Levante: Internationale Zeitschrift für ägyptische archäologie und deren nachbargebeite, ISSN 1015-5104, Nº. 31, 2021, págs. 403-424
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
The excavations of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in the spring of 2018 brought to light a remarkable stela (Exc. No. 1/AS104/2018) with an offering table scene and two engaged statues depicting a couple (Sekhemka and Henutsen). The object also contains a list of sacred oils and two offering formulae (the usual Htp-dj-nswt and an unparalleled one, Htp-dj-nTr). Moreover, the polychromy is partially preserved. The article presents the stela’s archaeological context and description, polychrome reconstruction and discussion concerning its dating and the social standing of its owners. In the context of Old Kingdom art, the stela is interpreted as a peculiar combination of elements pertinent to false doors and statues. Parallels which could help explain these features are scarce. This stela provides evidence for the origin of the false door in early Egyptian shrines, and the subsequent development of two distinct architectural forms, the false door and the statue shrine (naos).
