Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Base for Votive Model of a Temple Gateway

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Base for Votive Model of a Temple Gateway

Although this model was found at Tell el Yahudiya in the Nile Delta, the inscriptions along its base suggest that King Seti I donated it to a now-lost temple at Heliopolis, the center of the solar cult, just outside modern Cairo. Why it was deposited at Tell el Yahudiya is a mystery.

As seen in the photograph here, the model was once replete with a pylon (or gateway), flagpoles, statues of Seti I in the guise of Osiris (ruler of the underworld), and four sphinxes flanking the entrance staircase. The reliefs around the base show the king nearly prostrate, making offerings to three forms of the sun: Khepri (the sun rising in the morning), Re-Horakhty (the sun at its zenith at noon), and Atum (the sun setting in the evening).

The purpose of the model is unclear. Although it is generally regarded as a foundation deposit or offering given by the king at the groundbreaking for the temple it represents, it may have served a magical purpose.

A reconstruction of this model can be seen in the installation Temples, Tombs, and the Egyptian Universe.

Medium: Quartzite
Geographical Locations:
- Possible place collected: Heliopolis, Egypt
- Place found: Tell el Yahudiya, Egypt
Dates: ca. 1290-1279 B.C.E.
Dynasty: XIX Dynasty
Period: New Kingdom
Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 44 x 34 in., 1025 lb. (24.1 x 111.8 x 86.4 cm, 464.9kg)
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 49.183
Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Image: Overall, 49.183_transp1764.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Base for Votive Model of a Temple Gateway