Detail from an Offering Scene

Originally this relief fragment belonged to a depiction of an offering bearer carrying three pintail ducks to the king. Amunemhat I used many Old Kingdom royal reliefs in the construction of his pyramid complex at Lisht, so it is sometimes difficult to distinguish reliefs made during his reign from original Old Kingdom works. Certain details of this exquisite fragment— particularly the elegant sweep of the duck’s wing and the unnatural bend of the servant’s fingers—suggest a Middle Kingdom date.