Stela of Setju

ca. 2500–2350 B.C.E.

1 of 8

Object Label

False doors in the tomb led to the afterlife. They were a suitable place for offerings. Sethew, a very high palace official, here sits before an offering table stacked with loaves of bread in the shape of the hieroglyph for the word “field,” the source of food for offerings. The surrounding inscription promises him very large quantities of food, beverages, clothing, cosmetics, and ritual oils needed in the afterlife.

Caption

Stela of Setju, ca. 2500–2350 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 22 1/16 x 20 1/2 x 4 15/16 in., 119 lb. (56 x 52 x 12.5 cm, 54kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.34E. Creative Commons-BY

Title

Stela of Setju

Date

ca. 2500–2350 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 5

Period

Old Kingdom

Geography

Reportedly from: Giza, Egypt

Medium

Limestone, pigment

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

22 1/16 x 20 1/2 x 4 15/16 in., 119 lb. (56 x 52 x 12.5 cm, 54kg)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

37.34E

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Have information?

Have information about an artwork? Contact us at

bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.