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Relief of the Theban Divine Family

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

The relief on the right depicts the God's Wife of Amun Amunirdis I ,making an offering of Ma'at to the god Amun-Re. Behind Amun-Re stands Khonsu, his son by his chief consort Mut. These three divinities comprise the divine family of the Theban region.

The relief on the left shows Amun-Re and Mut. Because the two scenes are comparable though reversed, it seems likely that Amun-Re and Mut faced another God's Wife of Amun. The shallow sunk relief and the treatment of the faces are typical of Twenty-fifth Dynasty reliefs found on the small chapels in Thebes.

CULTURE Egyptian
MEDIUM Sandstone
  • Possible Place Made: Thebes (Karnak), Egypt
  • DATES ca. 710-670 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY late Dynasty 25
    PERIOD Third Intermediate Period
    DIMENSIONS 28 15/16 x 31 1/8 x 1 3/4 in. (73.5 x 79 x 4.5 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 87.184.2
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Fragmentary sandstone slab with decoration in sunk relief. To the left, and facing left, are a seated figure of Amun-Re and a standing figure of Mut. Both are accompanied by utterance statements. One of the latter makes a reference to its recipient with the feminine singular, and the same is true of the column of text behind the deities and oriented with them: dd mdw di.n () n.t ‘nh w3s nb 3wt-ib nb mi R’ dt. This column of text is backed by a similar column of text facing right, which indicates that a related scene with opposite orientation once came to the right. Condition: (see detailed report in VF). Left end of slab missing. Two areas of repair with overpaint. One is in and around the lower half of the figure of Amun-Re, which explains the fact that the lower pronged terminal for his scepter is missing. The other repair is in the upper part of the two columns of text to the right. Traces of blue pigment in some hieroglyphs. Traces of white (with some blue along left edge) pigment in Mut’s dress. Traces of red pigment on Mut’s crown and in male figure. Other scratches, chips & incrustations.
    CAPTION Egyptian. Relief of the Theban Divine Family, ca. 710-670 B.C.E. Sandstone, 28 15/16 x 31 1/8 x 1 3/4 in. (73.5 x 79 x 4.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 87.184.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 87.184.1_87.184.2_SL1.jpg)
    IMAGE group, 87.184.1_87.184.2_SL1.jpg.
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