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Libation slab of Djedher
Ptolemaic Period 332 BCE-30 BCE

Medium
limestone
Measurements
8.6 × 41.9 × 45.3 cm
Place/s of Execution
Egypt
Inscription
incised with hieroglyphs: (translation: Chapter of drinking of the water in the other world. Words said by the stolist priest of Isis, the royal scribe, Djed-her, triumphant son of the stolist priest, great / (?)Nesmin triumphant, born of the lady of the house, the sistrum bearer of Min, Nebety-hemset triumphant. 'O this sycamore of the goddess Niut grant to me / the water and the air which are in thee. I embrace this throne which is in Hermopolis and I guard / this egg of the great cackler (Goose God). It flourishes and I flourish: it lives and I live: it spells the air and / I smell the air. Chapter of the Drinking of Water in the Other World. / Words said by Osiris the great 'wab' priest, the priest of Isis, the royal scribe, Djed-her, triumphant son of the 'wab' priest. / Nesmin, born of the lady of the house, the sistrum bearer of Min, Nebety-hemset, triumphant for ever. / Chapters of Drinking Water in the Other World. Words said by Osiris the 'wab' priest, the priest of Isis the royal scribe, Djed-her son of the 'wab' priest. / Nesmin, born of the lady of the house, the sistrum bearer of heaven, Nebety-hemset, triumphant. "May be opened for me the doors of Taqebh. / By Thoth and by Hepy and by the great heaven (Niut) in the time of Ra, grant ye, divine spirits, that I may consume the water / even as Seth consumed his enemies on that day of the storm on earth. May I go / with the great ones, bending the arms in greeting, even as goes with them this great god whose soul is equipped with magical power and whose name is unknown. May I / go with the great ones bending the arms. Chapter of Drinking of Water in the Other World. Words said by Osiris, the priest, the priest of Isis, the royal scribe, Djed-her, / Son of the 'wab' priest. Newmin triumphant, born of the lady of the house, the sistrum bearer of Min, Nebhty-hemset, triumphant.)
Accession Number
D233-1982
Department
Antiquities
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1939
Gallery location
Not on display
Physical description
A rectangular libation slab with a square projection on one edge representing the runnel, but ungrooved. The top is smooth and inscribed and decorated while the underside is rather rough. The decoration consists of 14 lines of inscription, the three outer lines longer than the others and below the latter is a scene in two parts representing the pouring of water libations. On the left is a sycamore tree with two arms, the upper arm holding a 'hs' vase, tilted and pouring water onto the hands of the deceased- Djedher- to the left of the tree. His head is shaven and he wears a long kilt with front pleat and sandals. The lower arm of the tree beckons to him. To the right, a similar scene of a sycamore tree, within which is the goddess Hathor who pours water from two 'hs' vases onto the hands of the deceased, this time seated.