Collection Online

Votive stela
New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX 1295 BCE-1186 BCE

Medium
limestone
Measurements
19.6 × 15.7 × 5.4 cm
Place/s of Execution
Egypt
Accession Number
D143-1982
Department
Antiquities
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1939
Gallery location
Not on display
Physical description
A small, round-topped stela, containing an adoration scene of the god Ptah within an incised frame. The sides are roughly smoothed while the back is extremely uneven. Traces of mud adhere to the sides and back, possibly used to hold the stela in place within a niche or wall. The decoration depicts Ptah standing within a small shrine on top of a pedestal. He grasps an 'ankh' in one hand and a 'was'-sceptre in the other. In front of him is an offering stand with a 'qb' vase and an open lotus on a stem. Worshiping the god is a man in a long kilt with hands upraised. Behind him is a smaller man with his right hand upraised and left hand grasping a duck and the long stem of an open flower or a staff. There are a series of incised lines in the bottom right hand corner which are under those of the stela itself. Above the god is a single horizontal line of text and above the main figure are three vertical columns of text, the third of which is damaged and all signs illegible. All of the decoration is incised and rather crude. The bottom right is damaged with a couple of deep incisions cutting across the larger man's head.