Origin: Egypt
Circa: 1991 BC to 1783 BC
Dimensions: 47" (119.4cm) high x 9" (22.9cm) wide
Collection: Egyptian
Style: 12th Dynasty
Medium: Limestone
Sculpted in classically-designed sunken hieroglyphs, this single column of inscription, oriented to the left, contains a partial string of titles belonging to the cursus honorum of a highly placed official in pharaoh’s court. The inscription as preserved may be translated as, “.,..the oldest official of [pharaoh’s] senut-palace, the one who is over particular offerings, the one who presides over the secrets…”
The exact nature of a senut-palace remains enigmatic, but was ostensibly the administrative branch of the bureaucracy in which senior officials exercised their duty and in which the owner of this inscription served as “the eldest statesman.” The owner was also in charge of special offerings, which, although not specifically enumerated, comprised both victuals and other products. And finally, this owner was charged with rituals, the practice of which were kept secret and hidden from the uninitiated. From these titles and from the style of the sculpting of the signs and their shapes, one can confidently date this panel to Dynasty XII and suggest that it once adorned the tomb of an elite official.

Antiquities
Ancient Egyptian