False Door on the Stele of Sheshi a dignitary from the VI dynasty / Louvre Museum (E 27133) Limestone, sculpture (bas-relief and sunken relief) painting / H.: 1.3 m; W: 0.63 m; D.: 0.07 m Three lines under the cornice carry prayers to Osiris and Anubis for Sheshi: Blessed with the great god, the inspector of clerks, Sheshi. The deceased is portrayed in a standing position on the left, holding a rod and wearing a short kilt. Below, the two recessed lines indicate the titles of the legal civil servant who worked at the pyramid of King Pepy. Farther down, a rectangular scene depicts the deceased sitting at a table of offerings holding several highly stylized slices of bread. Sheshi is smelling an unguent recipient; note the ewer in its dish on the bottom left. This scene takes place inside the burial vault. The table scene and the door are framed by two sets of double vertical strips. They form a short prayer in support of the deceased, expressing the wish that he follow the beautiful paths of the West, that he touch the earth, that he cross the firmament, that he rise to the great god, that he be accompanied by his ka. The invocation formulas giving him use of the offering during festivals are written on the left column. The deceased is portrayed at the bottom of each column, holding his large staff in one hand and the sekhem scepter in the other. He was supposed to use the door to communicate with the world of the living, and be able to partake of the food and refreshments placed on the table of offerings We do not know the exact origin of this stele. The presence of a rare deity, in this case the god Djed who seems to have been particularly favored in the Saqqara necropolis, suggests that this was the site of Sheshis tomb. Given this dignitarys functions, he worked at the pyramid of Pepy I, the third king of the 6th Dynasty. The tomb is therefore no earlier than this reign. But the funerary cult of Pepy continued for a fairly long time, so that we must examine stylistic elements to determine a more precise date. The wig with long horizontal curls and the exposed ears were more common during the reign of Pepy II, who succeeded Merenre (who ruled just after Pepy I).
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 13:32:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015