Fragment of relief with courtier

Fragment of relief with courtier

1907476.JPG

This is one of numerous relief fragments from a series of offering-bearers or courtiers, retrieved by the Egypt Exploration Fund in the clearance of the temple of king Nebhepetra Mentuhotep on the West Bank at Thebes. The fragment preserves part of a finely carved figure of a courtier, one hand held in reverence to the chest. He wears a formal kilt bound in a knot at the waist. Series of such figures are first found in relief on the walls of Old Kingdom royal pyramid temples, evidently the inspiration for the artists of Mentuhotep during the reunification of Egypt at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.

Present location NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND [30/002] DUBLIN

Inventory number 1907:476

Dating MENTUHOTEP II/NEBHEPETRE

Archaeological Site DEIR EL-BAHARI

Category RELIEF

Material LIMESTONE

Technique RELIEF; PAINTED; CARVED

Height 24 cm

Width 32 cm

Depth 11 cm

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