Funerary stela of Ptaherhatef

Egyptian

British Museum

circa 1320-1280 BC

Egyptian limestone stela with a pyramidal top, inscribed for Ptaherhatef, Doorkeeper of Ptah. It probably dates to the late 18th or early 19th Dynasty. It most likely originates from the Memphite necropolis, the location of many tombs of high officials, and is one of the finest examples of an important type of funerary monument from the New Kingdom. Its iconography illustrates the fusing of solar religion (represented by the pyramid-shaped top) with notions of resurrection based on the myth of Osiris, who is depicted receiving offerings in the main scene.

• Medium: painted limestone
• Dimensions: 149 x 83 x 20cm
• Art Fund Grant: £70000 ( Total: £185,629; Tax Remission)
• ArtFunded in: 2006
• Vendor: Piers Pratt

Provenance

Collection sale of the Egyptologist Giovanni d'Athanasi (1798-1854), Sotheby's, London, 1837, where unsold; Edward Roger Pratt of Ryston Hall, Norfolk, circa 1837; by descent to Piers Pratt.

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