A LIMESTONE TERENUTHIS (KOM ABU BILLOU) STELA

ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D

Details

A LIMESTONE TERENUTHIS (KOM ABU BILLOU) STELA
roman period, circa 2nd century a.d
Only the main scene preserved, with a single-line border framing two figures carved in sunk relief, including an orant standing in prayer with arms raised above his head and a seated flute player, both, perhaps, representations of the deceased, with a figure of Anubis in each of the lower corners, and a Greek inscription in the upper right for an individual who appears to have died at the age of five
8¾ in. (21.3 cm.) wide

Provenance

Kofler Collection

Lot Essay

The technique of sunk relief, as well as the inclusion of the jackal, Anubis, the Egyptian guide of the dead, recall earlier Egyptian traditions. For a stela depicting an orant as well as two figures of Anubis, compare the example from The Walters Art Gallery, no. 166 in Friedman, Beyond the Pharaohs. Compare also pl. 40 in Abd el-Haefeez Abd, et al., Stèles funèraires de Kom Abu Billou.