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AN EGYPTIAN SANDSTONE RELIEF WITH ATUM AND CARTOUCHES OF TWO DIVINE ADORATRESSES OF AMUN

DYNASTY XXVI, CIRCA 585-525 B.C.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN SANDSTONE RELIEF WITH ATUM AND CARTOUCHES OF TWO DIVINE ADORATRESSES OF AMUN
DYNASTY XXVI, CIRCA 585-525 B.C.
Showing an offering scene of a seated god, Atum of Heliopolis, with two large cartouches behind giving the names of the deified Divine Adoratress of Amun, Shepenwepet and Amenirdis (Dynasty XXV), the inscription in front of the god reading "Atum of Heliopolis", with three columns in front reading: "Recitation: 'All life, all health and all joy to you'", a fragmentary figure of the priestess to the right worships before an altar stacked with food and drink offerings, the two cartouches above reading: "The Divine Adoratress, Ankhnesneferibra [daughter of Psamtik II] and ... the king, Psamtik [II] ... for eternity", mounted
29½ x 20½ in. (75 x 52 cm.)

Provenance

Australian private collection, acquired prior to the present owner's arrival in Australia in the late 1940s.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium Please note that the lots of Iranian origin are subject to U.S. trade restrictions which currently prohibit the import into the United States. Similar restrictions may apply in other countries.

Lot Essay

The Office of the Divine Adoratress of Amun, centred at Thebes in Dynasty XXV, was held by the Kushite royal wives and daughters; they, in turn, adopted the daughters of the Saite kings of Dynasty XXVI, until the abolition of the office by Cambyses in 525 B.C. Usually the worship was of the Theban deities, Amun, Mut and Khonsu, but this relief shows the god Atum of the northern city of Heliopolis. Stone relief blocks from the dilapidated chapels at Thebes are to be found in museums worldwide. Cf. B. Porter & L. B. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings II: Theban Temples, Oxford, 1972, pp. 192-194, 475, 480.

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