KUSHITE PERIOD, 25TH DYNASTY, 712-657 B.C.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN SANDSTONE RELIEF
KUSHITE PERIOD, 25TH DYNASTY, 712-657 B.C.
Sculpted in raised relief, preserving a portion of two columns of hieroglyphs with a hymn or prayer to Ptah, the creator and craftsman god, reading from left to right: "You have planned/thought that which is..., you have...craftsmen/artisans without li[mit]," some pigment preserved throughout
13 in. (33 cm.) wide

Provenance

with Charles Ede, London, 1978.

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Lot Essay

This text resembles that found on the Shabako Stone, an important mythological and theological text dating from the reign of the Kushite Pharaoh Shabaka (712-698 B.C.), which outlines Memphite theology, placing Ptah as the central deity of the Egyptian pantheon and ascribing to him the role of creator. According to legend, Shabaka found the text on a decaying papyrus at a temple to Ptah in Memphis, thereafter having it inscribed onto stone.

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