| Museum
Number: |
Sudan
National Museum, Khartoum N 00522 |
| Dating
: |
about
50-40 B.C. |
| Provenance:
|
Meroe.
|
| Acquisition
details: |
esxcavated by J.Garstang in 1911, Meroe. Temple of Amun N
260, Room 272 |
| Technical
details: |
Material:
Sandstone
Colour: black with grey spots, inscription picked
out in white
Measurements: Height 20,3 cm; Width 18,9 cm;
Thickness 3,1 cm |
| Alteration:
|
broken |
| Description:
|
| Fragment
of a round-topped stela. Other part of the stela
is broken off. |
 |
|
| Representation
and Text: |
Scenes
in bold raised relief. At the top of the lunette a winged
sun disk. Two gods are represented on the lunnete seating
back to back. To the left ram-headed Amun, wearing two feathered and sun
disk crown, a feather-patterned kilt, seating on the
throne decorated with flower ornament.  sign in his left hand, a crooked
staff in his right hand. In front of him probably a
figure of a king, broken off, wearing a crown offering a
three-stand necklace to the god. To the right back to
Amun there is Mut, wearing Double Crown with a long
applicated tail, decorated in particular with a scarab,
wig and vulture symbol of Isis. A scarab is placed into her
tail. She is wearing a wing-patterned dress, she is
seating on the throne decorated with winged sphinx. In
front of her there is a king, wearing a haltered garment,
reaching almost to his sndaled feet, two feathered and
sun disk crown, long robe, decorated with falkon figure.
His ornaments are a large collar, armlets, and braslets.
She is offering Mut the same type of collar as the king
at the right side. Beneath the scene are two lines of the
inscription in meroitic cursive. |
| Text: |
se h lo: kdite de
ble: qor |
|
| Translation:
|
| [For his] wife
Kaditede King [Amanikha]bale |
|
| Comments:
|
The
composition of this scene is typically meroitic. From XXV
Dynasty onwards one can find such a composition of the
lunette here gods were represented back to back,
receiving offerings from the king. Here one can see two
principal gods of Meroitic Kingdom - Amun and his wife
Mut, whose figures garding their egyptian lookeness as a
whole were represented in meroitic style. The decor of
the king's dress in form of the birs is unique. The
headress of Mut is similar with a decoration of the
womens belonged to the king's harem. This so-called horse
tail on the head is of meroitic origin. The reference has
to be given to the woman's statues from El-Kadada. In
such a way it is possible to establish the local
tradition in rendering woman's and goddesses image in
Meroe. The same decor is met on one of the late monument
- palette of Arikankharor where the goddess of victore
has the same headdress. The winged sphinx rerpresented
under the seating place of Mut appeared of course under
hellenistic influence such sphinx was represented also
under Serapis throne. According to K.H.Priese a lower
part of the stela is in the Hermitage, where there is a
fragment of greenish black stone with twenty one lines of
meroitic cursive inscription. According to K.H.Priese'
assuming about twelve lines more were missing. The stela
was published by Ju. Zawadovski with the analising of the
text. No measurements exept those given by K.H.Priese in
Wenig 1978: 201. If the supposition is right the stela
had to have a conical form diminuation to the lower part. |
| Bibliography:
|
Garstang
1912: 47 |
| Literature:
|
Wenig 1975: 423,
pl. 427b; 1978, Cat. 122,
see also 1967: 17
Sudan 1997: 273, Cat 290
REM 1038
Hintze 1961: 278-9
Hintze-Hintze 1968: 123
Monneret de Villard 1959: 102-105, pl. XXV
Turaev 1912: 1-19
Hofmann 1971: 58, Taf. 8c; 1977: 108ff., fig.30;
1995: 2815
Shinnie 1967: 220, pl. 32
Reinold 1987:
34-37, fig. 7
Zavadovski 1977: 15-21 |