Relief showing procession of offering bearers
Offering bearers walk in procession carrying lotus flowers, birds and food, a relief with surviving paint from the pyramid temple of Senwosret I. Full commentary ↓
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Relief showing procession of offering bearers is a stone object by an unknown maker (ca. 1961–1917 B.C.) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the pictureOn a white limestone slab, men with red skin walk in a line. They carry birds on their shoulders and blue lotus flowers and food in their hands, and above them are carved offering vessels and hieroglyphs. Red, blue and black paint survives in places, and the slab broke into several pieces that have been joined back together. It is 1.5 meters tall.
BackgroundThe walls of the pyramid temple were filled with processions like this one, coming to bring offerings to the king. The offering bearers symbolize the king's estates, and the birds, lotus flowers and food they carry are the tribute the king would receive forever after his death. Egyptian relief follows the rule of showing figures with the face in profile and the shoulders frontal, and that rule is plainly seen in this relief.
Puzzle tipIt is a painted relief, so color is a clue. Fit the red-skinned figure pieces and the blue lotus pieces first, and compare the hieroglyph pieces at the top and the break lines on the white ground with the preview. Pieces crossed by the dark lines of the cracks also help fix positions. 100 pieces is about right.
- Period
- Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty
- Dynasty 12
- Medium
- Limestone, paint
- Dimensions
- H. 146.2 cm (57 9/16 in.); W. 128.3 cm (50 1/2 in.); D. 14.6
- Credit line
- Rogers Fund, 1909
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
Stories about this work
- Two Reliefs of Officials Buried Beside the Pyramid of Amenemhat I
The king's pyramid temple was not the only place with fine decoration. The tomb walls of officials buried nearby were also carved with processions bringing offerings.
