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Funerary cone of Ibi
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–20
1550–1070 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Pottery
Dimensions
Length x diameter:19.3 x 8.9 cm (7 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Hay Collection—Gift of C. Granville Way
Accession Number72.1814
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
Catalogue Raisonné
Davies & MacAdam 610
DescriptionFunerary cone fragment of reddish clay carrying circular stamp on the head with traces of red paint/wash especially along the outer edge. Impressed image shows two columns of raised hieroglyphic text flanked by kneeling male figures with arms raised in a pose of adoration; topped by a solar bark.
Left column text: "True Acquaintance of the King, His Beloved, Ibi, (son of?) the God's Father, God's Beloved Ankh-hor."
Right column text: "Chief Steward of the Divine Adoratrice, Ib(a)
Funerary cones were components of a frieze, inserted above the doors of private tombs, particularly in the Theban region. They have been variously interpreted as: name-plates of sorts to identify the tomb owner, decorative memorials, boundary markers for a tomb, dummy bread loaves or meat offerings, symbolic roof beams, or (for the visible circular head) depictions of the sun disk.
For other cones belonging to the same tomb owner see also: Res.72.331; Res. 72.332.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #610.
Left column text: "True Acquaintance of the King, His Beloved, Ibi, (son of?) the God's Father, God's Beloved Ankh-hor."
Right column text: "Chief Steward of the Divine Adoratrice, Ib(a)
Funerary cones were components of a frieze, inserted above the doors of private tombs, particularly in the Theban region. They have been variously interpreted as: name-plates of sorts to identify the tomb owner, decorative memorials, boundary markers for a tomb, dummy bread loaves or meat offerings, symbolic roof beams, or (for the visible circular head) depictions of the sun disk.
For other cones belonging to the same tomb owner see also: Res.72.331; Res. 72.332.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #610.
ProvenanceBy 1836: Robert Hay Collection, Linplum, Scotland; 1863: to his son, Robert James Alexander Hay; 1868-1872: Way Collection, Boston (purchased by Samuel A. Way through London dealers Rollin and Feuardent, 27 Haymarket); 1872: given to the MFA by Samuel's son, C. Granville Way.
(Accession date: June 28, 1872)
(Accession date: June 28, 1872)