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Relief of Nofer
Egyptian
Old Kingdom, Dyn. 4, reigns of Khufu to Khafra
2551–2494 B.C.
Findspot: Egypt, Giza, Tomb G 2110
Medium/Technique
Limestone
Dimensions
Overall: 95 x 109.5 cm, 362.9 kg (37 3/8 x 43 1/8 in., 800.05 lb.)
Case (Painted wooden case with plex bonnet): 122.2 x 30.5 x 129.5 cm (48 1/8 x 12 x 51 in.)
Case (Plex-bonnet): 130.2 x 152.7 x 21 cm (51 1/4 x 60 1/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
Case (Painted wooden case with plex bonnet): 122.2 x 30.5 x 129.5 cm (48 1/8 x 12 x 51 in.)
Case (Plex-bonnet): 130.2 x 152.7 x 21 cm (51 1/4 x 60 1/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number07.1002
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements – Relief
DescriptionWe may not know exactly what Nofer looked like, but we can be sure that he had a large aquiline nose. This aspect is featured prominently on the north doorjamb from his chapel as well as on the reserve head found at the bottom of the tomb's shaft. The scale with which Nofer is represented on the walls - three times bigger than other figures - and the fourteen different offices enumerated there demonstrate that he was a prominent official in Dynasty 4. Among his titles, both real and honorary, were overseer of the treasury, overseer of the king's regalia, overseer of the arsenal, secretary of all the secrets of the king, estate manager, and royal scribe.
The exquisitely carved relief figure of Nofer on the doorjamb exhibits the traditional combination of profile and frontal views. Subtle modeling calls attention to the area under the eye and the bridge of the nose. Each individual curl of the wig is cut with precision. He wears a conventional kilt and holds a walking stick and baton of office as he faces out from inside the tomb toward the entrance. A row of scribes carrying the tools of their trade face into the tomb to meet him.
George Reisner was not the first to enter Nofer's tomb in modern times when he excavated it in 1905. August Mariette, the first director of antiquities, found the tomb in 1857, and in the following year he presented the other (southern) doorjamb of the tomb chapel to the viceroy of Egypt, who, in turn, presented it to Prince Napoleon of France. From there it entered another French collection before it was purchased by the Louvre in 1868. Other relief-decorated blocks were plundered from the tomb prior to the MFA excavations and are currently in Rome, Copenhagen, and Birmingham (England).
The exquisitely carved relief figure of Nofer on the doorjamb exhibits the traditional combination of profile and frontal views. Subtle modeling calls attention to the area under the eye and the bridge of the nose. Each individual curl of the wig is cut with precision. He wears a conventional kilt and holds a walking stick and baton of office as he faces out from inside the tomb toward the entrance. A row of scribes carrying the tools of their trade face into the tomb to meet him.
George Reisner was not the first to enter Nofer's tomb in modern times when he excavated it in 1905. August Mariette, the first director of antiquities, found the tomb in 1857, and in the following year he presented the other (southern) doorjamb of the tomb chapel to the viceroy of Egypt, who, in turn, presented it to Prince Napoleon of France. From there it entered another French collection before it was purchased by the Louvre in 1868. Other relief-decorated blocks were plundered from the tomb prior to the MFA excavations and are currently in Rome, Copenhagen, and Birmingham (England).
ProvenanceFrom Giza, tomb G 2110. August, 1907: excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; 1907: assigned to the MFA by the government of Egypt. Imp. 205.
(Accession Date: August 1, 1907)
(Accession Date: August 1, 1907)