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Funerary cone of Baki and Mereryt
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–20
1550–1070 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Pottery
Dimensions
Length x diameter: 8.8 x 6.8 cm (3 7/16 x 2 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Hay Collection—Gift of C. Granville Way
Accession NumberRES.72.291
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
Catalogue Raisonné
Davies & MacAdam 600
DescriptionFunerary cone fragment of reddish clay with portion of tapering cone end broken off and missing. Circular stamp on head end shows two central seated figures (male and female) with a circular band of hieroglyphs surrounding, identifying the owners as "Wab-priest of Maat of the Vizier, Baki, True-of-Voice and his sister, Lady of the House Mereryt" (wab n MAat n TAty BAki MAa xrw snt.f nbt-pr Mrryt).
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 examples of this tomb owner see also: 72.1784; Res.72.292
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #600.
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 examples of this tomb owner see also: 72.1784; Res.72.292
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #600.
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)