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Funerary cone of Heby
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III
1390–1352 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Pottery
Dimensions
Height x diameter: 5.7 x 7.9 cm (2 1/4 x 3 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Hay Collection—Gift of C. Granville Way
Accession NumberRES.72.293
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
Catalogue Raisonné
Davies & MacAdam 15
DescriptionFunerary cone fragment of reddish clay with portion of tapering cone end broken off and missing; faint traces of red wash/paint. Circular stamp on head end carries five divided columns of hieroglyphic text identifying the owner.
Translation of text:
One Honored by Osiris
Scribe of Cattle Accounting of Amen through the Nomes of Upper & Lower Egypt
Heby, True-of-Voice, son of the Scribe of Cattle
Accounting of Amen, Senmes, True-of-Voice
Born of the Lady of the House Rui
Transliteration:
ImAxy xr Wsir
sS Hsb-iHw n Imn xt xt spAwt Smaw mHw
Hby mAa xrw sA sS
Hsb-iHw n Imn sn-ms mAa xrw
ms n nbt-pr Rwi
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.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #15.
For other examples of this tomb owner see: Res.72.315; Res.72.317.
Translation of text:
One Honored by Osiris
Scribe of Cattle Accounting of Amen through the Nomes of Upper & Lower Egypt
Heby, True-of-Voice, son of the Scribe of Cattle
Accounting of Amen, Senmes, True-of-Voice
Born of the Lady of the House Rui
Transliteration:
ImAxy xr Wsir
sS Hsb-iHw n Imn xt xt spAwt Smaw mHw
Hby mAa xrw sA sS
Hsb-iHw n Imn sn-ms mAa xrw
ms n nbt-pr Rwi
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.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #15.
For other examples of this tomb owner see: Res.72.315; Res.72.317.
ProvenanceProbably from Dra Abu el-Naga. By 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)