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Funerary cone Amenemhat
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–20
1550–1070 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Pottery
Dimensions
Height x diameter.: 4.4 x 9.5 cm (1 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Hay Collection—Gift of C. Granville Way
Accession NumberRES.72.335
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
Catalogue Raisonné
Davies & MacAdam 598
DescriptionFunerary cone of reddish clay with tapering cone element broken off and missing. Rectangular stamp applied to the head shows two columns of hieroglyphic text flanked by kneeling male figures with arms raised in a pose of adoration; topped by a solar bark. Text of the impression identifies the owner, with each column carrying the same inscription oriented to oppose the other. Appears to read: "Steward, Attendant of the Divine Adoratrice, Amenemhat" (imy-r pr imy-xt n dwAt-nTr Imn-m-HAt). Head also retains substantial remnants of a white wash/ground.
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 of this owner see: Res.72.333; Res.72.334; 72.1815 .
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #589.
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 of this owner see: Res.72.333; Res.72.334; 72.1815 .
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #589.
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)