Stela of Tjenti and Nefret
Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, about 2540 BCE
Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
55.9 × 87.6 × 11.4 cm (22 × 34 1/2 × 4 1/2 in.)
Classification
Stelae
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
121737
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Seated on a cushioned chair, an official named Tjenti extends his hand toward a table covered in tall loaves of bread. His wife, Nefret, strikes a similar pose opposite him. Scenes depicting families around a table laden with food for the afterlife were a standard decoration in ancient Egyptian tombs for generations. Displayed in chapels where descendants gathered to remember the dead, these images were eternal family portraits, ensuring an afterlife populated with loved ones. Here, Tjenti and N...
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....