Stele of Shemai
Unknown Artist
c. 1960–1916 BCE
Medium
painted limestone
Dimensions
83.5 × 86 × 23 cm
Classification
Funerary Equipment
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Edward S. Harkness
Accession Number
1921.1017
About this artwork
Two techniques of relief carving are employed here: the scene of the deceased seated before a table of offerings and its accompanying inscriptions are in raised relief, while the border inscriptions are in sunk relief. The three columns of hieroglyphs in the center read: "The one honored before Osiris, lord of Busiris, the great god, lord of Abydos, that he [the god] may give invocation-offerings of bread and beer, oxen and fowl, travertine [vases] and clothing to the ka [vital spirit] of the ch...