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Horus stela UC 16547

Limestone stela with frontal three-dimensional image of Horus on crocodiles. Upper parts of Horus except for the right arm are missing. There is a hieroglyphic inscription over the flat back and sides, and a series of two-dimensional figures of deities round the front of the base.

The inscription includes healing formulae well-known from other sources, and names the owner as Nefertememheb, pure-priest and lector of Ptah; a man of the same name and title is the owner of another Horus stela, preserved in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo (CG 9403, with profile depiction of Horus on the crocodiles). There is no information on the place or date of acquisition of either monument, but they may come from Memphis, the centre for the cults of Ptah and Nefertem (the name of the owner means 'Nefertem is in festival').

date: Ramesside Period or Third Intermediate Period ?

UC 16547

 

Discussion: Sternberg-el-Hotabi 1999: I, 38-39, with pl. 2, dating to Dynasty 19 by comparison with an unpublished Horus stela bearing the name of king Setnakht, first ruler of Dynasty 20, Egyptian Museum, Cairo, JE 60.273; if so, UC 16547 would be the earliest Horus stela with the three-dimensional frontal image of Horus, but it is difficult to assess this until the Setnakht example has been published (Sternberg notes that publication by L.Kakosy is in preparation)


 

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