Asset number
602401001
Description
Ivory label for a sandal: It is well-preserved and restored from three fragments, with a hole for attachment at the top right-hand corner. The two lower corners have been cut off at an angle. On the front surface is an incised scene showing the king Den with an upraised mace, about to strike a captive. The king's name is written before him, in the centre of the top of the label. He wears a bull's tail, symbolic of fertility and ferocious power. Instead of a crown, however, Den wears an archaic version of a royal headcloth, with the rearing neck and head of a royal uraeus cobra at his forehead. That the enemy is an Easterner is indicated by his long locks and pointed beard, which resemble those on later depictions of Asiatic foes. On the right is the standard of Wepwawet and an inscription. Behind the figure of the king are three signs giving the name of the official Inka. The reverse side of the label bears an incised picture of a pair of sandals, indicating the type of object to which the label was attached.
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