stela;
architrave
- Museum number
- EA682
- Description
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Limestone false-door and architrave of Ptahshepses: the architrave, which is carved in fine, detailed, sunk relief, contains five lines of text consisting of standard invocation-formulae to Osiris and Anubis. The false door consists of the false door proper with two lines of text on each side containing the titles of Ptahshepses, flanked on both sides by panelled walls carrying the biographical inscription of Ptahshepses in which he describes his birth in the time of Mycerinus, his marriage to Khamaat, a princess and daughter, probably, of Shepseskaf, and his career under four further kings, continuing down, probably, to Nyuserre of the Fifth Dynasty. All the texts on the false door are carved in good sunk relief, very sharply cut. On each side of the door is a long panel bearing representations of food-offerings, carved in fine low relief. The architrave is complete and in good condition. The false door is generally in good condition apart from a few small places where the surface is rubbed. The false door was painted a mottled pink to simulate granite and most of this colour remains. The hieroglyphs were painted green. On the side panels many of the vessels and parts of other objects were painted red; traces of green remain on some of the vegetables and floral offerings. No other colour can now be discerned. There is no colour on the architrave.
- Dimensions
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Height: 366 centimetres (in total)
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Width: 417 centimetres (architrave)
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Width: 357 centimetres (false door)
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
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A fragment of the false door is stored in the Oriental Institute of Chicago (OIM 11048), see P. F. Dorman, in: JEA 88 (2002), 95–110.
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Bibliography.
B. Porter & R. Moss, 'Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings' III [2] (2nd ed.), Oxford (Clarendon Press), p. 464;
of the biographical part of the text there is a translation in J. H. Breasted, 'Ancient records of Egypt : historical documents from the earliest times to the Persian conquest' I (Chicago, 1906), pp. 115 f, or C. Maystre, 'Les grands pretres de Ptah de Memphis' (OBO 113): p.226-231; Strudwick, Texts from the pyramid age (Atlanta 2005), no. 226 (pp. 303-305).
Nicholson and Shaw, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology (Cambridge 2000), p. 42;
N. Strudwick, Masterpieces of Ancient Egypt, London 2006, pp. 54-5.
R. Gundacker, Die (Auto)Biographie des Schepsesptah von Saqqarah, LingAeg 23 (2015), 61-105.
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PM III (2): 464
- Location
- On display (G4/B24)
- Condition
- The architrave is complete and in good condition. The false door is generally in good condition apart from a few small places where the surface is rubbed.
- Associated objects
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cast (EA90889,a)
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cast (EA90889,b)
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cast (EA90889,c)
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cast (EA90889,d)
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cast (EA90889,e)
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cast (EA90889,f)
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cast (EA90889,g)
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cast (EA90889,h)
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cast (EA90889,i)
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cast (EA90889,j)
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cast (EA90889,k)
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cast (EA90889,l)
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cast (EA90889,m)
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cast (EA90889,n)
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cast (EA90889,o)
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cast (EA90889,p)
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cast (EA90889,q)
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cast (EA90889,r)
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cast (EA90889,s)
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cast (EA90889,t)
- Acquisition date
- 1897
- Department
- Egypt and Sudan
- BM/Big number
- EA682
- Registration number
- 1897,0511.231-232
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: BS.682 (Birch Slip Number)
