Relief of Amenemhat I


Reused Relief of Amenemhat I
Dynasty 12, ca. 1991-1962 BCE
Painted Limestone, From Lisht, North Pyramid, MMA
H. 14 1/2 in. (37 cm), W. 68 in. (173 cm), Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.200.5)

(From info card)
"The reliefs in this gallery were discovered in the foundations of the funerary temple of Amenemhat I at Lisht. Most of them bear his name, sometimes with that of his son and co-regent, Senwosret I. Because of their protected location many of the blocks are complete, and the colors are still fresh; several sculptural styles are represented. The site and buildings from which the blocks were taken have not been identified, but possibly they all derive from an earlier funerary temple at Lisht."

(From museum website
"King Amenemhat I is shown celebrating his sed festival or jubilee. He is flanked by the gods Anubis with a jackal head (in front) and Horus with a falcon head (behind), both of whom offer him the ankh, or symbol of life. At the left of the block stands the goddess Nekhbet of Upper Egypt and on the right the goddess Wadjet of Lower Egypt. The king wears a tightly curled wig with the uraeus on his brow and the false beard of kingship. He carries the flail and a ceremonial instrument. The low-relief carving is delicate and rich in detail; in style, it is transitional between the Theban reliefs of Dynasty 11 (07.230.2) and that of the Memphite school, which would become the classical style of the Middle Kingdom."

Above them all is the pet hieroglyph for 'sky'. Two Was-scepters hold up the sky. Amenemhat is receiving the blessings of the deities of Upper Egypt (Nekhbet, Anubis) and Lower Egypt (Wadjet, Horus).

Usually, it is Set giving the Upper Egypt blessing, but here it is Anubis:

"Seth and Anubis have complex and interrelated functions. Both deities have, from very early times, close associations with kingship. Apart from frequent statements in the Pyramid Texts that the king takes on the form of Anubis or Upwawet or more generally assumes the shape of a jackel, there the pharoah is clearly identified both with Horus and with Seth." (From "Seth and the Jackals", by Terence DuQuesne, in _Egyptian Religion_)


Detail showing Wadjet and Anubis... Note the Wadj-scepter, which represents a stylized papyrus.
Wadjet's name may mean 'the green or fresh one,' or 'she of the papyrus.'
According to one of the Pyramid Texts, she was responsible for creating the papyrus swamps.)


Detail showing Nekhbet and Horus (note the vulture head in the uraeus position) ...


Detail showing Amenemhat


Amenemhat's cartouches... (Se-hotep-ab-Ra ="pleased is the heart of Ra")


See Fragment of Lintel Block of Amenemhat I at MFA