Nebhepetre Mentuhotep


Relief of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep
Reign of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep, Middle Kingdom, ca. 2040-2010 B.C.E.
Upper Egypt, Western Thebes
Gift of Egypt Exploration Fund, 1907 (07.230.2)

(Assembled from edits of both the info card and online info:
"King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep, often referred to as Mentuhotep II, was revered by the Egyptians as the ruler who reunited Egypt after an era of disunity known as the First Intermediate period. Mentuhotep II was the founder of the Middle Kingdom. He built his mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri in western Thebes, where this relief was uncovered. The delicately modeled low relief and the finely painted details demonstrate the high artistic standards that prevailed in the royal Theban workshops during this dynamic period in Egyptian history."

"In this scene on the exterior of the northern wall of the sanctuary, Mentuhotep II is seen wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt. The god Amun, to whom the sanctuary was dedicated late in the king's reign, addresses him by his various names and promises, 'I'll give you special endowments, more than (to) all your ancestors...'

"Behind the king is a fan indicating the pharoah's divinity and the words, 'May he be foremost (of)...' On the right stands the goddess Hathor who says, 'I have united for you the two lands according to the command of the spirits of Heliopolis?)...'

The figure of Hathor was hacked out during the iconoclastic Amarna Period and then recreated in gypsum plaster during post-Amarna times. Looking closely, one can still make out the impression of the piece of linen that was used to hold the plaster in place.


And here is the totality with badly damaged Hathor (as all of the plaster repair didn't last)