Relief from the Tomb of Mereri, the Overseer of Priests and Keeper of the sacred Cattle First Intermediate Period, Dynasty 9, ca. 2100–2030 B.C.E. Northern Upper Egypt, Dendera (Dandara; Tentyra), Tomb of Mereri, Behind Temple of Hathor, EEF 1898 Limestone, H. 50 cm (19 11/16 in.); l. 44 cm (17 5/6 in.) Excavated by Flinders Petrie at Dendera in 1898, Gift of Egypt Exploration Fund, 1898 Met Museum #98.4.2f

(From Museum website: This stela is from the First Intermediate Period, just before the Middle Kingdom. "At the root of the decline in political cohesion were serious economic problems. The ancient Near East underwent climatic changes at this time, and Egypt became increasingly arid. Particularly low annual flooding of the Nile exacerbated the situation. Credit for the eventual recovery goes to local leaders, who dealt with the difficulties region by region and instituted new methods of irrigation." "Mereri's titles indicate he had roles of some importance in the cult of Hathor of Dendera, including responsibility for the clothing for attiring the cult image. He built a very large mud brick mastaba at the site. The eastern facade had a single register autobiographical frieze as a cornice. The entrance, surmounted by an inscribed architrave, led via a passage decorated with relief into a long rectangular room where there were thirteen niches with stelae. The owner's false door was located in an inner offering room. From the north side of the mastaba an entrance accessed the burial chamber through a vaulted tunnel. This fragment depicts Mereri himself holding his staff and a scepter. It is thought to have been placed in the passage leading into the first chamber, probably belonging with two registers of cattle being led into the tomb."