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Limestone slab stela of Meretites

Object(s) photograph: Site: Giza; view: G 4140

Limestone slab stela of Meretites; female figure, wearing long wig and sheath dress, sits before table of bread loaves, facing her are registers containing lists of offerings, while further to right are compartments containing lists of linen and grain; executed in low relief [this stela is one of the finest examples of Dynasty 4 carving].

Details

  • ID
    MFAB_12.1510
  • Department
    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
  • Classification
    Architectural elements-Stelae
  • Findspot
    Mastaba G 4140
  • Material
    Limestone
  • Dimensions
    Height x width x depth: 51 x 82.5 x 8.3 cm (20 1/16 x 32 1/2 x 3 1/4 in.)
  • Credit Line
    Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
  • Object Ownership Information
    MFA
  • Period
    Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reign of Khufu
  • Date of Register Entry
    about 2575–2465 B.C.
  • Owner
    Meretites (G 4140)
  • Notes
    This object was excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, but was not recorded in any object register book. 1912: Excavated by the Harvard University–Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; 1912: assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Egypt. (Accession Date: December 5, 1912)

Tombs and Monuments 1

  • G 4140

    • Site Name Western Cemetery

Published Documents 6

Full Bibliography

  • Brovarski, Edward, and Ronald J. Leprohon. Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Loose-Leaf Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities. Mainz/Rhein: P. von Zabern, 1978, cat. 12.1510.

    D'Auria, Sue, Peter Lacovara, and Catharine H. Roehrig. Mummies & Magic: The Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1988, pp. 94-95, cat. 27.

    Freed, Rita E., Lawrence M. Berman, and Denise M. Doxey. Arts of Ancient Egypt. MFA Highlights. Boston: MFA Publications, 2003, p. 73.

    Jánosi, Peter. "Der Tote vor dem Opfertisch. Die Opferplatten von Giza. Besprechung des Buches Slab Stelae of the Giza Necropolis von Peter Der Manuelian." Sokar 10 (1. Halbjahr 2005), p. 19.

    Manuelian, Peter Der. Slab Stelae of the Giza Necropolis. Publications of the Pennsylvania–Yale Expedition to Egypt 7. New Haven and Philadelphia: Peabody Museum of Natural History of Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2003, pp. 24-25, pls. 23-24, p. 93, fig. 131.

    Mercer, Samuel A. B. The Pyramid Texts 4. 1st. ed. New York: Longmans, Green, 1952, p. 146, pl. 4.30.

    Reisner, George A. "Accessions to the Egyptian Department During 1914." Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 13, No. 76 (April 1915), p. 29.

    Reisner, George A. A History of the Giza Necropolis 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1942, pp. 64-65, 306, 460-62, fig. 280, pls. 46, 57a.

    Smith, William Stevenson. Ancient Egypt as Represented in the Museum of Fine Arts. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1942, pp. 31-32.

    Smith, William Stevenson. Ancient Egypt as Represented in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1960 (6th ed.), p. 34.

    Smith, William Stevenson. "The Coffin of Prince Min-Khaf." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 19 (1933), p. 151.

    Smith, William Stevenson. A History of Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom. London: Oxford University Press, 1946, p. 25, 159, 302.

    Smith, William Stevenson. "The Old Kingdom Linen List." Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 71 (1935), pp. 135, 143, 146, 147.

People 1

Ancient People

  • Meretites (G 4140)

    • Type Owner
    • Remarks Owner of G 4140. Limestone slab stela (MFA 12.1510) inscribed for Meretites, identified as [sAt nswt nt Xt=f] king's daughter of his body; found in situ on east face of G 4140.