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Carrying chair of Queen Hetepheres I

Two pieces of furniture belonging to Queen Hetepheres I: carrying chair restored with modern wood and ancient gold, and rilled cane (staff) consisting of four parts (modern wood) joined together, covered with gold foil and thin fragments of silver.

Details

  • ID
    GEM_6362
  • Department
    Grand Egyptian Museum
  • Classification
    Furniture
  • Findspot
    G 7000 X
  • Material
    Wood (modern); Gold; Silver
  • Dimensions
    Chair: 56.6 x 64.0 x 207.5 cm; cane: total L 1.69 m
  • Credit Line
    Grand Egyptian Museum
  • Journal d'Entree number
    EMC_JE_52372
  • Journal d'Entree number
    EMC_JE_89619A
  • Journal d'Entree number
    EMC_JE_89619B
  • Cairo Special Register number
    EMC_SR_1/10075
  • Cairo Special Register number
    EMC_SR_1/14598
  • Period
    Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reign of Khufu
  • Owner
    Hetepheres I (G 7000 X)
  • Excavator
    George Andrew Reisner, American, 1867–1942
  • Notes
    From excavations of George Reisner, March 1925. It is unclear whether GEM number GEM_6362 in meant to include both the chair and the cane; description in GEM records does not mention the cane, however it is included in the object photograph and its original JE number (EMC_JE_89619A-B) is listed in the alternate numbers field. A large portion of Special Register section 7 (volumes 13-16) was originally misnumbered, with the object numbers following in sequence from section 1 volume 4; these numbers have thus been given EMC_SR_1 prefixes, despite being recorded in section 7.
  • Remarks
    RELATED CONSTITUENT(S): George Reisner; Hetepheres; ALTERNATE NUMBER(S): EMC_JE_52372; EMC_JE_89619B; EMC_SR_1.10075; EMC_SR_1.14598

Tombs and Monuments 1

Published Documents 2

Full Bibliography

  • Manuelian, Peter Der. " The Lost Throne of Queen Hetepheres from Giza: An Archaeological Experiment in Visualization and Fabrication."Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 53 (2017), pp. 4, 25, figure 9.

    Reisner, George A., and William Stevenson Smith. A History of the Giza Necropolis. Vol. 2, The Tomb of Hetep-Heres the Mother of Cheops: A Study of Egyptian Civilization in the Old Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955, pp. 33-4 pls. 27-9, fig. 34.

    Smith, William Stevenson. “The Old Kingdom in Egypt,” The Cambridge Ancient History, rev. ed. of vols. I & II, Cambridge University Press, 1962, p. 26.

People 2

Ancient People

  • Hetepheres I (G 7000 X)

    • Type Owner
    • Remarks Wife of King Snefru, founder of Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty, and mother of King Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid. Her burial was hidden in a secret chamber (labeled G 7000 X) nearly 90 feet underground, and contained beautiful pieces of gilded and inlaid wooden furniture, silver jewelry, and a large alabaster sarcophagus that was found to be mysteriously empty.

Modern People

  • George Andrew Reisner

    • Type Excavator
    • Nationality & Dates American, 1867–1942
    • Remarks Egyptologist, archaeologist; Referred to as "the doctor" and "mudir" (Arabic for "director") in the excavation records. Nationality and life dates from Who was Who in Egyptology.