EGYPTIAN FUNERARY CONES OF AMENHOTEP SON OF HAPU

Ca. 1360 BC. 18th dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III. A pair of orange-brown Nile silt funerary cones. They are formed of undecorated, roughly conical forms, each with a flat surface that contains five vertical columns of hieroglyphic text in Middle Egyptian, identical on each cone: imAxy xr Wsir iry-pat Imn-Htp Dd n=f Hwy pn Dar m rk tA irn.n sAb Hpw "The revered one under Osiris, the nobleman Amenhotep who is called Huy, celebrated throughout the land, born of the dignitary Hapu." These come from the façade of Amenhotep's tomb in Qurnet Murai, a necropolis at Thebes. Amenhotep son of Hapu was an exceptionally important figure in Egyptian history and thought; he was a philosopher who became so renowned for his wisdom and teachings that he was posthumously deified, one of very few commoners in all of Egyptian history to receive this honour and one of only two to receive it on a large and enduring scale (the other being the architect of the first pyramid, Imhotep). As a deity he became a god of healing, due to his knowledge and wisdom in life, and he was also prayed to in Thebes as an intermediary with the god Amun, transmitting the prayers of those too lowly to seek an audience with Amun himself. Funerary cones like these were typically made for the Theban necropolises, and they were placed above the entrance to the tomb, although their exact function is still unclear; they may have been used as offerings, spells, architectural features, or even as a sort of passport into the necropolis. Size: L:Set of 2: 140 - 145mm / W:65 - 75mm ; 700g. From a London private family collection; formerly acquired on the UK art market in the 1960s - 1970s; thence by descent.