Obelisk
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
An obelisk, a tapered shaft with a pyramidal top, symbolized the sun god. It was also an important symbol of eternity in ancient Egypt, where huge stone obelisks were erected in temples. This small example, made for a tomb, may have held a papyrus scroll. The text painted on the sides names the gods of the dead.
MEDIUM
Wood, pigment
DATES
664–332 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Late Period (probably)
ACCESSION NUMBER
37.1723E
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
PROVENANCE
Archaeological provenance not yet documented, reportedly from Giza, Egypt; by 1852, collected in Egypt by Henry Abbott of Cairo, Egypt and New York, NY; 1859, purchased from Henry Abbott by the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; 1937, loaned by the New-York Historical Society to the Brooklyn Museum; September 1948, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.
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CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Painted wooden obelisk (a papyrus container, or reliquary?), a column of black hieroglyphics reading: '….Hpy ink sA-k wsir mn….'.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Obelisk, 664–332 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, Height: 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1723E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.1723E_view01_PS11.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 37.1723E_view01_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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