Stela of Pepy
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
Many stelae discovered at Abydos were originally left in tombs with other items intended to help the deceased achieve immortality. British archaeologists working there early in the twentieth century found this stela of a man called Pepy—a traditional name—in a Middle Kingdom tomb. Although the text reveals little about Pepy, a streak of individualism seems to have run through his household: of the eleven relatives and servants depicted here, five have names that appear in no other works from more than three thousand years of Egyptian history.
MEDIUM
Limestone
DATES
ca. 1836–1700 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
late Dynasty 12 to early Dynasty 13
PERIOD
Middle Kingdom
DIMENSIONS
14 x 8 3/4 x 5 in. (35.6 x 22.2 x 12.7 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
12.911.1
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society
PROVENANCE
Tomb S201 at Abydos, Egypt; 1911-1912, excavated by Édouard Naville and Thomas Eric Peet for the Egypt Exploration Society; 1912, gift of the Egypt Exploration Society to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
CAPTION
Stela of Pepy, ca. 1836–1700 B.C.E. Limestone, 14 x 8 3/4 x 5 in. (35.6 x 22.2 x 12.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 12.911.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.911.1_PS9.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 12.911.1_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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