Egyptian. <em>Stela of Two Deified Men(?)</em>, late 1st century B.C.E.–early 1st century C.E. Sandstone, 34 5/16 x 31 7/16 x 4 5/16 in. (87.2 x 79.9 x 10.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 76.8. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.76.8_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

Egyptian. Stela of Two Deified Men(?), late 1st century B.C.E.–early 1st century C.E. Sandstone, 34 5/16 x 31 7/16 x 4 5/16 in. (87.2 x 79.9 x 10.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 76.8. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.76.8_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Stela of Two Deified Men(?)

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

The small figure in the lower right is a pharaoh offering to four small Egyptian deities and two large figures holding bows and signs of life, probably deified humans. It has been suggested they are the brothers Pedisi and Pihor, Nubian princes deified after death. They were the major focus of the cult in the Temple of Dendur, a site in lower Nubia where Egyptian deities were also worshiped. The Dendur Temple was built between 23 and 10 B.C., when Egypt controlled lower Nubia and the Emperor Augustus was pharaoh of Egypt.

The style of the stela's figures, their facial features, and the bold carving and heavy forms are related to many works in Egypt of late Ptolemaic (first century B.C.) and Roman times. However, this style is also found in contemporary works from Egyptian-controlled lower Nubia, and the stela is of Nubian sandstone.

CULTURES Egyptian; Nubian

MEDIUM Sandstone

Possible Place Collected: Northern region, Egypt

DATES late 1st century B.C.E.–early 1st century C.E.

PERIOD Roman Period

DIMENSIONS 34 5/16 x 31 7/16 x 4 5/16 in. (87.2 x 79.9 x 10.9 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 76.8

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Large, round-topped sandstone stela with nine figures in raised relief. Condition: Scratch, six inches long, at lower left side. Old chips around bottom, upper left, and lower and upper right; diagonal crack from upper left edge to top, just right of center closed with gray cement to which many small pieces and chips have been reattached. Surface discolored; attached iron plate rusting; surface pitted.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view on the 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Egyptian. Stela of Two Deified Men(?), late 1st century B.C.E.–early 1st century C.E. Sandstone, 34 5/16 x 31 7/16 x 4 5/16 in. (87.2 x 79.9 x 10.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 76.8. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.76.8_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.76.8_NegA_print_bw.jpg.

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.