Senenu Grinding Grain
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Object Label
The royal scribe Senenu appears here bent over a large grinding stone. This unusual sculpture seems to be an elaborate version of a shabti, a funerary figurine placed in the tomb to work in place of the deceased in the hereafter. The hieroglyphic text included Senenu's claim to a blessed afterlife by virtue of his proper behavior toward the king and gods.
Caption
Senenu Grinding Grain, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. or ca. 1322–1319 B.C.E. or ca. 1319–1292 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 7 1/16 × 3 1/8 × 7 9/16 in. (18 × 8 × 19.2 cm) mount: 7 × 7 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (17.8 × 19.1 × 10.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.120E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.120E_top_PS22.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Senenu Grinding Grain
Date
ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. or ca. 1322–1319 B.C.E. or ca. 1319–1292 B.C.E.
Dynasty
late Dynasty 18
Period
New Kingdom
Geography
Reportedly from: Thebes, Egypt
Medium
Limestone, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
7 1/16 × 3 1/8 × 7 9/16 in. (18 × 8 × 19.2 cm) mount: 7 × 7 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (17.8 × 19.1 × 10.8 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
37.120E
Rights
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.
Frequent Art Questions
What is the term that describes the kind of pictorial writing found on these statues?
In general, the writing on the pieces you'll see in the galleries can all be referred to as Egyptian hieroglyphs or simply hieroglyphs, the writing system used in ancient Egypt.
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