Antiquity · Art Institute of Chicago · 12985
Fragment of a Stela of Neferhotep
Egyptian; probably Theban Tomb 216, Deir el-Medina, Egypt, New Kingdom, mid-Dynasty 19, about 1240-1195 BCE
Art Institute of Chicago · Lois H. Culver Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Egyptian; probably Theban Tomb 216, Deir el-Medina, Egypt
- Date
- New Kingdom, mid-Dynasty 19, about 1240-1195 BCE
- Medium
- Limestone and pigment
- Dimensions
- 38.5 × 23.8 × 5.8 cm (15 × 9 3/8 × 2 3/8 in.)
- Era
- Antiquity
Why it matters
The hieroglyphs at the top of this stela (commemorative stone) fragment help identify the man depicted as Neferhotep, a foreman of the workers who built and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Neferhotep, who is finely dressed in pleated white garments, raises his hands before him in a gesture of adoration toward the deity, who would have been depicted in the upper portion of the stone. Stelae such as this one allowed nonroyal Egyptians to demonstrate their devotion to the gods.