Antiquity · Art Institute of Chicago · 64318
Relief Fragment Depicting Merettetiiyet with Offerings
Egyptian; offering niche of Merettetiiyet, Teti Pyramid Cemetery, Saqqara, Egypt, First Intermediate Period, Dynasty 10, about 2050 BCE
Art Institute of Chicago · W. Moses Willner Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Egyptian; offering niche of Merettetiiyet, Teti Pyramid Cemetery, Saqqara, Egypt
- Date
- First Intermediate Period, Dynasty 10, about 2050 BCE
- Medium
- Limestone
- Dimensions
- 71.1 × 61 × 14 cm (28 × 24 × 5 1/2 in.)
- Era
- Antiquity
Why it matters
This pair of panels (along with 1910.223 ) was part of a painted offering niche designed for a woman named Meret-Teti-iyet. The fragmentary upper scenes depict people bringing offerings to sustain her in the afterlife. Meret-Teti-iyet sits behind piles of food at the bottom of each panel, facing approaching visitors. On the other panel, she holds a closed lotus blossom on her lap; on this one, she sniffs an open lotus flower. The lotus, which opens with the rising sun and sinks beneath the water at night, was a symbol of renewal and rebirth in ancient Egypt.