Phoenix Art Pieces: Egyptian Limestone Funeral Relief

Here is the next installment of our series looking at some of our pieces and the incredible stories behind them.

What a story this limestone fragment tells! The rectangular funereal piece is in good condition and includes figures represented in very low relief, and richly embellished with a variety of pigments. While the image still retains parts of two registers, it is unfortunately incomplete. The upper scene shows a large offering table set for a feast and delineated by a green border. On the left is the suspended body of a plucked bird.

The bottom scene depicts three women. One is a little girl, the daughter of the tomb’s owner. The two other women are each dressed in long white robes, and hold flowering stems of papyrus, a plant known for its aphrodisiac powers. Coupled with an inscription that reads “his beloved”, one can infer that the women were concubines of the tomb’s owner. These women are most likely concubines of the deceased.