Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

Relief Fragment Depicting Meret-Teti-iyet with Offerings

A work made of limestone.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of limestone.

Date:

First Intermediate Period, Dynasty 10, about 2025 BCE

Artist:

Egyptian; offering niche of Meret-Teti-iyet, Teti Pyramid Cemetery, Saqqara, Egypt

About this artwork

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.

Status

On View, Gallery 50

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Title

Relief Fragment Depicting Meret-Teti-iyet with Offerings

Place

Saqqara (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

2060 BCE–2025 BCE

Medium

Limestone

Inscriptions

Main Inscription: "The one who is revered before Anubis who is upon his mountain, Meret-Teti-iyet"; Above Man: "A thousand of bread, a thousand of beer, a thousand of oxen, a thousand of fowl, a thousand of alabaster, a thousand of clothing"

Dimensions

71.1 × 61 × 14 cm (28 × 24 × 5 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

W. Moses Willner Fund

Reference Number

1910.224

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/64318/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share