#offering bearer

[samiaelsaid]

image depicts a detail from a parade of offering bearers within the Mastaba of Ti (also spelled Ty) in the Saqqara Necropolis. Ti was a high-ranking royal official and architect who lived during the 5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (c. 2494–2345 BC).Key Features of the ReliefSymbolism: These figures represent personifications of Ti's various agricultural estates, bringing tribute to ensure he would have eternal abundance in the afterlife.Detailed Offerings:The central woman carries a basket of food (possibly bread or fruit) on her head and cradles a young antelope or ibex in her arm.The woman on the left carries a heavy basket on her head and holds a goose.Inscriptions: Hieroglyphs accompanying such figures typically identify them, with one specific woman's text reading "The field of the estate of Ti".

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[themuseumwithoutwalls]

MWW Artwork of the Day (11/30/16) Twelfth Dynasty (Egyptian, 1991-1802 BCE) Offering Bearer (c. 1981–1975 BCE)   Wood, gesso & paint, 112 x 16.5 x 46.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Rogers Fund)

This masterpiece of Egyptian wood carving was discovered in a hidden chamber at the side of the passage leading into the rock cut tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, who began his career under King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II of Dynasty 11 and continued to serve successive kings into the early years of Dynasty 12. Together with a second, very similar female figure (now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo) this statue flanked the group of twenty two models of gardens, workshops, boats, and a funeral procession that were crammed into the chamber's narrow space.

Striding forward with her left leg, the woman carries on her head a basket filled with cuts of meat. In her right hand she holds a live duck by its wings. The figure's iconography is well known from reliefs of the Old Kingdom in which rows of offering bearers were depicted. Place names were often written beside these figures identifying them as personifications of estates that would provide sustenance for the spirit of the tomb owner in perpetuity. The woman is richly adorned with jewelry and wears a dress decorated with a pattern of feathers, the kind of garment often associated with goddesses. Thus, this figure and its companion in Cairo may also be associated with the funerary goddesses Isis and Nephthys who are often depicted at the foot and head of coffins, protecting the deceased.

(from the MMA catalog)

For more Ancient Egyptian art, see this MWW Special Collection: * MWW Ancient/Medieval Gallery

[deathandmysticism]

Harry Burton, Offering Bearer at a hidden chamber connected to the tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, Egypt, 1920

[archaicwonder]

Statue of an Offering Bearer, c. 1981–1975 BC, Early Reign of Amenemhat I, Dynasty 12, Middle Kingdom

From Upper Egypt; Thebes, Southern Asasif, Tomb of Meketre

The offering bearer was discovered in a hidden chamber connected to the tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, who began his career under King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II of Dynasty 11 and continued to serve successive kings into the early years of Dynasty 12.

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[todayindresshistory]

artist unknown, Offering Bearer, ca. 1981-1975 bce, Dynasty 12, Egypt, reign of Amenemhat I, wood, gesso, paint, Metropolitan Museum of Art

94 years ago, in early 1920, Herbert Winlock lead a team to clean out the debris in the oft-plundered tomb of Meketre, the royal chief steward of a line of kings in Dynasty 11 and Dynasty 12. The workmen soon discovered a small, hidden chamber housing a number of models and two statues, the one seen above and another now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The garments of this statue at first appear to be the traditional costume of the time: a long, tight dress and tripartite wig, along with bracelets and anklets. However, the dress displays a feather pattern often associated with goddesses, possibly linking the bearer to the funerary goddesses Isis and Nephthys. At this time females were depicted with straight arms and legs, making it notable that this figure stands with her left foot forward in a pose traditionally reserved for males. She holds on her head a basket of cut meats and in her other hand a live duck. This iconography points to the figure being a personification of an agricultural estate or farm, placed in the tomb to provide the deceased with sustenance in the after life. Thanks to the arid conditions in Egypt amenable to the preservation of artifacts, all paint on the piece is original and it has never been restored.

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[artemisdreaming]

 Offering bearer from the pyramid temple of Senwosret I

Painted limestone Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret I ca. 1961-1917 B.C. From the offering chamber of the pyramid temple of Senwosret I, Lisht

Senwosret I's pyramid temple culminated in a chamber that was dominated by depictions of offering bearers and piled offerings. At the west end of the room, directly in front of the pyramid, was a large false door through which the king's spirit was thought to magically enter the chamber. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC  ggnyc  Full size: Here