Egyptian stele. Heliopolis, Egypt. Dynasty XIX (New Empire), XIII-XII century BC.

Egyptian stele. Heliopolis, Egypt. Dynasty XIX (New Empire), XIII-XII century BC.
Limestone.
Provenance: Collection of the Danish envoy and consul general Hans Poul Hoffmeyer (1893-1962); subsequently handed down by inheritance to the present day.
Piece studied and translated by Olivier Perdu (Amiens, 1952), Egyptologist and professor at the Collège de France.
Measurements: 46 × 30 × 9 cm.

We are before a funerary or votive stele of great quality that reflects in an exemplary way the religiosity of the Egypt of the New Empire, during the XIXth Dynasty, period of splendor under pharaohs like Seti I or Ramses II. From Heliopolis, the main center of the solar cult, the piece is articulated around an iconography deeply linked to Ra. In the upper register Ra-Horajti is represented next to Mnevis (Nem-wer), the sacred bull considered a living manifestation of the solar god, identifiable by the solar disk between its horns.

The composition follows the classical arrangement in registers: the upper one, reserved for the divine realm, and the lower one, dedicated to the human world. In the latter appears the owner, the pure priest (wab) Neeferaabet, in an attitude of adoration, accompanied by his family, in a scene conceived to ensure divine protection and the survival of the lineage. This type of representation illustrates the development of a more personal religiosity, beyond the strictly royal or Templar sphere.

Executed in incised relief, a technique characteristic of the period, the stele presents an excellent legibility of figures and hieroglyphs thanks to the play of light on the limestone. The compositional clarity and the quality of the stroke are evidence of an experienced workshop within the tradition of the New Empire.

The piece has been studied by the Egyptologist Olivier Perdu, which reinforces its academic interest and allows to accurately contextualize the character represented. Overall, it constitutes a significant testimony of the direct relationship between the individual and the solar divinities in one of the main religious centers of ancient Egypt.