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Funerary cone of Pawah
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–20
1550–1070 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Pottery
Dimensions
Height x diameter: 3.8 x 8.9 cm (1 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Hay Collection—Gift of C. Granville Way
Accession Number72.1808
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
Catalogue Raisonné
Davies & MacAdam 117
DescriptionFunerary cone fragment of reddish clay with majority of tapering cone element broken off and missing. Circular stamp on opposite end with four columns of hieroglyphic text identifying the owner. Small fragment broken off from upper left edge, affecting very small portin of the stamped impression.
Translation of text:
"A boon/blessing which the king gives (and) Osiris,
Ruler of Eternity, Great God, Lord of the West acting on behalf of(?)
the Scribe Pawah (and)
his sister Henutwedjbu"
Transliteration:
Htp-di-nsw Wsir
HqA-Dt nTr aA nbt imnt ir.n
sS PA-WAH
sn.t.f Hnwt-wDbw
Funerary cones were components of a frieze, inserted above the doors of private tombs, particularly in the Theban region. They have been variously interpreted as: name-plates of sorts to identify the tomb owner, decorative memorials, boundary markers for a tomb, dummy bread loaves or meat offerings, symbolic roof beams, or (for the visible circular head) depictions of the sun disk.
For another example of this tomb owner see: 72.1794.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #117.
Translation of text:
"A boon/blessing which the king gives (and) Osiris,
Ruler of Eternity, Great God, Lord of the West acting on behalf of(?)
the Scribe Pawah (and)
his sister Henutwedjbu"
Transliteration:
Htp-di-nsw Wsir
HqA-Dt nTr aA nbt imnt ir.n
sS PA-WAH
sn.t.f Hnwt-wDbw
Funerary cones were components of a frieze, inserted above the doors of private tombs, particularly in the Theban region. They have been variously interpreted as: name-plates of sorts to identify the tomb owner, decorative memorials, boundary markers for a tomb, dummy bread loaves or meat offerings, symbolic roof beams, or (for the visible circular head) depictions of the sun disk.
For another example of this tomb owner see: 72.1794.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #117.
ProvenanceBy 1836: Robert Hay Collection, Linplum, Scotland; 1863: to his son, Robert James Alexander Hay; 1868-1872: Way Collection, Boston (purchased by Samuel A. Way through London dealers Rollin and Feuardent, 27 Haymarket); 1872: given to the MFA by Samuel's son, C. Granville Way.
(Accession Date: June 28, 1872)
(Accession Date: June 28, 1872)