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Funerary cone of Tjay
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 19–20
1295–1070 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Pottery
Dimensions
Height x diameter.: 4.1 x 8.9 cm (1 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Hay Collection—Gift of C. Granville Way
Accession NumberRES.72.298
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
Catalogue Raisonné
Davies & MacAdam 311
DescriptionFunerary cone fragment of buff clay with tapering cone element broken off and missing. Circular head end carries two identical impressions of oval stamps, each of two divided columns of hieroglyphic text that carry an offering formula for the owner; somewhat worn and indistinct with two fragments broken away from upper right and lower left extremes.
Translation of text:
"An offering which the king gives (to) Osiris, Lord of Eternity, Ruler of Infinity
who made the heaven; the Merchant/Trader(?) Tjay."
Transliteration:
Htp-di-nsw Wsir nb HH HqA Dt
ir.n.pt Swty(?) TAy
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.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #311.
Translation of text:
"An offering which the king gives (to) Osiris, Lord of Eternity, Ruler of Infinity
who made the heaven; the Merchant/Trader(?) Tjay."
Transliteration:
Htp-di-nsw Wsir nb HH HqA Dt
ir.n.pt Swty(?) TAy
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.
Davies and Macadam, A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones (1957), type #311.
ProvenanceProbably from Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. By 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)