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Funerary cone of Pawah and Henutwedjbu
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–20
1550–1070 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Pottery
Dimensions
Height x diameter: 4.1 x 7.6 cm (1 5/8 x 3 in.)
Credit Line
Hay Collection—Gift of C. Granville Way
Accession Number72.1794
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
Catalogue Raisonné
Davies & MacAdam 117
DescriptionFunerary cone fragment with tapering cone element broken off and missing; traces of red paint. Circular stamp on head carries four columns of hieroglyphic text identifying the owner.
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: 72.1808.
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: 72.1808.
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)