Offering list stela
Unknown Artist
ca. 1353–1336 B.C.
Medium
Red quartzite
Dimensions
H. 23 × W. 19.6 × D. 9 cm (9 1/16 × 7 11/16 × 3 9/16 in.) rows: 4 cm (1 9/16 in.)
Classification
Offering list stela
Period
New Kingdom, Amarna Period
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1957
Accession Number
57.180.37a
Tags
Art Historical Context
This Offering List Stela, carved from durable red quartzite during Egypt’s New Kingdom Amarna Period (ca. 1353–1336 B.C.), served as a compact memorial tablet inscribed with hieroglyphs. Measuring just over nine inches tall, the stone’s warm reddish hue and fine grain made it especially prized for important texts meant to last for eternity. Stelae like this one typically recorded offerings of food, drink, and other provisions intended to sustain the deceased or honor deities in temple settings. In the Amarna era, such inscriptions reflected both traditional funerary beliefs and the period’s d...