An Egyptian limestone relief fragment
Saqqara, Old Kingdom, 6th Dynasty, circa 2345-2181 B.C.
Depicting a polychrome butchery and cooking scene in three registers, the upper with a kneeling man roasting a duck impaled on a rod over a brazier, a large cooking pot with cuts of meat to the left, the middle register with a butchery scene, to the left a man holding down a hobbled ox with his foot, the ox with his head turned back to face the man, hieroglyphs above reading 'tie (him) up', to the right an ox being butchered, with hieroglyphs above reading 'take out his heart, put it to the side(?) I shall do it (so as to gain) your favour', the lower register with figures and text reading 'see he is cooking', 22in (59.8cm) wide, mounted
Saqqara, Old Kingdom, 6th Dynasty, circa 2345-2181 B.C.
Depicting a polychrome butchery and cooking scene in three registers, the upper with a kneeling man roasting a duck impaled on a rod over a brazier, a large cooking pot with cuts of meat to the left, the middle register with a butchery scene, to the left a man holding down a hobbled ox with his foot, the ox with his head turned back to face the man, hieroglyphs above reading 'tie (him) up', to the right an ox being butchered, with hieroglyphs above reading 'take out his heart, put it to the side(?) I shall do it (so as to gain) your favour', the lower register with figures and text reading 'see he is cooking', 22in (59.8cm) wide, mounted
Sold for
£25,000
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance:
Dr Geoffrey A. Smith Collection, San Diego, California, before 1978. With an accession label on the reverse.
Literature:
Originally from a private tomb in Saqqara, for cooking scenes, cf. J. Vandier, Manuel D'Archéologie Égyptienne, Tome IV, Paris, 1964, figs. 116-7; for butchery scenes, op. cit., Tome V, Paris, 1969, 73-91.
Category: Antiquities
Auction terms and conditions
Lot symbols
| * | Import low rate |