Relief scene of Khety in an armchair under an elaborate roof

Middle Kingdom

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 107

Khety, the first recorded royal treasurer (“overseer of what is sealed”) of Mentuhotep II (ca. 2051–2000 B.C.), built a tomb high up in the cliffs at Deir el-Bahri. These reliefs derive from the tomb’s entrance passage, which was lined with decorated limestone blocks.

Khety, whose head and upper body are partially preserved here, is shown here seated under a canopy, probably part of a magnificent carrying chair (see fig. 1) in which he would have been ferried around his estate. In funerary contexts, these scenes could represent the tomb owner’s visits to the site on which his mortuary monument was being constructed. On a more symbolic level, they could also represent the funeral itself, and thus magically ensure the proper performance of this essential ritual.

See also 23.3.49 and 23.3.354d.

Relief scene of Khety in an armchair under an elaborate roof, Limestone, paint

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Relief scene of Khety in an armchair under an elaborate roof, Limestone, paint
Relief scene of Khety in an armchair under an elaborate roof, Limestone, paint

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