Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Stela of Lady of the House Iytenhab
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
This poignant stela is dedicated to a woman named Iytenhab, who is shown seated on a chair painted to imitate an animal skin. Her common title, "lady of the house," is generally thought to designate a woman’s married status, but here her husband is neither portrayed nor mentioned in the text. Across the large table, Iytenhab’s son sits on the lap of another woman, who might have cared for the infant after his mother’s premature death.