Monday, October 8, 2007

The Ebony Shrine of Deir El Bahari, ca. 1470 bce

Discovered in the temple of Deir el Bahari by E. Naville the surviving left side bears inscriptions that credit the shrines creation to Thutmosis II for Thutmosis I, however, the nuances of the piece suggest it was actually created on orders of Hatshepsut, this may even be the remains of the ebony shrine created by Thutiy and mentioned in his own tomb inscriptions.

"The good god, Lord of the two lands, lord of offering, lord of diadems, who hath taken the crown of two lands, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Aakheperenre the son of Re, Thutmosis II, he made it as his monument for his father, Amen-Re, making for him an august shrine of ebony of the best of the highlands, that she might live and abide for him like Re, forever"

The Documentary Sources of Egyptian History- James Breasted

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