Stela with Bes and Tutu
Description
Object Label: Two powerful gods stand on either side of a table with offerings: Bes, shown brandishing a sword, and Tutu, depicted as a sphinx with a snakeheaded tail. The seven demons controlled by Tutu are pictured above him. Reliefs on stelae such as this one were intended to placate the gods, keeping them in a favorable disposition. Alternately, placed in a temple, they served a votive function, expressing the donor’s gratitude for protection against illness and misfortune. Caption: Stela with Bes and Tutu, 332–30 B.C.E.. Limestone, 10 7/16 x 18 3/4 x 3 9/16 in., 47.4 lb. (26.5 x 47.7 x 9 cm, 21.5kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.98. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A limestone stela carved in low relief with a horizontal band of hieroglyphic text and a central scene showing Bes in a protective or offering context alongside a seated deity or figure holding a staff and an object.
The object is a rectangular limestone stela with a border and a recessed panel. In the upper register, a continuous band of incised hieroglyphs fills the left-to-right space. The main register depicts several small figures arranged around a central seated figure. On the right, a clearly identifiable dwarf-protective deity, Bes, is carved in low relief wearing a lion/animal-like head covering and supporting a staff or similar implement. To his left and center there is a seated figure (identity unclear from the image alone) holding a long staff and accompanied by additional carved elements that resemble offerings or ritual objects. The lower portion includes more schematic figures, possibly worshippers or protective symbols, though individual attributes are not fully legible at this resolution. No Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible; only Egyptian-style hieroglyphic carving is apparent. No royal cartouches are clearly legible in this view.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 58.98 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3660 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.