Stela of Penamun
Description
Object Label: In the upper register of this funerary stela, a man named Penamun, his wife, and one of their sons present offerings to the god Osiris, behind whom stands the goddess Isis. In the middle register, Penamun and his wife sit before a table of offerings. Facing them are a lector priest, a professional singer in an attitude of mourning, and one of their daughters. In the bottom register another man and his wife receive offerings from their children. The registers are meant to suggest different realms of existence. The upper register is the realm of the netherworld, the middle that of the tomb, and the bottom that of the living. Caption: Stela of Penamun, ca. 1334–1295 B.C.E.. Limestone, 25 15/16 × 18 1/16 × 3 1/8 in., 82 lb. (65.9 × 45.9 × 7.9 cm, 37.19kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1486E. (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.
Limestone stela with densely carved register(s) of figures and hieroglyphic text, including a central standing deity-figure and surrounding offering/ritual scenes.
The image shows a curved-rectangular limestone stela surface fully covered by carved relief. Multiple horizontal registers contain rows of standing and seated figures, some holding staffs or offering items, and a prominent central standing figure in taller scale. Above the main text bands are additional figures and ritual gestures, including what appears to be a deity-like figure rendered with distinctive dress and possible headdress. Lower registers include large offering table/food elements (notably a rounded/oval offering motif) and additional attendants. Beneath the figures is a continuous line of hieroglyphic text, though individual signs are too small and worn/blurred in the photo to confidently transcribe exactly. No Greek, Coptic, or Arabic script is visible. No legible cartouche names are clearly discernible at this resolution, and the specific person named Penamun is not readable. The object is consistent in medium (limestone) and general type (stela) with the catalogue title, but deity identification and name detection remain unclear due to image resolution.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 37.1486E tier-2
- BKM-Object 4158 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.