Stela of a Priest of Amun Named An
Description
Object Label: A low-ranking priest named An dedicated this modest stela to both the goddess Hathor, “Chief One of Thebes,” and to the Eleventh Dynasty king Montuhotep II (circa 2008–1957 B.C.E.). Hathor appears as a cow, representing her nurturing aspect. An, who is not represented, may have bought the stela ready-made and simply had his name added to it. He probably placed it in a shrine at Deir el-Bahri, where both Hathor and Montuhotep II were venerated. Caption: Stela of a Priest of Amun Named An, ca. 1426–1390 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 7 11/16 x 5 7/8 x 1 7/8 in. (19.5 x 14.9 x 4.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.92. (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.
An Egyptian limestone stela fragment shows a central seated figure before offerings, with surrounding hieroglyphic signs and a narrow register below.
The image depicts a broken stone stela (upper portion and edges damaged) with a mostly flat, worn surface. A central scene appears to show a seated or kneeling priestly figure receiving/performing an offering, while smaller iconographic elements—possibly an altar or offering table—are placed in front. To the right side of the scene is a vertical figure-like element (possibly a staff/ritual object or a second standing figure) partially eroded. Several hieroglyphic signs flank the central area, including a prominent winged/feather-like or cartouche-like cluster near the top center; details are softened by damage and lighting, so exact sign readings are uncertain. At the bottom, a horizontal band contains additional hieroglyphs or decorative signs. No clearly legible Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 16.92 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3146 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.