Egyptian terracotta funerary cone for Royal Butler Nedjem, Thebes ca. 1400 BC, stamp face
Egyptian funerary cone, hieroglyphic inscription detail
Egyptian funerary cone, view 3
Egyptian funerary cone, view 4
Egyptian funerary cone, view 5
Egyptian funerary cone, view 6
Egyptian funerary cone, view 7
Egyptian funerary cone, view 8
Egyptian funerary cone, view 9
Egyptian funerary cone, view 10
Egyptian funerary cone, view 11
Egyptian funerary cone, view 12
Egyptian terracotta funerary cone for Royal Butler Nedjem, Thebes ca. 1400 BC, stamp face
Egyptian funerary cone, hieroglyphic inscription detail
Egyptian funerary cone, view 3
Egyptian funerary cone, view 4
Egyptian funerary cone, view 5
Egyptian funerary cone, view 6
Egyptian funerary cone, view 7
Egyptian funerary cone, view 8
Egyptian funerary cone, view 9
Egyptian funerary cone, view 10
Egyptian funerary cone, view 11
Egyptian funerary cone, view 12
Egyptian terracotta funerary cone for Royal Butler Nedjem, Thebes ca. 1400 BC, stamp face
Egyptian terracotta funerary cone for Royal Butler Nedjem, Thebes ca. 1400 BC, stamp face Egyptian funerary cone, hieroglyphic inscription detail Egyptian funerary cone, view 3 Egyptian funerary cone, view 4 Egyptian funerary cone, view 5 Egyptian funerary cone, view 6 Egyptian funerary cone, view 7 Egyptian funerary cone, view 8 Egyptian funerary cone, view 9 Egyptian funerary cone, view 10 Egyptian funerary cone, view 11 Egyptian funerary cone, view 12

Egyptian Terracotta Funerary Cone for the Royal Butler “Nedjem”

17681

$2,995
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Thebes, New Kingdom, circa 1400 B.C. 

A substantial New Kingdom funerary cone from Thebes, of classic elongated conical form tapering to a rounded tip, the circular face neatly impressed with four columns of hieroglyphs within a raised border. The inscription reads: “Revered before Osiris, favored of the good god, Royal butler of the overseer of the crew of Amun Nedjem,” naming an elite official attached to the powerful temple of Amun at Thebes. The cone is made of reddish Nile clay with extensive pale calcareous deposits from burial, giving the surface an attractive mottled appearance. 

The clearly legible four‑column inscription identifies the owner as Nedjem, “Royal butler of the overseer of the crew of Amun,” honored as “revered before Osiris, favoured of the good god.” This associates him closely with the temple establishment at Karnak and with royal service, placing the piece firmly within the Theban administrative elite of the mid‑18th Dynasty. Published parallels for this cone are recorded as Macadam no. 59 in A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones and in Dibley & Lipkin’s Compendium of Egyptian Funerary Cones, confirming the reading and classification

Size 6 in (15.2cm) long; 3 inches (7.62cm) diam the face + custom base.

Historical documents, these long tapered clay cones containing a circular face  impressed with three registers of hieroglyphic text containing data, names, titles, dates, places. Funerary cones, representing the ends of chapel roof support beams, were traditionally inserted in rows (their flat ends facing outward) above the mudbrick entrances of the superstructures of non-royal tombs in Thebes.

Provenance: Swiss collection. French private collection P., acquired before 1980; acquired Bonhams London Antiquities, 23 October 2012, Lot 359

Every object is guaranteed authentic and as described, and has been legally acquired and imported in accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations on the movement and sale of antiquities. A signed certificate of authenticity with a description and photograph accompanies this object. Any restoration is described on the invoice.

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