Harvard Art Museums > 1934.18: Relief fragment from the tomb of Niankhnesut: Two attendants carrying meat Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Relief fragment from the tomb of Niankhnesut: Two attendants carrying meat , 1934.18,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Jan 20, 2025, https://hvrd.art/o/291844. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text These two scenes (1934.17 and 1934.18), showing provisions for the afterlife of a senior official named Niankhnesut, once lined the walls of his tomb at Saqqara in northern Egypt. The tomb was found in 1917, already disturbed. Subsequently, at least 60 fragments were removed and sold to various collectors and museums; as in many places today, wartime may have facilitated the dismantling and dispersal of Niankhnesut’s tomb. The fragments are currently scattered across at least fifteen museums and three private collections in eight countries, including Egypt. Dismantling Egyptian tombs was a widespread practice in the past. Here, it makes it difficult to understand how these scenes were originally arranged. Ongoing research suggests that they come from two different rooms in Niankhnesut’s tomb. Today, to protect the integrity of the archaeological record, tomb fragments are no longer dispersed outside of Egypt. What remains of Niankhnesut’s tomb at Saqqara continues to be investigated by Egyptian archaeologists. Identification and Creation Object Number 1934.18 Title Relief fragment from the tomb of Niankhnesut: Two attendants carrying meat Other Titles Alternate Title: Relief from Mastaba Tomb: Two Attendants carrying Meat Alternate Title: Relief fragment from the tomb of Niankhnisut: Two attendants carrying meat Alternate Title: Relief fragment from the tomb of Ny-ankh-nesut: Two attendants carrying meat Alternate Title: Relief fragment from the tomb of Nyankhnesuwt: Two attendants carrying meat Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture, relief Date 2323-2150 BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Saqqara (Egypt) Period Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6 Culture Egyptian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/291844 Location Location Level 3, Room 3740, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Egypt: Art for Eternity View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium limestone, paint Technique Carved Dimensions 47.8 x 44.8 cm (18 13/16 x 17 5/8 in.) Inscriptions and Marks inscription: top, raised relief, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs: s[x]p.t stp [“Bringing the cuts of meat”] Provenance Recorded Ownership History Tomb of Niankhnesut, west of Step Pyramid, Saqqara, Egypt. [Jacob Hirsch, by 1929-1930], sold; through [Harold W. Parsons, New York, NY, February 14, 1930]; to Grenville L. Winthrop, (1930-1934), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1934. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Grenville L. Winthrop, Class of 1886
