Stela for Senebef and Ipta

Egyptian, Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1800 B.C.
AEOS 109

In Abydos, the cultic place of pilgrimage to Osiris, it was the custom to erect cenotaphs. Many stelae from these Middle Kingdom monuments remain. Here we have one unique form in that the symbol of life (ankh) is carved in open-work in the middle of the window-like opening in the slab. Three mummy figures in demi-ronde are set in niches.