Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu
Ancient Egyptian wooden stele / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu or Stele of Revealing is a painted, wooden offering stele located in Cairo, Egypt. It was discovered in 1858 by the French Egyptologist François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette at the mortuary temple of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Hatshepsut, located at Deir el-Bahari.[1] It was originally made for the Montu-priest Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu i,[2] and was discovered near his coffin ensemble of two sarcophagi and two anthropomorphic inner coffins. It dates to circa 680–70 BCE, the period of the late 25th Dynasty/early 26th Dynasty. Originally located in the former Boulaq Museum under inventory number 666, the stele was moved around 1902 to the newly opened Egyptian Museum of Cairo (inventory number A 9422; Temporary Register Number 25/12/24/11), where it remains today.
Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu | |
---|---|
Material | Wood |
Height | 51.5 cm |
Width | 31 cm |
Created | 680 – 70 BCE |
Discovered | c. 1856 Luxor, Ottoman Egypt |
Discovered by | Auguste Mariette |
Present location | Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt |
The stele is made of wood and covered with a plaster gesso, which has been painted. It measures 51.5 centimeters high and 31 centimeters wide. On the front, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu can be seen as a priest of Montu; he is presenting offerings to the falcon-headed god Re-Harakhty ("Re-Horus of the Two Horizons"), a syncretic form of the ancient Egyptian gods Ra and Horus, who is seated on a throne. The symbol of the west, the place of the Dead, is seen behind Re-Harakhty. Above the figures is a depiction of Nut, the sky goddess who stretches from horizon to horizon. Directly beneath her is the Winged Solar Disk, Horus of Behdet.
The stele is otherwise referred to as the "Stele of Revealing" and is a central element of the Western esoteric tradition and religious philosophy of Thelema, founded by the English occultist and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley.[3][4][5][6]