Heqanakht Letter (III) to Merisu

Unknown

ca. 1961–1917 B.C. · Papyrus, ink · Egyptian Art

Heqanakht was a native of Thebes (present day Luxor) during the early twelfth dynasty. As "ka-servant" of a high official he was responsible for the high official's statue cult and the administration of the land and income that had been endowed to maintain this cult. The letters and accounts written by Heqanakht and one or more scribes on sheets of papyrus were discovered by Museum excavator Herbert E. Winlock in the excavation season of 1921-1922 in the tomb of Meseh, who had a side passage and crypt in the tomb complex of the vizier Ipy, one of the rock cut tombs along the cliff overlooking the temples at Deir el-Bahri. The documents - some still folded, tied and sealed, when found - provide unique insights into the domestic and financial affairs of an average middle class family that lived almost four thousand years ago. The Letter here is written by Heqanakht to the Overseer of the Delta Herunefer. It is a single sheet with no joins, written in red and black ink. The letter was discovered unopened, tied with string and sealed with a lump of mud.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1961–1917 B.C.

Medium

Papyrus, ink

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund and Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1922