Sealing naming Nesisti, a priest in the cult of Arsinoe II and her sister Philotera

Unknown

ca. 210–180 B.C. · Unfired clay · Egyptian Art

Arsinoe II was divinized on her death, and a cult to her deceased sister Philotera was maintained alongside hers at least at Memphis for a certain period. This fragile unfired sealing from a papyrus names an official and priest of the two women. Recently a specialist has read the name of the priest Nesisti on the seal along with the epithet Epiphanes applied to Ptolemy V and his wife Cleopatra I, revealing the seaing dates to the beginning of the second century B.C. The priest appears to be one Nesisti who was a member of the family that held the high priesthood of Ptah at Memphis during the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 210–180 B.C.

Medium

Unfired clay

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910