Obelisk

Unknown

304–30 B.C. · Sandstone · Egyptian Art

Carved more than two thousand years after the earliest known obelisks, this is one of four examples erected in the tomb of the sacred rams at Elephantine, the southern border of Egypt proper. The deliberately roughened surfaces indicate that texts were once inscribed on layers of stucco that have now fallen away, so we do not know the exact form of their dedications. However, we do know that the rams buried here were considered incarnations of the creator god Khnum, patron of the First Cataract region and a divinity closely associated with the sun god Re. These obelisks can be traced back to much earlier examples in mortuary contexts as well as to temple obelisks from this area that were dedicated to the composite deity Khnum-Re.

Artist

Unknown

Date

304–30 B.C.

Medium

Sandstone

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1911