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Egyptian Artifacts

Limestone Relief for Montuhotep II

This is a raised relief carved in limestone for the 11th Dynasty pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Mentuhotep III π“ π“ˆ–π“Ώπ“Š΅π“π“Šͺ. His father 𓇋𓏏𓀀 reunited Upper and Lower Egypt, so Mentuhotep III π“ π“ˆ–π“Ώπ“Š΅π“π“Šͺ inherited a mostly united Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. He had a relatively short reign of 12 π“Ž†π“» years.

Limestone Relief for Montuhotep II at the Brooklyn Museum

What was most interesting when I was reading about Mentuhotep III π“ π“ˆ–π“Ώπ“Š΅π“π“Šͺ was some of the superficial similarities to Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ!! During the 12 π“Ž†π“» years of his reign, he actually sent an expedition to Punt! He also started building a mortuary temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ at Deir el-Bahri, but it was never completed.

This raised relief is beautifully carved, and Mentuhotep III 𓇳𓋴𓋹𓂓 appears twice. On the left he is seen wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt π“‚§π“ˆ™π“‚‹π“π“‹”, and on the right he is wearing the nemes headdress π“ˆ–π“…“π“‹΄. In the middle is the goddess Iunyt, who was a consort of Montu π“ π“ˆ–π“Ώπ“…±, a war goddessπ“ŠΉπ“. Montu π“ π“ˆ–π“Ώπ“…± was worshipped widely during the 11th Dynasty.

Many think that this depicts Mentuhotep III’s 𓇳𓋴𓋹𓂓 desire for a sed festival in the 30th π“Ž†π“Ž†π“Ž† year of his reign, however he only ruled for 12 π“Ž†π“» years.

In the image below, I have highlighted one of my favorite ancient Egyptian phrases, π“™π“‹Ήπ“Š½π“Œ€π“†– β€œGiven eternal life, stability and strength.”