This tiny ๐๐๐ด๐ ฉ and unassuming stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ at the Louvre is really important to me and my Nonno because it depicts Paser ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ, who was my Nonnoโs favorite non-royal Egyptian! Nonno and I would always make it a point to try and find something related to Paser ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ in every museum we went to!
Though he wasnโt a royal, Paser ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ was one of the most prominent men of his time and he was vizier ๐ ท๐๐บ๐ under two ๐ป pharaohs ๐๐ป – Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ and then Rameses II ๐ณ๐๐ง๐ณ๐๐. Paser ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ served many different roles over twenty-five ๐๐๐พ years! Paser ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ was also an architect and one of his most famous works is the tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ of Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ in the Valley of the Kings!
A vizier ๐ ท๐๐บ๐ was the highest ranking official ๐ด๐๐ and was the most powerful position in the government, besides the pharaoh ๐๐ป. Not only was the vizier ๐ ท๐๐บ๐ the most trusted advisor to the pharaoh ๐๐ป, but he also saw to the day-to-day operations of the government. The vizier ๐ ท๐๐บ๐ was in charge of architecture, taxation, agriculture, military, the judiciary, finances, and many other things. Honestly that sounds exhausting, however, his hard work got Paser ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ a nice tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ for himself, so thatโs how we know so much about him! I guess wanting to preserve his name ๐๐ for eternity ๐๐ณ๐ was a success!
Paser ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ had many different titles, including โHigh Preist of Amun ๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ณ ,โ โsuperintendent of every work of the king,โ โprophet of Maat,โ โmouth of Nekhenโ and โchief of secrets of the hieroglyphs.โ This last title is probably why he is depicted with the god Thoth ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ญ on this small ๐๐๐ด๐ ฉ stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ!
I wish I could see the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช more clearly, but I can see Paserโs ๐ ฎ๐๐ฝ name ๐๐ on the bottom part of the stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ!
Sorry the first picture ๐๐ ฑ๐ is a bit blurry – I wanted to get as close as I could! The second picture ๐๐ ฑ๐ shows how small ๐๐๐ด๐ ฉ the stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ is in relation to other objects!