Fragment of relief from the temple of king Nebhepetra Mentuhotep at Deir el-Bahari, showing one of a series of women bearing offerings, with columns of hieroglyphic text.The inscription refers to temple offerings brought from the 'estates of Upper [and Lower] Egypt' for the cult of the king; the trace of a cartouche behind the female figure may be from the king's name as part of the name of an estate, in which case the woman would be a personification of the place. The motif derives from Old Kingdom royal pyramid temples, but the figure is in the provincial Theban style found before the reunification of Egypt under Nebhepetra. This indicates that the Theban court had adopted northern, Memphite art for the principal royal building-project before the north had been incorporated into a reunited Egypt.
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