In addition to the usual stela with a rounded top, the rectangular stela type also occurs as a rare variant. This type has a cavetto cornice and a torus moulding together with elevated surfaces inside the frame, which create the appearance of a sacred building or a gate. The present monument was erected by the officer Meriptah for himself and for his father Tjena. The upper register carries depictions of Osiris and the jackal godWepwawet (on the right), who are offered flowers by the father (left) and the son. At Abydos, Wepwawet was the son of Osiris. In accordance with the rules of Egyptian art, the gods have been depicted seated next to each other and looking straight ahead. The offering bearers stand on the opposite side. Over the scene is the solar disk with vulture's wings, symbolizing the heavens, flanked by udjat-eyes. The distribution of the figures in the relief follows a pattern which was common for mortuary stelae from the 18th Dynasty onwards. The upper part shows the adoration of the gods by the tomb owner and the other registers contain the provision of the deceased by the surviving members of the family in a funerary offering. Meriptah and his wife apparently had no son because the offerings on the stela are being presented by the deceased's brother, who is shown pouring water over the food offerings on the table in front of the pair. His garments are those of the sem-priest, who plays the role of the eldest son in the mortuary cult.
(On the frame, towards the left:) An offering which the king gives to Osiris, the ruler of eternity, the great god, the Lord of Abydos. Receiving the bread of the offering which has been placed on the altar of the great god, for the Ka of the Officer of the (division named:) "the god", Meriptah, true of voice. (On the frame, towards the right:) An offering which the king gives to Wepwawet, the Lord of Ta-djeser, so that he will give a funerary offering of bread and beer, meat and poultry, libation, wine, and milk, as well as the breathing of the sweet breath of the northern wind to the Ka of the one who follows the king on all his expeditions, the Head of the Stable of his Majesty, Meriptah. (above:) The one who follows his lord at his expeditions in the northern and southern foreign countries, the Chief of the Standard-bearers, the Bearer of the Standard of the (naval crew named:) "Who has appeared in truth", the Officer, Meriptah true of voice.
Bibliography
Übersicht der ägyptischen Alterthümer des k.k. Münz- und Antiken-Cabinetes (7. vermehrte Auflage 1872) 22, Nr. 10.
Bergmann, E. von, Übersicht der aegyptischen Alterthümer (1876) 32.
Hüttner, M. & H. Satzinger, Stelen, Inschriftsteine und Reliefs aus der Zeit der 18. Dynastie. Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum (CAA) Wien 16 (In Begutachtung).
Satzinger, H., Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 14. Mainz. 1994.
Seipel, W. (ed.), Götter Menschen Pharaonen, Speyer (1993) = Dioses, Hombres, Faraones, Ciudad de México (1993) = Das Vermächtnis der Pharaonen, Zürich (1994).
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