The Funerary Stela of Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet :Mistress of the House

Introduction

The following paper objective is to present the funerary stela of Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet, kept at the Cincinnati Art Museum. The stela’s accession number is 1947.392 and is possibly from Abydos because of its imagery. The stela dates back to the Late Period of ancient Egypt, which is 664-332 BC. This funerary stela helps to provide data about the funerary practices and the responsibilities women had in ancient Egyptian society.

Description of the stela

The stela is deemed to be a round-topped stela because the top is curved while the sides and bottom remain straight. It is 33 cm high and is 24 cm wide; its thickness is estimated to be 2 to 3 cm. It was carved from limestone and has only a few traces of red and black pigment. The bodies of the Egyptian gods Horus and Thoth still have the red pigment on their bodies as well as the solar disc of the uraei. The stela has a border all around it with a patter that interchanges between one wide red bar and three small black bars. At the top there are two-winged cobra called uraei (Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum, 1996). There is also an inscription below the uraei. The center of the stela depicts a woman, who is Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet, standing on the right and on the left revering the Egyptian gods Horus and Thoth. The central scene also has two small inscriptions above Horus and Thoth. The bottom has three rows of hieroglyphs, which are an offering prayer, details about Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet’s family, and her title as “Mistress of the House” (Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum, 1996, p. 166).

Illustrations and text

The central scene on the funerary stela Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet is illustrated twice standing behind the god Horus, who is on the lef...

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...ell us who Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet was and how she might have lived. She was either part of or wanted to be an affiliate of the Osiris cult at Abydos. She was most likely a middle-class woman because she was able to have a funerary stela. She also took on the responsibly of her fathers household receiving the title “Mistress of the House”. Stelae in general can reveal a lot about a society. They can reveal the religious belief of a person based on which god is depicted on the stela. They can give information about a military campaign that the pharaoh has successfully accomplished. Boundary stelae can provide an estimate as to how large a building or temple would have been as well as where the Egyptian realm had occupied foreign territories. Stelae are an essential part of antiquity because they are able to provide thorough information about past periods of ancient Egypt.