Relief of a Noble and His Wife Iny

About the Art

Surface carvings often adorned the walls of Egyptian tombs, referencing stories or events usually related to the deceased. This fragment depicts two of four seated diners at a banquet, along with the arms and legs of a man on the right. The fourth figure, a woman, was on the left, according to the hieroglyphics that translate to “... of the harim of (the goddess) Mut, Iny,” providing her name, Iny, and the institution

of which she was a member. The significant loss of the hieroglyphics makes it impossible to determine the names or relationships of the other figures.

FEATURED IMAGE
Artist(s) unknown (Egypt, New Kingdom, 1550–1070 BCE), Relief of a Noble and His Wife Iny, about 1335–1162 BCE, limestone, pigment, 16 x 13 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches (40.6 x 34.9 x 3.2 cm). Museum purchase with funds provided by the Jefferson Patterson Endowment Fund, 1972.48