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Egyptian art - Relief fragment from the tomb of the vizier Bakenrenef
Egypt, Saqqara, Dynasty XXVI, Reign of Psametik I, 664-610 B.C.
Beige limestone and traces of pigment
Height preserved: 12.5 x 17.5 x 2.5 cm
Provenance: Former French private collection, Galerie Uraeus, Frida Tchakos, Paris 1973.
Translated by J.J. Clère on November 25, 1973; Artloss Register certificate n. S00107410 dated November 9, 2015 enclosed
Bibliography: Richard Lepsius, Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, Berlin 1849-59
“Saqqara IV, Tomba di Bakenrenef (L. 24), Attivitá del Cantiere Scuola 1985-1987”, E. Bresciani, Università degli Studi di Pisa
This fragment features two hieroglyphic characters: BA-K (for Bakenrenf), carved below a hatched frieze. Traces of polychromy still remain.
Bakenrenef's tomb (LS 24) is cut into the rock at Saqqara, to the east of the Step Pyramid. It was discovered in 1820 by French engineer Louis Alexis Jumel. It was mentioned several times by travellers who visited during the first half of the 19th century. It was largely emptied by 1827. It was visited again between 1829 and 1858, before being forgotten. Richard Lepsius, in Egypt between 1842 and 1845, drew some of the walls, later published in Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien. Numerous museums possess fragments (Berlin, Chicago, New York, Munich, Cairo a). Cf. Porter & Moss, Topographical Bibliography: III/2, pp. 588 sq, Oxford 1979.
Bakenrenef was vizier, the highest civil official with extensive legal and administrative powers, during the reign of King Psammetichus I. He also held priestly titles. He also held priesthood titles related to Memphite deities. A statue bust of him is preserved in the Musée de Bruxelles (Inv. E. 7049). It was completed in 1984 by Bernard von Bothmer from the lower part then held by the Brooklyn Museum, and subsequently acquired by the Musée d'Art Royal et d'Histoire.
Today, few Egyptian objects have a proven provenance in the 19th century.
