This rectangular stone slab, called a stela, honours an official named
Mentuwoser. Clasping a piece of folded linen in his left hand, he sits
at his funeral banquet, ensuring that he will always receive food
offerings and that his family will honour and remember him forever. To
the right of Mentuwoser, his son summons his spirit. His daughter holds
a lotus, and his father offers a covered dish of food and a jug that,
given its shape, contained beer.
To show clearly each kind of food being offered, the sculptor arranged
the images on top of the table vertically. The feast consists of round
and conical loaves of bread, ribs and a hindquarter of beef, a squash,
onions in a basket, a lotus blossom, and leeks. The low-relief carving
is very fine. The background was cut away only about one-eighth of an
inch. Within the firm, clear outlines, the sculptor subtly modelled the
muscles of Mentuwoser's arms and legs and the shape of his jaw and
cheeks. The chair legs and the calf's head have also been carefully
formed. The hieroglyphic inscriptions in sunk relief state that in the
seventeenth year of his reign King Senusret I presented the stela to
Mentuwoser in appreciation of his loyal services. Mentuwoser's deeds are
described at length. He was steward, granary official, and overseer of
all manner of domestic animals, including pigs. He is described as a
good man who looked after the poor and buried the dead. Senusret's
throne name, Kheper-Ka-Re, appears within a cartouche in the middle of
the top line.
The stela was erected in the temple precinct of Osiris at Abydos.
Mentuwoser's image and the prayers on the stela were meant to bring him
both rebirth and sustenance at the annual festivals honouring Osiris.
