Relief of Kha'emweset, son of pharaoh Ramses II
Relief of Kha'emweset, son of pharaoh Ramses II
Date19th Dynasty, reign of Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE)
Mediumlimestone
Dimensionsobject: 26 3/4 × 23 × 3/4 in. (67.9 × 58.4 × 1.9 cm)
weight: 125 lb. (56.7 kg)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Wright S. Ludington
Object number1978.4.24
Subject(s)
- men
- boys
- portraits
- inscription
Collection
- Antiquity
Sub-Collection(s)
- Egyptian
On View
On viewCollections
Label TextKha’emweset was the son of the pharaoh Ramses II. He held the important title of High Priest of Ptah, the creator-god of Memphis, and oversaw the cult of the bull-god Apis. Here he wields the sekhem, a short staff signifying authority, and similar reliefs from roughly the same period suggest that he would have been seated in front of a table of offerings. The hieroglyphic text to the right reads ‘for [or of] the king’s son Ramessu, son of the [king’s] son, setem-priest, Kha’emweset’. It is likely that Ramessu is the small figure just visible at bottom right, since it was not unusual for tomb owners to be shown with family members at a smaller scale. In addition to his religious duties, Kha’emweset restored many Old Kingdom documents, leaving his and his father’s names on many inscriptions which commemorated this work.
