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

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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 …show more content…

Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet is depicted wear traditional clothing for this time period in a close-fitting dress and a transparent over garment called a loose. On her head she is wearing a perfumed cone of wax; this headdress is depicted often in contemporary scenes of worship (Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum, 1996).
The hieroglyphs on the bottom of the stela are conventional for a funerary dedication. According to Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum (1996) the inscription states the following:
An offering which the king gives (to) Osiris, Foremost of Westerners, Lord of Abydos, (that) he may grant funerary offerings of bread and beer, cattle and fowl, and all good and pure things of the ka of the lady, the Mistress of the House Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet, daughter of the Scribe of the Divine Scrolls of Onuris, Pabarema (p. 166).
The hieroglyphs are an offering prayer for Ta-Khaa-En-Bastet’s ka by reciting the offering prayer her ka will receive the items listed in the afterlife. Other inscriptions were painted onto at the stela at a later time. The inscriptions under the uraei on the top of the stela refer to the Behdetite, the winged solar Horus. The engravings above Horus and Thoth in the central scene read “Words spoken by Horus” and “Words spoken by Thoth” (Capel, Markoe, Cincinnati Art Museum, & Brooklyn Museum, 1996, p. 166).
“Mistress of the House”
Middle and upper class women were frequently referred to as “Mistress of

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