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Primary sourceSculpturec. 2551 BCE

Relief with Female Personification of an Estate

c. 2551 BCE

A limestone relief fragment from the Old Kingdom showing a woman's head and a carved bird, dating to the reign of Khufu.

This relief dates from Khufu's reign and shows the art produced under his rule.

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Photograph of a limestone relief fragment from ancient Egypt. A carved bird, possibly a falcon, stands in a rope-bordered panel at center, above a horizontal band. Below, a woman's head in profile with a striated wig and a hieroglyphic sign at left. Hieroglyphic signs include a snake, an eye-like sign, and a circular sign.
Relief with female personification of an estate, c. 2551 BCE. Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4.

About this source

What it is

This is a fragment of a limestone relief carved during the Old Kingdom, in the time of the Fourth Dynasty. It shows a woman's head in profile wearing a striated wig, a carved bird in a rope-bordered panel, and several hieroglyphic signs.

The museum record dates it to the reign of Khufu.

Why it matters

Reliefs like this often showed personifications of royal estates bringing offerings to the dead or to the gods. It gives a glimpse of the art and beliefs produced under Khufu's rule, even though we do not know the name of the person who carved it.

Look closer

  • What details in the carving tell you this is a woman?
  • Why might artists have shown an estate as a person?
  • What is missing from this fragment that might help us understand the whole scene?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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