The Copenhagen Wooden Stela AAd6 from the National Museum of Denmark: an unusual testimony of the 22nd Dynasty

Abstract

The subject of this article is a wooden stela (AAd6) kept in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. By iconographical and typological criteria, this object is datable to the 22nd Dynasty and probably comes from the Theban area. The stela displays several particularities, among others, one of the longest genealogies preserved on this object type. Alongside a careful investigation of the different iconographical elements and a new translation of the text, this contribution looks into the onomastic and the prosopographical material, examining different titles such as “ḥnk-nw.w-priest in southern Heliopolis” or “wab-priest in chief of the estate of Mut, the great one, the mistress of Isheru.” This study not only reconstitutes the family tree but also connects this object with three others, that are datable to a timeframe from the 21st Dynasty to the beginning of the 26th Dynasty. An excursus focusing on the painting sequence of the text and depictions contributes to a better understanding of the creation of wooden stelae in the Third intermediate Period.