Disiecta membra: the naophorous statue of Wahibre, Bologna Museo Archeologico KS 1840 + Cairo Egyptian Museum JE 42880

GöttinGer Miszellen Beiträge zur ägyptologischen Diskussion Heft 260 I nhaltsverzeIchnIs TECHNICAL INFORMATION .............................................................. 5 KURzBEMERKUNGEN Allen, James P.:  as dj ................................................................. 7 Hohneck, Heimo: Kairo, Ägyptisches Museum JE 68685: Fragment eines Naos? ............................................................. 9 Panov, Maxim: Der Sarkophag des Hor aus der ehemaligen Sammlung Miramar............................................... 13 MISzELLEN Arpagaus, Daniel: Ḥnsk – ein Hapax der Tombos-Stele Thutmosis‘ I. beim Schopf gepackt........................................... 17 Attia, Amani Hussein: A Unique Scene of the opening of the mouth ritual in Kha-em-hat (TT 57) .......................................... 29 Beinlich, Horst: Ein Relief aus dem Arensnuphis-Tempel (Philae) im Brooklyn Museum ................................................................ 37 Castillos, Juan José: Peasants in Ancient Egypt ............................. 43 David, Arlette: Cupping the Chin in Amarna ................................... 53 Fischer-Elfert, Hans-Werner: Notizen zu den hieratischen Ostraka und Namensteinen aus Dra‘ Abu el-Naga ................................ 63 Koemoth, Pierre P.: La table d’offrandes de Nesinheret du Musée royal de Mariemont .................................................. 69 Metawi, Dina: The Superior of Clothing for Amun (Cairo Museum JE 37973)........................................................ 81 Miatello, Luca: Finger-numbering in the Coffin Texts: a Ritual with Rhymes, Puns, Parallels, and a Final Rebus....... 91 Nassar, Mohamed A. & Ewais, Marwa A.: El-Lahun Textile during the Late Middle Kingdom through the hieratic Papyri ............... 109 Panov, Maxim: Inscriptions on the Obelisk of Antinous ................... 127 Tiribilli, Elena: Disiecta membra: the naophorous statue of Wahibre, Bologna Museo Archeologico KS 1840 + Cairo Egyptian Museum JE 42880 ........................................... 145 BEITRÄGE zUR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Moje, Jan: Die Grabstätte von Josef Passalacqua, dem ersten Direktor des Ägyptischen Museums in Berlin ................ 157 NOTIzEN zUR LITERATUR Kuckertz, Josefine: Bibliographie Marianne Eaton-Krauss.............. 165 NEKROLOGE Ali Radwan (1941–2020) ................................................................. 175 Disiecta membra: the naophorous statue of Wahibre, Bologna Museo Archeologico KS 1840 + Cairo Egyptian Museum JE 42880 Elena Tiribilli1 (University of Cologne) Abstract This paper assembles for the first time two fragments, Bologna Museo Archeologico KS 1840 and Cairo Egyptian Museum JE 42880, which originally belonged to the same statue. While the upper part of the statue, Bologna KS 1840, is already known from several publications, the lower part, Cairo JE 42880, remains so far unpublished. The texts from both are reassembled here, analysed and discussed. The naophorous statue belonged to an individual named Wahibre, who very likely lived at the end of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty in the western Delta of Egypt. Indeed, Wahibre and his parents held during their life several specific regionally sacerdotal titles related to the Fourth (Hm nTr N.t-Jh.t), Fifth (xrp-Hw.wt (N.t); Hm nTr ¡r aA m ¡w.t-N.t (?); xnd (n.t) Rs-N.t), Sixth (Hm ¡r wr-wAD.tj), and Thirteenth (Hm-nTr ¡apj) provinces of Lower Egypt. Introduction The statue fragment Bologna KS 1840 was described for the first time by Kminek-Szedlo in the publication of artefacts preserved in the Museo Archeologico at Bologna (Italy). In this publication the text on the back pillar was only partially published and translated.2 Since then, the statue has also been briefly described in an exhibition catalogue by Curto,3 and a new and complete publication of its inscriptions with photographs has been provided by Pernigotti.4 The other fragment, Cairo JE 42880, is unpublished and only a few brief references to it have appeared in print.5 Currently, the most detailed information about this statue comes from the photographic archives of Bothmer, the Corpus of Late Egyptian Statuary (CLES), preserved in This article presents results related to the project “MAP - Inside the mind of ancient people: the tangible and constructed landscape of the western Delta in the Late Period (664-332 BC)” carried out at the Department of Archaeology at Durham University (UK) from 2017 to 2019. The project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 744977. I express my gratitude to Dr Daniela Picchi for permission to publish statue Bologna KS 1840 and for supplying photographs of the statue. I would like also to thank Dr Edward Bleiberg for permission to consult the files of the CLES in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Dr Yekaterina Barbash and Kathy Zurek-Doule for their assistance during my research in New York, and for supplying photographs of statue Cairo JE 42880. I wish to thank Dr Laurent Coulon for allowing me to consult the archives of Jean Yoyotte at the EPHE in Paris. Finally, I am grateful to Paul Whelan for revising my English, Gianluca Miniaci for checking the manuscript and Penelope Wilson for her constant support and help. 2 G. Kminek-Szedlo, Catalogo di antichità egizie, Torino 1895, 160, no. 1840. 3 S. Curto, L'Egitto antico nelle collezioni dell'Italia settentrionale, Bologna 1961, 88, no. 65. 4 S. Pernigotti, “Tre statue egiziane nel Museo Civico di Bologna”, Il Carrobbio: rivista di studi bolognesi 2 (1976), 313-5; S. Pernigotti, “A proposito di Sais e delle sue divinità”, SCO 28 (1978), 234-5, fig. 4; S. Pernigotti, La statuaria egiziana nel Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna, Bologna 1980, 66-7, no. 29, pl. 19 (fig. 3), pls. 88-9. Recently, the text of Bologna KS 1840 has been transcribed by K. Jansen-Winkeln in: Inschriften der Spätzeit, Teil IV: die 26. Dynastie, vol. II, Wiesbaden 2014, 797, no. 101. 5 S. Curto, “A ricordo di due egittologi dimenticati: Giuseppe Acerbi e Giovanni Kminek-Szedlo”, in Istituto lombardo-Accademia di scienze e lettere (ed.), Atti del Convegno di studi su la Lombardia e l'Oriente: Milano, 11-15 giugno 1962, Milano 1963, 126, n. 14; R. el-Sayed, Documents relatifs à Saïs et ses divinités, Le Caire 1975, 277, no. 84; E. Tiribilli, “New documents of the renep-priest of the Delta Horemheb, son of Ankhpakhered”, EVO 41 (2018), 136, no. 28. 1 the Brooklyn Museum of Art.6 Bothmer was the first scholar to propose a connection between Bologna KS 1840 and the fragment preserved in the Cairo Museum (JE 42880).7 The quality of the monument is not particularly outstanding and the current state of preservation is not very good, especially for the Cairo fragment. The surface of the latter is eroded in places, obscuring certain parts of the inscriptions. From the very fragmentary portion of Cairo JE 42880 it is not possible to identify the seated male deity originally represented into the naos held between hands of the man. Moreover, neither the preserved text on Bologna KS 1840 nor Cairo JE 42880 explicitly mentions the name of this deity.8 This paper brings the two fragments together for the first time and introduces one of the numerous families who lived during the crucial period of the administrative and religious reorganisation carried out in Egypt during the beginning of the Late Period (late Twenty-sixth Dynasty). The text of Cairo JE 42880 allows us to finally know the name of the dedicant, Wahibre. To my knowledge, Wahibre, son of Peftjau(em)au(i)neith, is not attested from any other monument.9 Although the exact find spot of the fragments is unknown, the inscription suggests that Wahibre and his family lived and operated in the western Delta. Bologna KS 1840: Description (Figure 1) Statue Bologna KS 1840 was accessioned from the collection of the Italian painter Pelagio Palagi and given to Bologna in 1861 after his death. The monument is made of dark grey-black schist and measures 21.5 cm (max. height) by 17.6 cm (max. width).10 The monument represents the bust of a man. The faint edge of a naos is still recognisable below his chest. The statue is preserved up to the man’s waist; the nose, mouth and chin are chipped. The man is represented with arms held tightly against the body; the torso is completely nude. The chest muscles are treated plastically, but there are no traces of the midline nor are the clavicles indicated. The head is covered with a smooth and wide wig that goes down behind the shoulders leaving the ears completely uncovered. The face has large eyes, modelled eyebrows and fleshy lips; the eyelids and the cosmetic lines are represented in prominent relief. On the back is a dorsal pillar inscribed with two columns of text framed by thin carved lines (dorsal pillar width: 5.9 cm). Cairo JE 42880: Description (Figures 2-3) Statue fragment Cairo JE 42880 is made of dark grey-black schist and measures 28.5 cm (max. The statue is labelled in Bothmer’s archives as no. 886. Bothmer communicated this information to Curto; see S. Curto, “A ricordo di due egittologi dimenticati: Giuseppe Acerbi e Giovanni Kminek-Szedlo”, in Istituto lombardo-Accademia di scienze e lettere (ed.), Atti del Convegno di studi su la Lombardia e l'Oriente: Milano, 11-15 giugno 1962, Milano 1963, 126, n. 14. 8 The naophorous pose was first documented during the New Kingdom, in the early reign of Hatshepsut (statue of Senenmut, Cairo JE 36649), but it becomes particularly popular in the Saite Period for non-royal temple statuary. For a recent discussion of this kind of iconography and its precise theological significance see D. Klotz, “Replicas of Shu. On the theological significance of naophorous and theophorous statues”, BIFAO 114 (2014), 291-337; C. Price, “The ‘admiral’ Hor and his naophorous statue (Manchester Museum Acc. no. 3570)”, in C. Jurman, B. Bader, D.A. Aston (eds.), A true scribe of Abydos: essays on First Millennium Egypt in honour of Anthony Leahy, Leuven-Paris-Bristol 2017, 371-2. 9 As already stated by S. Pernigotti, “Tre statue egiziane nel Museo Civico di Bologna”, Il Carrobbio: rivista di studi bolognesi 2 (1976), 313-5, Wahibre does not correspond to the more famous priest with the same name who lived at Sais in the 6th century BC, and is attested from numerous monuments, see: H. Gauthier, “À travers la Basse-Égypte”, ASAE 22 (1922), 81-107; E. Jelínková, “Un titre saïte emprunté à l’Ancien Empire”, ASAE 55 (1958), 111-2. 10 Measurements are taken from S. Pernigotti, La statuaria egiziana nel Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna, Bologna 1980, 66. 6 7 height, included the base), by 11 cm (max. width) at waist level. The base is 9.2 cm in height and 14.4 cm in width.11 The monument represents the lower part of a kneeling man, originally supporting a divine image in a naos shrine between his hands and resting parallel to his thighs, and which is now badly damaged.12 Part of the shrine is still preserved, and a seated deity is still discernible within. Only a portion of the right arm of the man and his hand holding the naos shrine is preserved. The left arm is completely missing. A significant portion of the front side of the monument is equally damaged: this side of the base, the legs and most of the naos are indeed missing. The individual wears a plain skirt; the calves of legs are well modelled, with a particular emphasis on the strong muscles; the toes are splayed and the soles vertical. Inscriptions (Bologna KS 1840 + Cairo JE 42880) A. Back Pillar The inscription on the back pillar consists of two framed vertical lines of hieroglyphs. The text on Bologna KS 1840 is well preserved. A lacuna, due to a break of the statue, interrupts the middle part of the text of both columns. The back part of Cairo JE 42880 is not well preserved and part of text is missing. The text of Bologna KS 1840 contains the incipit and the central part of the so-called “Saite formula”, with the partial list of titles of the man, his father’s name, Peftjau(em)au(i)neith, and the titles of his mother, the “lady of the house, the weaver of (the sanctuary) of Resenet”. The name of the mother is unfortunately not preserved. The text of Cairo JE 42880 also includes part of the “Saite formula”, the name and the titles of the dedicant, Wahibre, and partial titles of his father Peftjau(em)au(i)neith. Line 1 Bologna KS 1840: Cairo JE 42880: Line 2 Bologna KS 1840: Cairo JE 42880: 11 12 Measurements are taken from Bothmer’s notebooks (CLES). For several parellels see E.R. Russmann, “The statue of Amenemope-em-hat”, MMJ 8 (1973), 41, n. 46. Line 1: [Bologna KS 1840]: (NTr njw.tj n)a xrp-Hw.wt (N.t)b Hm ¡r wr-wAD.tjc Hm-nTr n ¡apj d Hm-nTr n […]e [Cairo JE 42880]: [… n] ¡apj Hm-nTr ¡r aA m ¡w.t-N.tf [WAH-jb-Ra]g [sA n xrpHw.wt] N.th Hm nTr N.t-Jh.ti Line 2: [Bologna KS 1840]: P(A)j=f-TAw-(m)-a.wj-N.tj jr.t n nb.(t)-pr xnd (n.t) Rs-N.tk […][Cairo JE 42880]: […].tl dj/jmj t(w)sic m HA=f xf[t]n kA=f m [bAH]=f nn [DA.t rd.wj]=fo nn xsf jb=fp Jwnj pw mAa-xrw Line 1: [Bologna KS 1840]: “(O city god of) the controller of the estates (of Neith/the Red Crown), the servant of Horus, the Great One of the Two Diadems, the prophet of Inundation, the prophet […]” [Cairo JE 42880]: “[…] the prophet of Inundation, the prophet of Horus, the Great One, who resides in the palace of Neith, [Wahibre], [the son of the controller of the estates] of Neith/the Red Crown, the prophet of Neith, the Cow”. Line 2: [Bologna KS 1840]: “Peftjau(em)au(i)neith, born of the lady of the house, the weaver of (the sanctuary) Resenet […]” [Cairo JE 42880]: “[…] place yourself around him, [while] his ka is [in front of] him, without [hindering] his [two legs], without repelling his heart, (because) he is Heliopolitan, justified”. B. Around the base Originally a line of inscription ran around the four sides of the base of Cairo JE 42880. The inscriptions of the front side are today completely missing. Sections of the left and right sides are also missing and the surface is eroded in places making a full understanding of the text difficult. The inscription is contained within horizontal border lines and consists of two symmetrically arranged texts each of which would have started on the front of the base with one running to the left and the other to the right around the side and terminating at the back, at the point where the incised frame containing the lower part of vertical text of the back pillar inscription is located. The preserved part exclusively contains the name of the dedicant and his titles. Left and back side (left part only) Cairo JE 42880: [Cairo JE 42880]: […] [Hm-nTr] n ¡apjq Hm-nTr nTr.w n ¦hj (?)r […][WAH]-jb-[Ra]s mAa-xrw [Cairo JE 42880]: […] “the [prophet] of Inundation, the prophet of the gods of Tehi (?) […] [Wah]ib[re], justified”. Right and back side (right part only) Cairo JE 42880: [Cairo JE 42880]: […] [Hm-nTr] n [¡apj] Hm nTr nTr.w n ¦hj (?)r […] [WAH]-jb-[Ra] mAa-xrw [Cairo JE 42880]: […] “the [prophet of Inundation], the prophet of the gods of Tehi (?)[…] [Wah]ib[re], justified”. Comments on the text a The incipit of the so-called “Saite formula”, a reference to the city god, is omitted here. The “Saite formula” is a brief formula attested for the first time in the New Kingdom, and more commonly found from the Twenty-fifth Dynasty until the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period.13 It is exclusively attested on private statues and mostly located on the back pillar. Although this formula appears with great frequency during the Late Period, numerous textual uncertainties remain, as well as doubts in the understanding of its theological meaning. I have followed here the recent and alternative interpretation proposed by Klotz and translated the sentence as an imperative form rather than a passive one (see discussion below, note n. m).14 b xrp-Hw.wt is the abbreviated form of the complete title xrp-hw.wt N.t. This specific sacerdotal title occurs frequently on monuments of the Saite and Persian periods, and it was closely related to the cult of the goddess Neith at Sais.15 This title is attested since the Old Kingdom, when it indicated an office related to rites connected to the crowing of the king.16 In the Saite epoch the title became widespread again among high-ranking dignitaries throughout Lower Egypt, but with a different role and meaning linked with the goddess Neith. c The specific sacerdotal title Hm ¡r wr-wAD.tj was linked to the cult of the god Horus at Buto and was very widespread in the documentation of the Late Period and closely related with the title xrp-hw.wt (N.t).17 d “The prophet of Inundation” (Hm-nTr ¡apj) was a specific sacerdotal title usually associated with the First province of Upper Egypt.18 These priests were connected with the source of inundation at Elephantine and probably played a relevant role in observing the Nile flood and recording the Nile flood heights.19 However, the same category of priests is also attested in Lower Egypt, at Heliopolis. In this case the title Hm-nTr ¡apj most likely related to the Lower Egyptian source of the Nile, pr-¡apj. This was probably located near the ancient Kheraha (Babylon), likely corresponding to the modern Rhoda or Antar el-Naby.20 The overall geographical area of K. Jansen-Winkeln, “Zum Verständnis der «Saitischen Formel»”, SAK 28 (2000), 83-124. For new remarks on this formula see D. Klotz, “Get thee behind me, City God! New Kingdom versions of the so-called «Saite Formula»”, ZÄS 143 (2016), 204-13. 15 E. Jelínková, “Recherches sur le titre xrp Hwwt nt «administrateur des domaines de la couronne rouge»”, ASAE 50 (1950), 321-62; R. el-Sayed, “À propos du titre xrp-Hwwt”, RdÉ 28 (1976), 97-110. 16 E. Jelínková, “Un titre saïte emprunté à l'Ancien Empire”, ASAE 55 (1958), 79-125; D. Jones, An index of ancient Egyptian titles, epithets and phrases of the Old Kingdom, vol. II, Oxford 2000, 727-8, no. 2646. 17 P. Vernus, Athribis: textes et documents relatifs à la géographie, aux cultes, et à l’histoire d’une ville du Delta égyptien à l’époque pharaonique, Le Cairo 1978, 178, n. (a); C. Traunecker, “Les graffiti des frères Horsaisis et Horemheb: une famille de prêtres sous les derniers Ptolémées”, in C. Willy, A. Schoors, H. Willems (eds.), Egyptian religion: the last thousand years. Studies dedicated to the memory of Jan Quaegebeur, vol. II, Leuven 1998, 12156; G. Janes, Shabtis: a private view. Ancient Egyptian funerary statuettes in European private collections, Paris 2002, 156-7. 18 E. Laskowska-Kusztal, “Fragment de décoration d’un édifice sacré encore inconnu d’Éléphantine”, in C. ZivieCoche, I. Guermeur (eds.), “Parcourir l’éternité”: hommages à Jean Yoyotte, vol. II, Turnhout 2012, 717-8, n. h; D. Klotz, “Regionally specific sacerdotal titles in Late Period Egypt: soubassements vs. private monuments”, in A. Rickert, B. Ventker (eds.), Altägyptische Enzyklopädien. Die Soubassements in den Tempeln der griechischrömischen Zeit: Soubassementstudien I, vol. II, Wiesbaden, 752. 19 J. Locher, Topographie und Geschichte der Region am ersten Nilkatarakt in griechisch-römischer Zeit, StuttgartLeipzig 1999, 192-4. 20 D. Klotz, Adoration of the ram: five hymns to Amun-Re from Hibis temple, Yale Egyptological Studies 6, New Haven, 121-2, n. G. 13 14 the titles quoted in the text suggests that in this case the specific sacerdotal title Hm-nTr ¡apj was likely related to the Thirteeenth province of Lower Egypt rathen than Elephantine and the First Cataract. This specific sacerdotal title is connected to the Lower Egypt since the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, although it is attested only in a few documents.21 e The complete title is unreadable because part of the monument where Bologna KS 1840 should join with Cairo JE 42880 is missing. f The title Hm-nTr ¡r aA m ¡w.t-N.t is not known elsewhere. At the moment, this is the only reference recorded.22 However, it is plausible to suggest that the title was affiliated with the cult of the god Horus worshipped in the temple of Neith, probably at Sais. g Although the statue is badly damaged at this point, the identification of the signs , and is certain. I have restored the last part of the word with the sign in order to reconstruct the complete name of the man: WAH-jb-Ra. This name was very widespread in the Late Period.23 h I have restored the lacuna with sA n xrp-Hw.wt N.t, “the son of the controller of the estates of Neith/the Red Crown”. This section of the Saite formula should be devoted to the filiation of Wahibre. The lacuna can confidently be restored with the title xrp-hw.wt N.t. (see note n. b), written this time in its complete spelling .24 i Cairo JE 42880 provides an additional example of the rare specific sacerdotal title Hm-nTr N.t-Jh.t, “the servant of Neith, the Cow”. This religious title was associated with the Fourth province of Lower Egypt (Prosopite nome), as attested in the Great Geographic Text of Edfu25 and in the papyrus of Tebtynis.26 Both of these documents show different spellings (Hm n Jh.t) from those preserved in private inscriptions (Hm n Jh.t-wr.t;27 Hm-nTr N.t-Jh.t28 and the phonetic variant Hm n Ah.t29). The texts from sacerdotal literature and private documents do not provide accurate information about the ritual that these priests performed in the temples. However, from the sacerdotal literature it can be assumed that the priesthood was likely related to the primeval cow goddess Mehet-weret and/or Neith-Mehet-weret.30 j Peftjau(em)au(i)neith is a very common name during the Late Period.31 The name of the goddess Neith included in the anthroponym may suggest a link with the Saite region. k The specific title xnd (n.t) Rs-N.t relates to the weavers who worked under the supervision of the goddesses Neith and Tait at Sais. This title refers to women who were in charge of producing the clothes for the gods in the chapels of the North (Rs-N.t) and South (MH-N.t), both located in the main temple of Sais.32 According to additional sources (e.g. statue Wien inv. 62; Stockholm For a list of sources see D. Klotz, M. Le Blanc, “An Egyptian priest in the Ptolemaic court: Yale Peabody Museum 264191”, in C. Zivie-Coche, I. Guermeur (eds.), “Parcourir l’éternité”: hommages à Jean Yoyotte, vol. II, Turnhout 2012, 657, n. 53. 22 See also LGG V, 247. 23 PN I, 72, 28. 24 Wb III, 328, 16; E. Jelínková, “Recherches sur le titre xrp Hwwt nt «administrateur des domaines de la couronne rouge»”, ASAE 50 (1950), 330-4. 25 E I, 330, 17; XV, pl. 2. 26 PC 182.1, L. 17, 25. 27 Statue Wien 5775 + Statue Cairo CG 888. 28 Statue Cairo JE 34043; Statue Vatican inv. 167 + Statue Brooklyn 60.11; Statue Cairo JE 42880. 29 Statue Madrid inv. 2014. 30 LGG I, 537-9; R. el-Sayed, Documents relatifs à Saïs et ses divinités, Le Caire 1975, 67, n. n; S. Cauville, Le temple de Dendara: la porte d'Isis, Le Cairo 1999, 24, 2; D XII, 190, 5; Opet I, 243. 31 PN I, 128, 2. 32 S. Schott, “Rs-N.t and MH-N.t als Häuser der Neith”, RdÉ 19 (1967), 99-110; P. Wilson, “Gateway to the underworld: the cult areas at Sais”, BMSAES 24 (2019), 343. 21 inv. 64), each group of weavers seems to have been overseen by a superior (Hrj.t).33 l The lacuna contained the name of Wahibre’s mother. The break at this part of the statue and the lacuna on Cairo JE 42880 prevents restoration of the name. Indeed, only the final letter t is preserved with part of the determinative . m I interpret here the word as the abbreviated imperative form of the verb (r)dj. This spelling is attested in the Old, Middle and rarely in the New Kingdom, but is also recorded in archaizing inscriptions of the Late Period.34 The precise transliteration of this spelling is uncertain, but most scholars prefer to transcribe dj.35 The main reason of dispute among scholars about the interpretation of the Saite formula concerns the crucial translation of this verbal form, which consequently changes the theological meaning of the act described. The current and most followed translation among scholars proposes a dedication formula expressed in the passive voice (sDm.tw=f) with honorific transposition or with a stative: “The local god of NN is placed behind him/her, while his ka is in front of him, without obstructing his two legs, without repelling his heart, (because) he is Heliopolitan, justified”.36 According to this translation, the formula should be interpreted as a dedication, commemorating the sacralisation of the statue. Jansen-Winkeln has argued that since this kind of text occurred usually on the back pillar, the Saite formula could refer to the privilege of receiving a statue with a back pillar. According to his interpretation, the back pillar would provide protection for the deceased because it was usually identified as the local god.37 Moreover, the passive form implies that it was the privilege of a priest or an officiant to place the statue of the local god behind the human figure so that the deity would ensure continuous protection for the statue of the deceased in the temple.38 However, the recent analysis carried out by Klotz on two Nubian texts dated to the late Eighteenth Dynasty, suggest a new theological interpretation of the Saite formula for the Late Period. This new meaning is based on the translation of as the imperative form of (r)dj. The imperative translation implies instead more action and influence of the local god. The dedicant, identifying himself with Osiris-Iuni, would ask the city god to surround his/her statue with his protection. This request would happen exclusively during a divine procession in temples or necropolis when the statue of the local god would usually stop in front of the statues. This new interpretation underlines a more performative action of the Saite formula, and implies a constant and reciprocal dialogue between the city god and the individual, since the protection of the local god would not happen automatically nor in perpetuity. According to Klotz’s interpretation, the Late Period version of the Saite formula might be translated as “O city god of NN, place yourself (spiritually) around him (viz. NN’s ba), while his ka (viz. NN’s Wb III, 313, 25. For more information related to this title, see J. Leclant, H. De Meulenaere, “Une statuette égyptienne à Délos”, KÊMI 14 (1957), 38; E. Bresciani, “La statua naofora da Sais del profeta di Isi Psamteksaneit all'Ashmolean Museum di Oxford”, OA 9 (1970), 214, n. d. For further documentation see R. el-Sayed, Documents relatifs à Saïs et ses divinités, Le Caire 1975, 188-90. 34 Wb I, 76, 14; D. Werning, “Linguistic dating of the Netherworld Books attested in the New Kingdom: a critical review”, in G. Moers, K. Widmaier, A. Giewekemeyer, A. Lümers, R. Ernst (eds.), Dating Egyptian literary texts, Hamburg 2013, 243. 35 Eg. A.H. Gardiner, Egyptian grammar: being an introduction to the study of hieroglyphs, Oxford 1957 (third edition revised), §366; D. Werning, “Linguistic dating of the Netherworld Books attested in the New Kingdom: a critical review”, in G. Moers, K. Widmaier, A. Giewekemeyer, A. Lümers, R. Ernst (eds.), Dating Egyptian literary texts, Hamburg 2013, 243. 36 H. De Meulenaere, “Réflexions sur la «formule saïte»”, JEOL 34 (1995-1996), 81-5; K. Jansen-Winkeln, “Zum Verständnis der «Saitischen Formel»”, SAK 28 (2000), 83-124. 37 K. Jansen-Winkeln, “Zum Verständnis der «Saitischen Formel»”, SAK 28 (2000), 103-6. 38 D. Klotz, “Get thee behind me, City God! New Kingdom versions of the so-called «Saite Formula»”, ZÄS 143 (2016), 209. 33 statue) is (physically) in front of him (viz. NN’s ba)”.39 The iconographic variant of the pronoun tw , attested on this monument, is rare. Another parallel can be found on British Museum statue 134, dated to the pharaoh Amasis (570-526 BC).40 n The word xft is not understood here as a preposition, but is preferably used as a conjunction to introduce a temporal sentence.41 o I have integrated the lacuna with DA.t rd.wj=f, following the standard text of the Saite formula. p is an archaising spelling, attested in the Pyramid Texts (cf. Pyr. §1162a = PT 512).42 It was used again in the Late Period43 and is still documented in the Ptolemaic Period (E I, 398, 7). q After comparing this with the text inscribed on Bologna KS 1840 I proposed to restore this part of the lacuna with Hm-nTr n ¡apj, “the prophet of Inundation”. r This section of the text is damaged and it is difficult to understand the complete spelling of the word. The text is corroborated exclusively from the photographs from Bothmer’s archive. I proposed to read ¦hj , but at the moment further close parallels are not attested elsewhere. s The name Wahibre can certainly be restored here. Discussion The joint statue Bologna KS 1840 + Cairo JE 42880 draws attention to a new individual, Wahibre, so far unattested from other sources. This monument enriches our knowledge about several specific titles, widespread mostly in the Late Period (see Table 1). These include a few rarely attested offices (e.g. c) Hm-nTr ¡apj; d) Hm-nTr ¡r aA m ¡w.t-N.t, and e) Hm-nTr N.t-Jh.t). The provenance of these two fragments is unknown. Nonetheless, despite the brevity of the text carved on the statue, Wahibre reveals very useful information about his career and about where he and his family carried out their duties. All of the religious titles listed would point to the western Delta region (see Table 1). During his life Wahibre operated in the Fourth province of Lower Egypt - e) Hm-nTr N.t-Jh.t -; in the Fifth province of Lower Egypt at Sais - a) xrp-Hw.wt (N.t) - at Buto, in the Sixth province of Lower Egypt - b) Hm ¡r wr-wAD.tj - and at Heliopolis, in the Thirteenth province of Lower Egypt - c) Hm-nTr ¡apj -. Moreover, all the preserved specific titles seems to confirm that Wahibre’s parents were members of the Sais clergy and that they were active within the temple of Neith at Sais (Wahibre’s father, Peftjau(em)au(i)neith: a) xrpHw.wt (N.t), e) Hm-nTr ¡r aA m ¡w.t-N.t; Wahibre’s mother: f) xnd (n.t) Rs-N.t). Also the name of Wahibre’s father, Peftjau(em)au(i)neith, suggests a link with the goddess Neith and the city of Sais. For these reasons, it is tantalising to consider that Wahibre and his family originally came from Sais and that he dedicated his statue to a temple in the capital. The lack of most of the deity’s image within the shrine and the absence of references to it in the text prevent us from identifying the original location of the monument. From a small preserved portion of the deity, it is reasonable to assume that it was a male seated god, represented in mummiform shape. A further hindrance for establishing the original find spot or provenance of the statue is that the coexistence of multiple specific titles associated with different areas of western Delta could be the result of a deliberate administrative and political programme carried out at the beginning of D. Klotz, “Get thee behind me, City God! New Kingdom versions of the so-called «Saite Formula»”, ZÄS 143 (2016), 204-13. 40 R. el-Sayed, Documents relatifs à Saïs et ses divinités, Le Caire 1975, 135-44, no. 10. 41 A.H. Gardiner, Egyptian grammar: being an introduction to the study of hieroglyphs, Oxford 1957 (third edition revised), §169; H. De Meulenaere, “Réflexions sur la «formule saïte»”, JEOL 34 (1995-1996), 84. 42 J. Allen, The ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Atlanta 2005, 290. 43 Cf. statue London BM 134; statue Paris Rodin Museum 289. 39 the Late Period. Psametik I, after reuniting Egypt, might have located trusted people in strategic parts of Delta in order to strengthen his power in these areas.44 In doing this, he exalted the priesthood of each deity in their local role in order to gain more control of the territory, using the priests ideologically as a factor of cohesion, exploiting the religious traditions as an element of social union.45 This means that theoretically the dignitaries who brought titles to a specific place - such as Wahibre and his parents to Sais - might not be permanent residents of that place. Moreover, it is still not clear whether these people held all their offices simultaneously or whether they relate to different periods in their careers.46 It must also be noted that the long cursus honorum of dignitaries who lived during the First Millennium BC probably also included honorific titles, which were usually passed by father to son, such as is the case with statue Bologna KS 1840 + Cairo JE 42880. Therefore, in the absence of any archaeological context, or any further documentation relating to Wahibre and his family, is not possible to confirm their original provenance or the location of the statue. On purely stylistic grounds, Bothmer and Pernigotti have dated this statue to the Late Period, specifically at the end of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. Bothmer broadly classified the Cairo fragment as “Pre-Persian” in the files of CLES. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed also from the spelling of the title Hm ¡r wr-wAD.tj, which is stylistically comparable to other contemporary statues.47 In addition, a date to the end of Twenty-sixth Dynasty can be also suggested based on the archaizing spelling of the pronoun tw , used with the imperative form of the verb (r)dj (see note n. m). This spelling finds a parallel in statue London BM 314, dated to the reign of Amasis (570-526 BC).48 Nonetheless, the lack of any cartouche, the poor preservation, and the presence of stereotypical texts, prevent a more precise dating, except for those inferred exclusively on stylistic and iconographic grounds. a) xrp-Hw.wt (N.t) b) Hm ¡r wr-wAD.tj c) Hm nTr ¡apj d) Hm-nTr ¡r aA m ¡w.t-N.t e) Hm-nTr N.t-Jh.t f) xnd (n.t) Rs-N.t Fourth province LE Fifth province LE Sixth province LE Thirteenth Province LE (?) Table 1- List of the specific titles and their provenances mentioned in Bologna Museo Archeologico KS 1840 + Cairo Egyptian Museum JE 42880 Eg. the owner of scarab Louvre E 10967 performed religious duties at Sebennytos and in the Cynopolite province; see E. Tiribilli, “Il toponimo CnT nella stele IM 4018 del Serapeum di Menfi e la prima testimonianza della BellaFondazione (CnT-nfr.t)”, EVO 37 (2014), 105. 45 R. el-Sayed, “À propos du titre xrp-Hwwt”, RdÉ 28 (1976), 106-7. 46 E. Tiribilli, “New documents of the renep-priest of the Delta Horemheb, son of Ankhpakhered”, EVO 41 (2018), 140-4. 47 S. Pernigotti, La statuaria egiziana nel Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna, Bologna 1980, 67. 48 H. De Meulenaere, “Réflexions sur la «formule saïte»”, JEOL 34 (1995-1996), 83, n. 28; K. Jansen-Winkeln, “Zum Verständnis der «Saitischen Formel»”, SAK 28 (2000), 90, no. 165. 44 Figure 1: Front and back side of Bologna KS 1840 (© Courtesy of the Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna) Figure 2: Front and back side of Cairo JE 42880 (© Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum of Art) Figure 3: Left and right side of Cairo JE 42880 (© Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum of Art)