Funerary Cone of the Vizier Ptahmose MET 30

Ptahmose was a

High Priest of Amun The High Priest of Amun or First Prophet of Amun ('' ḥm nṯr tpj n jmn'') was the highest-ranking priest in the priesthood of the ancient Egyptian god Amun. The first high priests of Amun appear in the New Kingdom of Egypt, at the beginnin ...

and

Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

of southern Egypt-(

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

), under

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...

(

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

). Certain historians place him at the end of the reign in 1378 BC. Others place him in the first part of the reign.

Life

He was succeeded as vizier in the south by

Ramose Ramose (Egyptian: '' rꜥ-ms(.w)'') was an ancient Egyptian name, meaning "Ra is born". Variants of the name include Ramesses (''Ramessu'') and Paramessu; these various spellings could be used to refer to the same person. Notable bearers of th ...

, and several documents in Ptahmose's name are spread among the world's main Egyptological collections dating him at the latest to 28–30 years after Amenhotep III's reign. A

stela A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

at the

Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (, ) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was res ...

allows us to better know this man who – in a rare instance – combined the offices of Vizier, Mayor of Thebes, and High Priest of Amon. The stela's provenance is not indicated by the museum's archives, though it was probably deposited by Ptahmose's family

ex voto An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or a divinity, given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ''ex voto suscepto'', "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. The term is usually restricted to Christian example ...

at Abydos. It dates him to Amenhotep III's reign, since that pharaoh's

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

appears on it. Its text is effectively made up of classic laudatory formulae addressed to

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

as well as prayers that Ptahmose may profit from the offerings made to the god in his temple, which supports the stela coming from the god's temple rather than Ptahmose's tomb. It was erected after his death, since it calls him '' justified'', a typical term given to the dead. He is shown in the robes of a high priest adoring Osiris and he addresses the reader in a set of classic formulae used by the dead in the form of a ''negative confession'' to the god. It mentions the expansion of Ptahmose's tomb at the pharaoh's expense and that it is joined to ''his funerary monument in the city of eternity, his final place of residence''. A long biographical text gives the precise details of his career and in the lower

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), ...

are shown his 7 children before their parents, in a typical pose for scenes of funerary offerings. It gives their names as Thutmose (chief prophet of

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

), Houy (younger brother, whose titles and offices are not specified), Nefertari, Mutemwia, Hemetnetjer, Mutnofret and a second Nefertari – all five daughters are ''musicians of Amon''. Houy and the second Nefertari were probably still children or adolescents when the stela was put up, explaining why no offices are given for him and the representation of her as a young girl. The stela also tells us that Ptahmose's wife was called Apeny and was still alive when the stela was put up (since her name and titles are not followed by the qualifiers reserved for the dead mentioned above).

Burial

Ptahmose was likely buried in Thebes.

Funerary cone Funerary cones were small cones made from clay that were used in ancient Egypt, almost exclusively in the Theban Necropolis. The items were placed over the entrance of the Ancient_Egyptian_funerary_practices#Tombs, chapel of a tomb. Early example ...

s of the First Prophet of Amun Ptahmose are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.O’Conner and Cline (eds), Amenhotep III, pg.194, 202

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ptahmose (Vizier) 14th-century BC clergy Ancient Egyptian priests Viziers of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt Theban high priests of Amun