Shepset-ipet (also read as Shepsetipet and Shepset-ipwt) was an ancient Egyptian princess living during the late

2nd Dynasty The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last ruler, ...

. She may have been the daughter of king (

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

)

Peribsen Seth-Peribsen (also known as Ash-Peribsen, Peribsen and Perabsen) is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch (pharaoh), who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC). His chronological position within this dyna ...

Khasekhemwy Khasekhemwy (ca. 2690 BC; ', also rendered ''Kha-sekhemui'') was the last Pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. Little is known about him, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built the mudbrick fort known as Shu ...

. She is known by her decorated

slab stela Slab or SLAB may refer to: Physical materials * Concrete slab, a flat concrete plate used in construction * Stone slab, a flat stone used in construction * Slab (casting), a length of metal * Slab (geology), that portion of a tectonic plate that i ...

Identity

Shepset-ipet may have been the daughter of either

or (more likely)

. The artistic layout and the body proportions represented on her slab stela were common during the late 2nd Dynasty. During this era, slab stelas depicting the deceased sitting on an offering table became very popular and they were displayed in special niches inside the burial chamber.Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson, London 2004, , p.47 & 48.

Titles

As a princess, Shepset-ipet bore several elite and pious titularies: * ''Daughter of the king'' (Egyptian: ''Sat-nesw''). * ''Sister of the mayor'' (Egyptian: ''Khebed-

hatia Hatia is a town and railway station in Ranchi district, Jharkhand, India. Etymology The name "Hatia" derive from "Hat" which means "market." The Hat was established by King of Barkagarh Ani Nath Shahdeo. Geography Location Hat ...

'').

Attestations

Next to nothing is known about Shepset-ipet's career, except for her titles. She is attested by several earthen jars labelled with black

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...

and by her slab stela. All things were found in her

mastaba A mastaba (, or ), also mastabah, mastabat or pr- djt (meaning "house of stability", " house of eternity" or "eternal house" in Ancient Egyptian), is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inwa ...

tomb at

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphi ...

.W. Stevenson Smith: ''The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt''. Penguin Books Ltd., New Haven/London (UK) 1998, , p. 22 & 47. Her slab stela was found by

Walter Bryan Emery Walter Bryan Emery, CBE, (2 July 1903 – 11 March 1971) was a British Egyptologist. His career was devoted to the excavation of archaeological sites along the Nile Valley.Archaic Egypt (bio), Walter B. Emery, Pelican Books, London, 1963. Duri ...

at the entrance of mastaba S-3477 in 1902. It is made of fine polished

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

. Shepset-ipet is depicted as a seated woman, she wears a finely curled hair fashion ending in long, delicate dreadlocks. She is dressed in a tight gown which is knotted together above her left shoulder, the knot is made of a lanyard in shape of the ''Tijt''-knot. The lady also wears a delicate pearl necklace. Shepset-ipet looks to the right and reaches out for some sort of bread or cake on an offering table. The right half of the stela is decorated with the common arrangement of offering foods. The spot where Shepset-ipet's name was encarved shows traces of revisions, thus the stela was possibly once created for another person.Joann Fletcher: ''The Story of Egypt''. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd., London (UK) 2015, , p.74.

Tomb

Shepset-ipet's tomb was -with some certainty- mastaba tomb S-3477 at Saqqara. The tomb is heavily damaged and most of the interior has collapsed. The burial chamber is thought to be the original place of display for the slab stela, as it was usual for the second dynasty. The remains of a sixty years old woman were also found inside the tomb. She had apparently suffered from a badly deformed jaw.

References

{{Second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt Princesses of the Second Dynasty of Egypt 27th-century BC people