91 13 Cylindrical vessels bearing the names of Pepi I and Pepi II Old Kingdom, Sixth Dynasty, (a) reign of Pepi I, c. 2276–2228 BCE; (b) reign of Pepi II, c. 2216–2153 BCE Travertine (a) H. 14.8, Diam. 11.7 cm; (b) H. 19.5, Diam. 11.2 cm Donated by Ernst von Sieglin, Stuttgart, in 1910 Skulpturensammlung, Inv. nos. (a) ZV 2600 E 002, (b) ZV 2600 E 001 The two high, cylindrical vessels made of travertine are inscribed with the names of the Pharaohs Pepi I (a) and Pepi II (b). The first vessel (a) is elegantly curved, worked with a wide projecting rim and provided with three vertical and one horizontal inscription lines. They contain two of the five royal names. First, the title “King of Upper and Lower Egypt” appears on the right side, followed by the so-called throne name “Beloved of Re” in an oval (cartouche). In the middle, the Horus name was added: “Beloved of the Two Lands”. The Horus name shows the sky god Horus as a falcon on top of a palace containing the hieroglyphs of the name, thus associating the king with this god (cat. no. 11 d). On the left is an inscription reading “First Sed festival”. Below this are two horizontal inscriptions reading “May he be given life forever”, arranged as mirror images. The hieroglyph for “to give” is written only once and located in the centre and belong to both inscriptions. The inscription is framed on either side by two was sceptres, which presumably stand for dominion, supporting the hieroglyph for sky; at the bottom is a horizontal line, known as the base line. The inscription carved into the stone still reveals remnants of the original blue colour intended to make the text stand out. The second vessel (b) bears two vertical inscriptions: on the left, after the title “King of Upper and Lower Egypt”, the cartouche contains the throne name Nefer-ka-Re “With perfect Ka(-spirit), a (sun god) Re” as well as “may he live forever”. Engraved on the opposite side is the Horus name: “With divine appearances”. The lower part of this inscription is lost. Again, the inscription is framed by two was sceptres, the sky hieroglyph and the base line. Both vessels have been broken several times and have been restored. They probably contained precious oils used during the Sed festival. Unfortunately, the origin of the vessels is unclear. However, it can be assumed that they came from the respective mortuary temples of these kings in Saqqara. During excavations in the mortuary temple of Pepi II, vessels of Pepi I with mention of the Sed festival were discovered alongside vessels of this king. Cylindrical vessels made of clay and different types of stone are known to have been produced in Egypt from as early as the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods. The form that appears here, however, was only used from the Fifth Dynasty onwards. Travertine was an extremely popular stone for making vessels in Ancient Egypt. It can be easily worked and shaped into very thin walls, whereby the veining of the stone stands out aesthetically as a decorative element (cat. no. 32 c, 33c). The Sed festival was a royal festival celebrated for the first time when the Pharaoh had reigned for thirty years. In subsequent years, the intervals between the celebrations were shorter. Also, the requirement of thirty years was not always observed, i.e. the festival was sometimes celebrated earlier. It served to reinvigorate royal power and regenerate the physical strength of the Pharaoh (cat. no. 1). MG Selected Bibliography: (a) Pagenstecher 1913: 174, Plate 2 no. 5; cat. Dresden 1977: 55 no. 187, fig. 23; cat. Leipzig 1989: no. 116 with fig.; (b) Pagenstecher 1913: 175, Plate 2 no. 14; cat. Dresden 1977: 55 no. 188, fig. 22; cat. Leipzig 1989: no. 117 with fig. Literature: Arnold/Pischikova 1999; Von Beckerath 1999
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