An Egyptian Green Schist Votive Cubit Rod of Mery-Ptah, Royal Scribe and Majordomo, late 18th Dynasty, circa 1330-1250 B.C.

of rectangular section with a single beveled edge, one side graduated, each of the other three sides inscribed with a column of inscription containing a prayer to two deities on behalf of the owner Mery-Ptah:



« Offrande que donne le roi à Osiris Oun-néfer maître de l'éternité et régent de l'Ouest et à Anubis qui préside au pavillon divin, afin qu'ils accordent d'entrer et de sortir dans la nécropole, alors que ton ba vit dans Ta-our, et de parvenir là avec une belle sépulture, au ka du véritable scribe du roi qu'il aime, le majordome Méry-ptah, juste de voix. »



« Offrande que donne le roi à Amon-Rê roi des dieux et à Ptah maître de la maât et roi des Deux Terres, afin qu'ils accordent d'être glorifié au ciel et puissant sur terre, avec un visage qui voit, des oreilles qui entendent et une bouche saine, sans qu'un accident ne lui arrive, au ka du véritable scribe du roi qu'il aime, le très loué du maître des Deux Terres, qui contente le cœur du roi, le majordome Méry-Ptah, juste de voix. »   



« Offrande que donne le roi à Thot maître des paroles divines et à Ptah maître d'Ânkh-taouy qui est sur le grand siège, afin qu'ils accordent une belle existence en voyant Rê au ciel en joie et en liesse chaque jour, avec une belle vieillesse après un âge avancé (sic), au ka du seul qui soit parfait, loué de son dieu, vrai silencieux et d'une bonne nature, le scribe du roi et majordome Méry-ptah, juste de voix. »



Translation by Olivier Perdu

Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain (1852-1929), Brussels and Heliopolis
Jean, Baron Empain (1902-1946), Château de Bouffémont, Val-d'Oise
by descent to the present owner

Excellent condition, as shown in the photos; the few small light brown areas are inclusions in the stone.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

For another late 18th Dynasty green schist votive cubit rod with hetep-di-nesut offering formula, probably also from the Memphis area, see the example inscribed for Ptahmose, High Priest of Ptah, in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden (inv. no. AD 54: Ägyptens Aufstieg zur Weltmacht, Mainz am Rhein, 1987, p. 141, no. 52).  See also the inscribed green schist cubit rod found with a wood example in the 18th Dynasty tomb of Aperia at Saqqara (Z.A Hawass, K. Garrett, and F. Hosny, eds., Hidden Treasures of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, 2002, p. 46; Trésors cachés de l'Égypte, 2004, p. 144).

Edouard Empain was one of the most successful financiers and industrialists of late 19th/early 20th century Belgium, at a time when King Leopold's visions of empire was driving the country to ever more ambitious investments abroad as well as considerable colonial expansion. The experience Empain acquired in creating the Paris underground served him well in Egypt when establishing a railway line connecting the center of Cairo and another project of his, a newly built luxury suburb which he named Heliopolis and where he built for himself a Xanadu-style architectural extravaganza of the first order. His taking residence for a good part of the year in Egypt allowed him to help expand the Egyptian collections of the Musées Royaux d'art et d'histoire in Brussels, of which Egyptologist Jean Capart was then the curator. In 1905 Empain received the title of baron for brokering and partially funding the acquisition of the complete Old Kingdom mastaba of Neferirtenef on behalf of the museum. In 1907, after funding Capart's ultimately unsuccessful excavations at Heliopolis, he subsidized a whole campaign of acquisitions for the museum resulting in the addition of dozens of important objects to the collections and eventually to the reorganization of the Egyptian galleries (see J. Capart, "Une importante donation d'antiquités égyptiennes," Bulletin des Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, March 1908, pp. 28-30, idem, Chronique d'Égypte, vol. 9, 1930, pp. 29-30, and Who Was Who in Egyptology, W.R. Sawson and E.P. Uphill, eds., 3rd ed., London, 1995, p. 141).