Nofret (wife of Rahotep)

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Nefertiti (disambiguation) .

Nefertiti in hieroglyphics
Nofret (Neferet) Nfr.t The beautiful , the perfect
Head of the grave statue of Nefertiti with name and title in hieroglyphics

Grave statues of Nofret (right) and her husband Rahotep

Nefertiti was a high-ranking female figure in ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom around 2,600 BC.

family

Nothing is known about her parents. She was married to Prince Rahotep , a son of King Sneferu and brother of King Cheops .

With Rahotep, Nofret had three sons named Djedi, Itu and Neferkau and three daughters named Mereret, Nedjemib and Sethtet. These children are only known by naming their names in their parents' graves and not otherwise documented.

tomb

Nofret was buried with her husband in Mastaba 6 on the so-called " North Mastaba Field " in Meidum . This burial ground is north of the first pyramid of her father-in-law Sneferu. The mastaba has two separate chapels and tombs. Rahotep was buried in room A, his wife Nofret in room B. Her chapel had a niche decorated in relief, the fragments of which are now in various collections. The center of the niche represents Nofret and Rahotep in front of a sacrificial table. Below are the six children of the two. On both sides of the niches there is a list of sacrifices in the upper part, in the lower part personalized domains are shown that bring offerings. Nofret is also shown twice in her husband's decorated cult chapel, where she stands slightly smaller behind her husband.

Funerary statue

Nofret is best known for the life-size, excellently preserved grave statue, which was found together with that of her husband during excavations by Auguste Mariette in 1871 in the common grave. The statue of Nefertiti is 122 cm high, her husband's one centimeter smaller. The two people are shown sitting on white armchairs, on the backrests of which the names and titles of both people are given in black letters. Both statues are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and form a special attraction in the "Old Kingdom" section.

Name and title

The inscription on the statue of Nofret mentions her name (German: "the beautiful") and the only title is "Rechet Nisut" (German: "acquaintances of the king"). In her burial chapel she also bears the title “Miterert”, but its translation causes difficulties.

literature

• Mohamed Saleh, Hourig Sourouzian: Official Catalog. The main works in the Egyptian Museum Cairo . Von Zabern, Mainz 1986, ISBN 3-8053-0640-7 , pp. 60f.
• Alessandro Bongioanni, Maria Sole Croce (ed.): Illustrated guide to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. White Star, Vercelli 2001, ISBN 88-8095-703-1 , pp. 78-79.
• Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004, ISBN 977-424-878-3 , pp. 52-61.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ WM Flinders Petrie: Medum , London 1892, plate 15 (online: [1] )
2. ↑ WM Flinders Petrie: Medum , London 1892, Table IX, X