Setka

Setka was a prince of the ancient Egyptian 4th Dynasty and a son of Pharaoh Radjedef ; his mother is unknown. Setka is only known from a statue that comes from his father's pyramid district in Abu Roasch .

Setka as a possible pharaoh

According to a suggestion by Aidan Dodson , Setka could have come to the Egyptian throne for a few years after the death of his father Radjedef and his uncle Chephren . He would then be identical to a sparsely documented pharaoh, whom the historian Manetho Bicheris calls. In his deliberations, Dodson refers to a signature from a pyramid in Saujet el-Arjan , the reading of which is unclear and which he interprets as Sethka. Setka would have changed his name slightly after the accession to the throne. Dodson's proposal has not yet met with general approval from experts. Bicheris is identified by a number of other researchers with Baka , another son of Radjedef, but there are also other readings for the signature from Saujet el-Arjan.

statue

Scribe statue of Setka; Louvre , Paris

The statue of Setka was discovered by Émile Chassinat during an excavation in the pyramid complex of Radjedef in the winter of 1900/01 and has been in the Louvre in Paris since 1907 (inv.no. E 12639 and E 12631). The prince is shown as a scribe . It is one of the oldest known examples of a so-called scribe statue .

The statue consists of three parts: the actual scribe statue made of granite and two pedestals. The outer platform is made of limestone and measures 64 × 66 × 17 cm. An inscription is carved on the top with the name and title of the owner. In the middle there is a semicircular recess into which the second wooden pedestal is embedded. It measures 30.5 × 17.5 × 4.6 cm and has a recess in which the actual statue is finally embedded. It is 30 cm high, 23 cm wide and 17 cm deep. Setka is shown sitting cross-legged, his only garment is an apron. On his lap is an unrolled roll of papyrus , which he holds with both hands. The index and middle fingers of the right hand are brought together as if he were holding a writing implement, which, however, was not made by the sculptor.

literature

Michel Baud : Famille royale et pouvoir sous l'Ancien Empire égyptien. Tome 2 (= Bibliothèque d'Étude. Volume 126/2). Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Cairo 1999, ISBN 2-7247-0250-6 , p. 578 ( PDF; 16.7 MB ).
Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt . The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004, pp. 52-61, ISBN 977-424-878-3
Bertha Porter , Rosalind LB Moss : Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings. III. Memphis . 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1974, p. 3
Christiane Ziegler (Ed.): Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids . The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1999, pp. 250-251

Web links

The scribe statue in the Louvre (French)

Individual evidence

↑ Aidan Dodson: On the date of the unfinished pyramid of Zawyet el-Aryan . In: Discussion in Egyptology 3, Oxford 1985, pp. 21-24; Dodson / Hilton: Complete Royal Families . P. 61

personal data
SURNAME	Setka
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Prince of the ancient Egyptian 4th Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH	26th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	26th century BC BC or 25th century BC Chr.

[1] Aidan Dodson: On the date of the unfinished pyramid of Zawyet el-Aryan . In: Discussion in Egyptology 3, Oxford 1985, pp. 21-24; Dodson / Hilton: Complete Royal Families . P. 61