Institute of Egyptology

Japanese collections of Egyptian antiquities have seldom received serious attention by scholars in the field, remaining virtually unknown inside and outside the national borders. Identified by the writer in a museum of Tokyo, the fragments of a hitherto unpublished Sixth Dynasty biographical inscription and some related reliefs are here presented and discussed for the first time. The pieces are relevant for the mentioning in the text of three kings in relation with expeditionary activities; the reference to an episode of nick-name attribution by the king; the reference to the import of goods such as lapis lazuli, lead/tin, silver and foreigners from the Levant.

Riassunto. Il presente contributo intende dare notizia dell’identificazione di tre nuovi frammenti dell’iscrizione biografica del cancelliere del dio sulle due grandi navi Iny, ufficiale egizio vissuto ai tempi dei faraoni Pepi I, Merenra e Pepi II e da questi incaricato a più riprese di missioni a carattere commerciale sulle coste levantine. Della sua biografia erano noti finora soltanto il frammento biografico maggiore e quello minore, che per quanto incompleti, costituivano già di per sé un unicum, configurandosi come l’unica attestazione epigrafica privata dell’Antico Regno a documentare con relativo dettaglio mete e scopi delle frequentazioni commerciali egiziane sulle coste siro-palestinesi. La rilevanza dei tre frammenti qui presentati è palese: integrandosi fisicamente e contenutisticamente con i precedenti, essi restituiscono alla sua originaria integrità un testo autobiografico non convenzionale della VI dinastia di estremo valore storico-linguistico, completo tanto dei toponimi precedentemente in lacuna, quanto di nuovi interessanti dettagli su viaggi e vicissitudini del proprietario.


The present paper is intended as a preliminary presentation of three newly identified and heretofore undocumented reliefs fragments belonging to biographic inscription of Iny, a recently redi-scovered Egyptian officer, who lived and acted as comander of expeditionary activities toward the Levant, during the reign of Pepy I, Merenre and Pepy II. Two of these new fragments join virtually break-to-break with each other and fit on top of the previously known ‘large’ fragment, completing it in its upper part. The third piece, an inscribed limestone panel bearing also a representation of the owner, fits with the so-called ‘minor’ fragment as its lower part. The relevance of the discovery lies in the contents of the restored inscriptions: these new fragments not only provide new relevant information concerning the objectives of Egyptian expeditionary activities to Byblos and the Levant during the Sixth Dynasty, including a series of new and valuable toponyms, but by revealing further startling details on the vicissitudes of the owner, they confirm also the previous interpretation of their significance.

The present paper addresses three newly identified and heretofore undocumented reliefs fragments belonging to biographic inscriptions of the sealbearer Iny, a recently rediscovered Egyptian officer, who lived and acted as commander of expeditionary activities toward the Levant, during the reign of Pepy I, Merenre and Pepy II. Two of these new limestone fragments join virtually break-to-break with each other and fit on top of the previously known ‘large’ fragment, completing it in its upper part. The third piece, an inscribed panel bearing also a representation of the owner, fits with the so-called ‘minor’ fragment as its lower part. The importance of the reliefs lays evidently in their inscriptional contents, as they not only provide the missing parts of the inscriptions, with new relevant information concerning the objectives of Egyptian expeditionary activities to Byblos and the Levant during the Sixth Dynasty as well as a series of new and valuable toponyms, but, by revealing further startling details on the vicissitudes of the owner, they also confirm the previously attempted interpretations of their significance.

Il volume L’Egitto a Torino, sesto titolo della collana «Serekh»,
organo ufficiale dell’Associazione Amici Collaboratori del
Museo Egizio di Torino (ACME), è ora disponibile anche in
libreria, in veste più elegante e destinato a un più largo pubblico.
Rivelando il particolare legame tra Torino e l’antica cultura
egizia, simboleggiato anche dalla presenza del celebre Museo
Egizio, la pubblicazione raccoglie una ventina di saggi, originati
dalle conferenze dei vari studiosi negli ultimi tre anni di attività
dell’ACME. Dopo una rassegna sulla storia dell’Associazione,
ricostruita con la testimonianza di chi si è avvicendato a
parlare, il fi lo del discorso «egittologico» si dipana attraverso
materie e argomenti molto diversi fra loro, ma tutti di grande
curiosità e fascino. Si va così dall’Egitto dei Cesari e di Caligola
a quello del trattato con gli Ittiti o all’inedito confronto dell’arte
di Amarna con quella di El Greco. Non mancano rifl essioni
profonde sull’infl uenza che la civiltà egizia ha avuto sul mondo
occidentale e moderno, ad esempio nell’arte o nelle concezioni
religiose. Sono presenti anche interessanti e originali ritratti di
archeologi del passato, così come accurate descrizioni di alcuni
tra i più recenti cantieri di scavo in Egitto.
I contributi del volume si devono a Itamar Singer, Alessandro
Bongioanni, Fulvio De Salvia, Gian Franco Gianotti, Anna Ferrari,
Federico Bottigliengo, Emanuele M. Ciampini, James Allen, Loredana
Sist, Giuseppina Capriotti Vittozzi, Eleni Vassilika, Marilina Betrò,
Michele Marcolin, Helmut Satzinger, Beppe Moiso, Geoff rey G.
Martin, Sergio Pernigotti, Gloria Rosati, Christian Greco.

A new biographical fragment from the decoration of the yet unidentified tomb of of the seal bearer of the god Iny is here discussed for the first time. Similar to the known minor biographical fragment, the only witness to its existence is bore by the writer’s hand-drawn draft from a photograph that was made available by a private for an inquire about ten years ago and that only recently became possible addressing openly. Its textual content chronicles further unusual details about the peculiar deeds of the owner, Iny: his introduction to the court at the time of Pepy I probably upon his return from an expedition and his participation, in the company of a foreign prince, to the celebrations of the Great Festival.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"An Elusive Biographic Fragment of Iny" in : Nozomu Kawai and Benedict G. Davies (eds), The Star Who Appears in Thebes, Studies in Honour of Jiro Kondo, Abercromby Press: Wallasey, 2022. Pp. 267-291.

A brief report of the previously unknown Ramesside Tomb chapel of Isisnofret discovered near the monument of Khaemwaset on the summit of a rocky outcrop located to the north west of Saqqara. It is argued that the tomb belongs to Isisnforet, the daughter of Prince Khaemwaset.

This article examines the interaction between Ay and Horemheb and their attitudes towards one another. Under Tutankhamun, Ay was the fatherly advisor of the king at the court, while Horemheb was the actual governor of all the administration in the country. However, Ay seems to have obtained the title “Vizier,” indicating that he was also capable of governing the country. Ay was indeed on the verge of becoming the successor of Tutankhamun. There was strong antagonism between Ay and Horemheb sometime after Tutankhamun's death. The evidence implies that Horemheb sought to discredit Ay as proper successor to the king. As a result, Ay appears to have excluded Horemheb from greater courtly influence by appointing Nakhtmin not only as his “Generalissimo” but also as “King's Son.” This squabbling even continued after Ay's death as Horemheb endeavored to erase all memory of Ay, his men, and even Queen Ankhesenamun in revenge.

"This study deals with four major topics concerning Tutankhamun's reign by examining all the available evidence, which has especially increased over the last two decades. The research strategy is designed as an interdisciplinary approach drawing on epigraphy, philology, art history, and archaeology.

The first chapter examines the Tutankhamun's parentage and family, as well as the historical situation at the end of the Amarna period. The evidence from Amarna suggests that Tutankhamun was most likely a son of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. As for the coregent and successor of Akhenaten, there were two rulers: Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten.

Chapter two deals with Tutankhamun's accession and death. Tutankhamun was eventually interred in a modest tomb in the Valley of the Kings, prepared for a contemporary high courtier.

Chapter three is a catalogue of the known monuments of Tutankhamun. This study aims to gather the evidence currently available for a better understanding of Tutankhamun's building and restoration program, which also serves as an important source for the history of Tutankhamun's reign. The data demonstrates that Tutankhamun conducted vital building and restoration activities throughout Egypt within the nine years of his reign, as indicated in his Restoration Stela. The king also consciously stressed his relationship with Amenhotep III as the successor of the orthodoxy.

Chapter four is devoted to the administration under Tutankhamun, which is the major contribution of this study. Approximately 150 office holders were examined in order to evaluate Tutankhamun's government. During Tutankhamun's reign, a pattern emerges wherein high officials take on royal prerogatives. Ay, Horemheb, and Maya functioned as the power behind the throne. It is shown, however, that Ay and Horemheb had a serious antagonistic relationship sometime after Ay ascended to the throne. The prosopographical study reveals that the priests of the temples of the traditional deities were reappointed from the children of influential families, as mentioned in the Restoration Stela."