Rectangular slab inscribed with of seven columns of painted hieroglyphs naming seven sacred oils that were an important element in ancient Egyptian offering and funerary rituals, such as the ‘opening of the mouth’ ritual. Beneath each column are circular depressions which may have held a drop of the oil named. From the later Fifth Dynasty small slabs like this were placed in the burial chamber.  From right to left the oils named are: setj-heb oil; heknu oil; seftj oil; nekhnem oil; tua oil; hatet ash oil [‘best pine oil’]; hatet tjehenu oil [‘best tjehnu oil’].

Joseph Sams Collection no. 143. Illustrated in Joseph Sams’ 1839 catalogue with the label, "an ancient game on a slab of alabaster" (pl. 24).

Offering Slab for Seven Oils | National Museums Liverpool

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Rectangular slab inscribed with of seven columns of painted hieroglyphs naming seven sacred oils that were an important element in ancient Egyptian offering and funerary rituals, such as the ‘opening of the mouth’ ritual. Beneath each column are circular depressions which may have held a drop of the oil named. From the later Fifth Dynasty small slabs like this were placed in the burial chamber. From right to left the oils named are: setj-heb oil; heknu oil; seftj oil; nekhnem oil; tua oil; hatet ash oil [‘best pine oil’]; hatet tjehenu oil [‘best tjehnu oil’]. Joseph Sams Collection no. 143. Illustrated in Joseph Sams’ 1839 catalogue with the label, "an ancient game on a slab of alabaster" (pl. 24).

Offering Slab for Seven Oils

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