STELAE 1

(oi) If I read this right, it reads, in columns (sort of) from right to left:Revered before the king, one who loves his Lord, the Great God (the king)The overseer of the hairdresser(s) of the Great House (royal residence)Kha-bau-Ptah Our man sits on a four-legged stool (only two are shown in this sort-of orthographic projection)holding his badges of office. 2477-2464BCE (J2236-2249)

(oi) Biu, he says ... (I am) a smr wAty, that is, a sole companion of the King.
Well, there were a lot of "sole companions" of the king, maybe it means that Biu was invited to private consultations with the king, a signal honor. 2400-2250BCE (J2313-2463)

(oi) Htp di nswt / prt-xrw Df(aw) n sDAw nswt, / axw(?) nxn, irr sktw(?) n / Hwt-Hr nbt in / snfr-ppy rn.f / nfr snniAlthough he bears the name of King Pepy of Dyn. 6, Seneni's stela is dated to the following one or two dynasties. 2250-2213BCE (J2463-2500).

(oi) A huge stela, currently located in the Oriental Insitute in Chicago. The stela's glyphs are incised and then inlaid. It is a sure sign that its commissioner, the scribe Nefer-Maat was a man of very great means. And his wife, Itet, was an acquantance of the king, the stela tells us. Their four children appear below.

(oi) If I read it right, the animal in the top register is a milker, and the driver has the jug on his arm, but the one in the bottom register is bound for the "House of Eternity as an offering".

(oi) Although the colors are no longer vivid, they are easily visible on this stela which is more than 4000 years old. The hieroglyphs are beautifully formed and exquisitely detailed. A very lovely piece of work. ca 2175BCE (J2538)

(oi) That's a water lily the noble Min is holding Min is holding to his nose for a fresh scent. His woman, Ryia embraces him. They are actually sitting side by side on the couch but Egyptian art did not follow modern conventions. The table, loaded with provisions for the afterlife, brings a subtle smile to their faces.

(ph) After the collapse of central authority ended the Old Kingdom, Nefersekfekhi, a priest and royal seal bearer was a local high-ranking official of the First Intermediate Period. His stela is rich in detail, particularly depicting and identifying all the offerings being made to him. He will not starve. Nor did he in real life. Ancient Egypt was a barter economy, money had not been invented yet, so this stela cost a lot in payments of food, clothing, and other goods. about 2175BCE (about J2540)

(ph) Bebi and his wife, whose name I can't make out, probably lived in the First Intermediate Period but may have flourished just at the beginning of the middle kingdom. Some paint is still visible on the stone. 2160-2000BCE (J2553-2713)

(ph) The first line is a very standard offering formula, reading from right to left: "A royal offering (to) Anubis, who is upon his mountain and in the embalming chamber, Lord of the Sacred Land (the mortuary), a voice-offering of bread and beer." A voice-offering is one which comes into existence simply by reciting the offering.The standard offertory continues on the second line: "To the one who is revered before the great god

(ph) This lady lived perhaps at the same time as Bebi, shown elsewhere on this page. She says she was not only an acquaintance of the king, but a "sole companion".
Henty will feast forever not only on the standard bread and beer but also, we see, on flesh and fowl, all which this stela will produce for her nourishment in the afterlife. 2160-2000BCE (J2553-2713)

(oi) Living when strong central government was being restored to Egypt at the founding of the Middle Kingdom, Khemensu, another "sole companion to the king" travelled on royal missions around the Egypt of his time, supported, no doubt, by his loving wife, Nofret, "Beauty". She stands behind him, embracing him as he stands dressed in formal attire holding his badges of office.ca 2050BCE (J2663)

(oi) On the top register, left hand panel, sits Senbu, requesting an offering through the king and the god Wepwawet (Osiris as opener of the ways to the underworld). On the right is his "beloved wife, the lady of the house, Sat-Sobek". Other members of his family and even his household servants are also depicted on this stela. They all lived about the time of the close of the Middle Kingdom or the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period. About 1790BCE (J2923)

(ph) The museum tag notes that Inu is an oasis Army Commander, and that he is accompanied here by his wife, Heteptu. It also says that this stela was dedicated to them by his house-servant, the steward Penu ("Mouse"), who must have been devoted to them. The stela is guarded by the wadjet eyes at the top and is further sanctified by the incense pots burning forever at the sides of the upper register. 1790BCE (J2923)

(fm) Ib-Sa-Neswet-iai tells us that he was man about town, reputable, resolved disputes, liked by everyone. The son of Horhirkhutef, his woman was Sobekemsauf. Dyn 11-12, ca. 1790BCE (J2923)

(ph) A royal offering for Osiris, Lord of Djedu, the Great God, Lord of Abydos. May he give a voice offering of bread and beer, flesh and fowl, everything wonderful and sanctified, and incense, oil, linen and alabaster: which a god lives on, to the Ka of the priest Pai-yer. (Commissioned) by his sister who causes his name to live on, Idy.
By repeating this prayer you help Idy provide provisions to her beloved brother forever. About 1500 BCE, (J3200)

(oi) "Asiatics", by the look of them, i.e. eastern Mediterranean types. This comes from the tomb of Horemheb. The king is evidently above them in the part that has been broken off. He may be seated on a throne or standing on a platform whose base (in front of these foreigners) is decorated with the Sema sign. No mere decoration is this, however, for it depicts the papyrus of Lower Egypt and the water lily of Upper Egypt bound together. The message that this sends is: The UNITED kingdom of Upper and Lower Egypt. 1324-1321BCE (J3389-3392)

(oi) A musical procession is underway, clearly a religious one at that, because the cow, or calf perhaps, is in the parade, a position which spells a bad ending for the bovine. But, be of good cheer, for caught as it is in the snapshot of this moment in time, the animal lives on in this depiction, as the signs above its head proclaim, forever.
About 1350BCE (about J3360)

(fm) This little stela looks dirty, but the "smudges" are actually black paint. You can download a description of this stela and others in the Field Museum, Chicago, from here.
When you're in the Field, make sure to ask for a copy of John DeWard's excellent tour guide entitled "Decoding Ancient Egypt: Hieroglyphs and Language." You will be amply rewarded by his introduction to hieroglyphic writing and to his numerous and informative articles on Egyptian artifacts displayed in the museum. I'll let you look up the information on this stela in those sources.

(oi) Moments before final entombment, the god of embalming, Anubis, or a priest dressed as Anubis, puts the mummy on its feet. Another celebrant then holds an adze to the mummy's face. Thus is performed the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony, which restores life, but the eternal life of the next world, to the mummy. From this point on the mummy will live in the tomb, its spirit coming out during the day to commune with the living, particularly its relatives and/or descendents. Since the body is now alive, it will need nourishment, hence all the offering prayer/spells for nourishment, clothing, and creature comforts that you see uttered on many other stela on this page. Dyn 19, 1291-1213BCE (J3422-3500)

(oi) Neb-aa, whose name means Great Lord, stands at center right honoring the crocodile god at far left and the lion headed god at center left. His son, who commissioned this stela and thereby is causing his name to live, stands behind him in support. Probably that's Neb-aa's wife leading the women in the next register. The first four women appear to be adults or grown daughters. They are wearing unguent cones on their heads and water lily flowers are attached to their hair or perhaps their headbands. The group of males in the bottom register seems to be all adults except maybe the one on the extreme right. About 1200BCE (J3500)