Fragment of an Obelisk

Granite. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, 1498-1483 B.C. Reign of Hatshepsut. From Thebes, temple of Karnak. Pairs of tall pointed-tipped obelisks flanked temple gateways. Usually made from red granite quarried in Aswan, 120 miles south of Thebes, their tips were sheathed in gold to catch the sun. This fragment comes from one of a pair of obelisks set up by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut in the temple of Amun at Karnak. Carved down the shaft were images of her offering to the gods, while its inscription showed her pride in her achievement: “She made it as a monument for her father Amun…erecting for him two great obelisks at the holy gateway called ‘Amun is Great in Majesty’…wrought with fine gold, they illuminate the Two Lands like the sun-disc. Nothing has been made like this since the beginning of time.” One of the obelisks fell and shattered in antiquity. The other still stands in the temple, stretching 90 feet into the sky.