100px, Statue of May, Egyptian Museum in Berlin
May was an
ancient Egyptian official of the
New Kingdom
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
who was in office under king
Thutmosis III
Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...
.
May is known from his tomb in
Qaw el-Kebir and from one, perhaps even from two statues. He bears the titles ''mayor'' and ''overseer of priest'' and was therefore most likely the local governor at Qaw el-Kebir, ancient Tjebu.
The tomb of May was excavated at Qaw el-Kebir. It has several underground chambers. Here were also found the fragments of his sarcophagus, that was smashed into pieces. The sarcophagus was decorated on the inside and on the outside, providing the names and titles of May
May is also known from a statue that is now in the
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...
in Berlin. It shows May sitting on a chair. The inscriptions provide his name and titles. On the statue appears also the name of king Thutmosis III, providing a precise dating. Around his neck he wears the gold of honor. He must have received it from the king. A second statue now in the
Luxor Museum
Luxor Museum is an archaeological museum in Luxor (ancient Thebes), Egypt. It stands on the corniche, overlooking the east bank of the River Nile.
Establishment
The Luxor Museum was inaugurated in 1975. It is a two-story building. The range of ...
is very close in style and also shows an official with the gold of honor. The statue is not inscribed but might belong to May too.
[Laila M. Azzam: ''Another statue of the mayor May, Luxor Museum J. 1.'' In: Khaled Abdalla Daoud (Hrsg.): ''Studies in honor of Ali Radwan'' (= ''Annales du service des antiquités de l'Égypte. (ASAE)'' Supplément 34). Voume 1. Conseil Suprême des Antiquités de l'Égypte, Kairo 2005, {{ISBN, 977-305-826-3, pp. 165–167.]
References
15th-century BC clergy
Officials of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
