SEDAN CHAIR OF QUEEN HETEPHERES
Identity: Hetepheres, Mother of Khufu
Material:Gold, Ebony
Period:Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty
Reign:Khufu
Dimensions:
Height:52 cm
Length: 206.5 cm
Width: 53.5 cm
This chair is characterized by two carrying poles terminating in elegant golden palmiform capitals. Ebony panels decorated with magnificent golden hieroglyphs outline the back of the chair. The inscriptions give names and epithets of the queen as "mother of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt...., the real daughter of the god, Hetepheres". Sedan chairs were the preferred mode of transportation for the well off: they sat on them with knees drawn up to the chest, fan in hand, and a thick cushion for support and comfort.