Stela in honor of the general Callimachos, picturing Cleopatra and Caesarion
Unknown Artist
The most famous of the Lagide queens, Cleopatra VII, appears next to her son Ptolemy XV - known as "Caesarion", the presumed son of Julius Caesar - on a pink granite stela celebrating the general Callimachos, governor of the Theban region. The images of the two rulers and the inscription, written in Greek and Demotic, replaced most of the previous images and texts, but incorporated the original central scene showing the Theban gods Amon and Montu, probably sculpted in the 25th Dynasty.
Period: Hellenistic Period
Reign: Cleopatra VII
Provenance: Thebes, Karnak
Acquisition: Drovetti collection (1824)
Hellenistic Period, 39 BCE
Stone / granite
114.0 x 65.3 x 30.0 cm
Cat. 1764
Image and text courtesy of Museo Egizio, 2022
Where you'll find this
Permanent collection