The Royal Cupbearer

This is Ipu, the owner of this funerary stela. Ipu was the ‘royal cupbearer’ around the time of Tutankhamun. A ‘cupbearer’, also sometimes called ‘butler’, in ancient Egypt probably had the task of managing food and drinks. A royal cupbearer seemed to also have been responsible for more important, administrative tasks for the king. M. Gregersen, ‘Butler, Cupbearer, l’Échanson or Truchsess’, in J.C. Goyon and C. Cardin (eds), Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists: Grenoble, 6-12 Septembre 2004 1 (Leuven, 2007), 839-850. Ipu’s titles are described in the hieroglyphic text next to him: royal cupbearer, pure of hands, of the lord of the two lands. As you can see, he is decorated with many adornments like necklaces, earrings, and a cone on his head. This was a perfume cone, a wax cone scented with perfume, which would slowly melt and release the scents.

Ipu and all the other beautifully decorated and detailed depictions will immediately catch your eye when you walk past the stela in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. This story will walk past the different elements this stela has to offer, but the focus will be on the base of the stela, which depicts something very special.