An Egyptian Limestone Relief Fragment
Late Period, 26th-30th Dynasty, 664-343 B.C.
Width 10 3/4 inches
Property from the Collection of Sumner Schlesinger, California

Provenance:
Joseph Halle Schaffner (1897-1972), Chicago and New York.
Elmer "Pete" Schlesinger (1919-1982), Chicago; thence by descent.

The partially preserved hieroglyphs on this relief include determinations typically used in writing the names of cities and towns. The circle with the "X" is the hieroglyph normally referenced as Gardiner Sign-List O 49, representing a settlement intersected by crossroads. It can be used to write the word niwt "town" or "city," in which case it is often accompanied by a semicircle "t" and a stroke. It's also used as a determinative for many toponyms. In this case it's preceded by a bird hieroglyph. It's difficult to be certain as to which bird, but it seems a likely possibility is what is referred to as the "tyw" bird (Gardiner G 4). This could be found in phrases such as nTrw niwtyw "local/municipal gods". For more on these writings, see Woerterbuch Vol. II 212-213, and Faulkner, Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, p. 125.