Walking Stick

The smooth upper part of a wooden walking stick or staff inscribed for Ipuy, a royal workman in the Valley of the Kings who lived at the workmen's village at Deir el Medina. The hieroglyphs are carefully carved onto the wood in a single vertical column and much of the original blue pigment used to fill them still remains. The wood was originally polished and is now split slightly in places. Inscribed "The one greatly favoured by his god, Amun-Ra, [who is] in Ipet-sut (= Karnak), the august god within the Ennead (?)".