Carpentras Stele

The stele was first published in 1704 by Jean-Pierre Rigord in an article focused on Rigord's description of the hieratic script; the article represented the first recognition of a non-hieroglyphic Egyptian script in modern times. Rigord wrote that "I have in my Cabinet an Egyptian Monument that I have sketched here, on which there are historical figures, above a Punic inscription." Rigord had a number of plaster casts made and distributed to others in the academic community, mostly in Southern France. The stele was subsequently reviewed by Anne Claude de Caylus, Bernard de Montfaucon and Jean-Jacques Barthélemy. Barthelemy's review ended an early dispute about the language of the inscription – a consensus formed that the inscription was Phoenician; this consensus was to last until the beginning of the 19th century. ==Poetry==

A number of scholars have suggested that the inscription should be translated as a poem, i.e. in metric form. This was first proposed in 1868 by Joseph Derenbourg. The inscription, in poetic form, was translated by Charles Cutler Torrey as follows: :Blessed is Taba, daughter of Tahapi, devotee of the god Osiris; :She, who to none did aught of evil, by whom no slander whatever was spoken. :Before Osiris be thou blest, before him take the gift of water; :Be thou (his) worshipper, my fair one, and among his saints be thou complete. File:Carpentras Stela, in CIS II 141 (inscription close up).jpg|Carpentras Stela, in CIS II 141 (inscription close up) ==Images==

In the top part of the stele, Egyptian god of the underworld Osiris sits on the throne, recognizable with his characteristic crook and flail. Behind him is a goddess dressed in a long skirt; it could be Isis or Maat. At the table a lady, perhaps the deceased, stands with her arms raised in an adoration pose. In the lower image, the deceased is shown lying on a lion-bed. The embalming god Anubis is shown, assisted by the falcon-headed Horus. The four canopic jugs with the entrails of the deceased are under the bed, with lids likely designed as heads of four sons of Horus: Imset (human head), Hapi (baboon), Duamutef (jackal), Qebehsenuef (falcon). Nephthys kneels at the feet of the dead, and Isis is shown at the head. ==Popular culture==

The stele featured in three of the letters written by Vincent van Gogh in 1889 to his brother and sister. ==Bibliography==