| Intro | Egyptian prince and vizier | ||||||
| A.K.A. | Prince Ankhhaf | ||||||
| Is |
Noble Aristocrat Prince |
||||||
| From | Egypt | ||||||
| Type | Royals | ||||||
| Gender | male | ||||||
| Family |
|
Prince Ankhhaf was an Egyptian prince and served as vizier and overseer of works to the Pharaoh Khufu, who was Ankhhaf’s half-brother. He lived during Egypt’s 4th Dynasty (c. 2613 to c. 2494 BC).
Family
Ankhhaf was a son of pharaoh Sneferu and an unknown wife. Ankhhaf’s tomb in Giza (G 7510) depicts his sister-wife Princess Hetepheres. Hetepheres was the eldest daughter of Sneferu and Queen Hetepheres I and thus Ankhhaf’s half-sister. Hetepheres had the titles “eldest king’s daughter of his body”, “the one whom he loves” (sat nswt n khtf smst mrt.f) and “Priestess of Sneferu” (hmt-nTr Snfrw). Ankhhaf and Hetepheres had a daughter, who was the mother of their grandson Ankhetef.
Career
Ankhhaf had the titles “eldest king’s son of his body” (sa nswt n khtf smsw), “vizier” and “the great one of Five of the house of Thoth” (wr djw pr-Djehuti).
Ankhhaf is thought to have been involved with the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza and likely played a role in the construction of the Sphinx. In 2013 a collection of papyri fragments, the Diary of Merer, was discovered at the ancient Harbor of Khufu at Wadi al-Jarf. The logs from an inspector named Merer appear to date from the 27th year of Khufu’s reign and record months worth of operations transporting limestone from Tura to Giza. The records refer to an administrative center named Ro-She Khufu which was under the authority of the Vizier Ankhhaf. According to Egyptologist Pierre Tallet, this would place him in charge of the construction of the pyramid towards the end of the project. Though the diary does not specify, Tallet believes the operations refer to the delivery of the Tura limestone used for the casing. In the papyrus he Ankhkhaf is called nobleman (iry-pat) and overseer of Ra-shi-Khufu. The latter place was the harbour at Giza where the stones for the pyramid building arrived.
Tomb
Ankhaf’s mastaba tomb, G 7510, was one the largest in the eastern cemetery at Giza. The tomb was dated to the reign of Khafre by Reisner. More recently a study of the architecture, iconography and titles of the occupants has led to a reassessment and the tomb likely spans the reigns of Khufu, Djedefre and Khafra.
A superb and realistic painted limestone portrait bust of Ankhhaf discovered in his tomb is considered the work “of a master” of Ancient Egyptian art from the time of the Old Kingdom, and can be seen at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Its catalog number is Museum Expedition 27.442.