A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or the upper section of an obelisk. Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as benbenetErmann, Grapow, Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache 1, 459.13-14 and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone.Toby Wilkinson, The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 2005. p. 197
Pyramidia were usually made of limestone, sandstone, basalt or granite, and were sometimes covered with plates of copper, gold or electrum. From the Middle Kingdom onward, they were often "inscribed with royal titles and religious symbols".
Notable pyramidia
Egyptian Museum Four pyramidia are housed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo: The pyramidion of the so-called Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III at Dahshureditors Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel (w/34 contributing Authors), Egypt, The World of the Pharaohs, Konemann, Germany: 1998. Amenemhat III, 1842–1797 BC p. 115 The pyramidion of the Pyramid of Khendjer at Saqqara The pyramidion of Merneferre Ay, probably from Saqqara The pyramidion of the Southern South Saqqara pyramid
Red Pyramid
A badly damaged white Tura limestone pyramidion, thought to have been made for the Red Pyramid of Sneferu at Dahshur, has been reconstructed and is on open-air display beside that pyramid; it presents a minor mystery, however, as its angle of inclination is steeper than that of the edifice it was apparently built to surmount.
Washington Monument Erected in 1876 in Washington D.C., the Washington Monument holds an inscribed pyramidion of aluminum.
Private brick pyramids with pyramidia During the New Kingdom, some private underground tombs were marked on the surface by small brick pyramids that terminated in pyramidia. The four lateral sides included texts and scenes related to the cult of the Sun God (as the representation of Pharaoh).
The scenes typically depict the course of the sun, rising on one lateral face, setting on the opposite face, and traveling, through the night, through the underworld, ruled by Osiris.
Scribe Mose pyramidion
The pyramidion of Mose (mes, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, , limestone, 53 cm tall) depicts himself making an offering, with his name on two opposite faces. The adjacent opposite faces feature a baboon: "Screeching upon the rising of the Sun, and the Day". (The baboon is also the god-scribe representation of the Scribe, for the god Thoth.)Peck, William. Splendors of Ancient Egypt, William H. Peck, The Detroit Institute of Arts, (University Lithoprinters Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.), c. 1997, (p. 67). (Moses Pyramidion from "Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim, Germany".)
Ptahemwia pyramidion The pyramidion of Ptahemwia (19th Dynasty, Ramesside Period, , limestone, 28 cm wide, 42 cm tall) likewise displays sun-related scenes. The Sun God, Re-Horakhti, and the god of the Underworld, Osiris, are shown on one lateral face.
Facing the two gods, on the adjacent lateral face, is the deceased Ptahemwia, standing in an offering pose, facing three columns of hieroglyphs.
Gallery
See also Washington Monument, which has an aluminum pyramidion
References
External links