Smen, meaning “goose,” was a member of military unit that served in Syria during the reign of king Thutmose IV. His wife, Hesetre, is shown offering to her parents, Khaset and Ruia. Another stela belonging to Smen is in the Louvre (C202), which gives the name of Smen as well as his wife, Hesetre, and their son Nai.

This stela was acquired by the Louvre at the Hôtel Drouot Sale on March 12-13, 1862, lot number 5. The stela in the Senusret Collection was purchased by Georges Ricard for the Senusret Collection on 3 March 1975 from Jean-Francois Mignon, who bought and sold objects privately in Aix-en Provence. He started his career under Roger F. Galliano, a member of the Conciliation Commission at Central Customs in Paris, certified expert of the Chamber of Auctioneers of France and Judicial Officer of Geneva.

[See additional images below]]]> Senusret Collection: Usage and Reproduction Rights]]> For Louvre C 202, see:
Boreux, Charles 1932. Musée National du Louvre, Département des Antiquités Égyptiennes : guide-catalogue sommaire (Paris: Musées Nationaux), p. 88; Pierret, Paul. Recueil d'inscriptions inédites du Musée Égyptien du Louvre (Paris : Franck, 1874-1878), pt. 2, p. 35. The stela appears in the Hôtel Drouot Sale Catalogue, March 12-13, 1862, no. 5. See also PM VIII, no, 803-045-670]]> 65 cm High x 44 cm x 7 cm]]> Iooss loves photographing kids playing sports, you can hear it in his words: “The beauty of the game is seen when you’re a child—when the ball is thrown to you, nothing else exists in the world.”]]>
Warhol’s Sunset prints were created using only three screens. One screen formed the sun, another the sinuous bands of background color, and the third a single-color overlaying dot pattern. By adjusting the color combinations of ink and the registration (the positioning of the screen in relation to already applied layers), Warhol created an astounding number of unique color patterns. This series is widely considered one of Warhol’s most expressive projects. In some Sunset prints, the sun glows red-orange, almost blinding. In others, muted purples and greens dominate the color palette. Of these prints, 472 were used to decorate the hotel, while 160 were sold in portfolios of four. This print, likely a trial proof, was in Warhol’s possession at the time of his death in 1987.]]>
The themes of repetition, celebrity, and glamour became synonymous with Warhol, not only in his screen prints, but also in his documentation of life. The photograph at the right, Table, encapsulates these themes in a single frame. The composition revolves around the repeated table settings, the reflection of the camera’s flash, and the empty chairs holding the promise of prominent and glamorous event attendees.

The screen print of Queen Ntombi Twala of Swaziland comes from Warhol’s Reigning Queens series, which also included portraits of Queen Elizabeth II of England, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Queen Magrethe II of Denmark. Warhol based the images on existing photographs of the queens, but used abstract shapes and large blocks of color to achieve a collaged effect in a screen print medium. He enhanced the effect by adding diamond dust, tiny bits of cut glass designed to catch and reflect light, to the surface layer of ink. This sparkle also lends a sense of opulence to the queens, each of whom ruled in her own right rather than through a male relative.]]>