Model of a Temple Gateway
One of the more interesting pieces at the Brooklyn Museum is the model of a temple gateway, commissioned by Seti I. Between my photos and those of the webmistress of the now defunct setsightings.com, we can have a fairly thorough examination of this piece, for they captured it with different angles and under different light conditions than I did.

I decided to seek out more info on the temple model, and Peter Brands' _Monuments of Seti I_ came to my aid.

"This celebrated piece is the base of a 'model' temple of Seti I from Heliopolis. It was found at Tell el-Yahudia by fellahin sometime before 1875 and eventually acquired by the Brooklyn Museum. Only the base of the model is preserved, bearing sockets that once held now missing elements of a gateway with statuary and obelisks for a pylon gateway of Seti I. Badawy developed a largely plausible reconstruction of these lost architectural elements."("Catalog of Monuments", page 143)


This is setsightings.com photo, they got a nice angle that shows two sides...


My photo shows only the front side...


My capture of Seti I on the side, showing his cartouche with the Set hieroglyph...


I zero in on his cartouche... (this is from the other side)


They had a strong light source illuminating it from above....


And here's the other cartouche, along with info...
Model of a Temple Gateway
Quartzite, New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX, reign of Seti I (circa 1294-1279 B.C.)
Found in Tell el Yahudiya but perhaps from Heliopolis
Brooklyn 49.183 [66.229]

Yes, they had thought to capture the info, while I'd forgotten!

Here's the relief seen in the background:


Relief of Ramesesses II
Limestone, New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX, reign of Ramesses II, (c. 1279-1213 B.C.)
Probably from the Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos
11.670, Museum Collection fund

Funerary Figurine of Ramesses II
Wood, New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX, end of the reign of Ramses II (c. 1213 B.C.)
from Thebes, 08.480.5, Charles Edwin Wilbour fund

The Brooklyn Museum has the reconstruction Brand speaks of and I have a very fuzzy photo of it:


You can barely make out two sphinxes, two obelisks and the statuary...

Brand proposes a few corrections to this reconstruction and then says:

"It is unfortunate that the texts on the model's base nowhere give the official name of the proposed structure. In fact, the bandeau texts describing it are somewhat vague. The inscription on its right side does list the individual elements of the models, but only so as to catalogy the materials of which its various parts, and not the actual building, were made. The left bandeau text describes the monument as an 'August sanctuary,' shm špss, which seems to be a generic term meaning 'shrine/sanctuary'.

"Only one part of Seti's projected pylon gateway and forecourt can be identified with any degree of certainty, namely the Flaminian obelisk. As of yet, no trace of the pylon itself, or of the colossal statues or sphinxes that might have stood in front of it, have been found."("Catalog of Monuments", page 145)

It's quite a mystery. Perhaps Seti I died before he could make this temple a reality. If that's the case, some of his plans may have been preserved in a slightly different form, as Brand explains:

"The side walls at the back of the model may represent a court similar to the Ramsesside court at Luxor Temple. In fact, the building represented by the Brooklyn model is strikingly close in design to that of the Luxor forecourt. This is perhaps more significant now that the latter appears to have been planned and partially constructed late in Seti I's reign."