False door from the tomb of the priestess Ankh-Hathor,

ca. 2450–2325 BCE

This limestone sculpture functioned as a “false door” for an Old Kingdom tomb at Sakkara, an ancient necropolis, or city of the dead. The deceased, identified by inscription as the priestess Ankh-Hathor, sits above the doorway with a table of bread offerings in front of her. The inscription includes her name and the names of her children. Her eldest son stands in front of her, holding pieces of linen, while two other children stand behind. Two of her daughters and their children stand at the bottom of the two door jambs. Such false doors were understood to be permeable barriers between the living and the dead, a point at which the two could come into close proximity with each other. Offerings would have been placed in front of the doors so that the ka, the soul, of the deceased could pass through and consume them.