Ankhhaf


Ankhhaf was an Egyptian prince and served as an overseer during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu, who is thought to have been Ankhhaf's half-brother. One of Ankhaf's titles is also as a vizier, but it is unknown under which pharaoh he would have held this title. He lived during Egypt's 4th Dynasty.

Family

Ankhhaf was likely a son of the pharaoh Sneferu and an unknown wife. Ankhhaf's tomb in Giza depicts his sister-wife Princess Hetepheres. Hetepheres is thought to have been 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" and "Priestess of Sneferu". 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", "vizier" and "the great one of Five of the house of Thoth".
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 and overseer of Ra-shi-Khufu. The latter place was the harbor at Giza where the stones for the pyramid building arrived.

Tomb

Ankhaf's mastaba tomb, G 7510, was one of 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 Khafre.
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.