NEW YORK, NY.- London antiquities gallery David Aaron has sold a 3,300-year-old Egyptian stele, once owned by the co-founder of modern professional bodybuilding, to a private collector on the opening day of TEFAF New York. The stele is presented alongside exceptional pieces spanning Classical Greek and Roman, Bronze Age British, and ancient Egyptian history.

Dating to the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose IV (c. 1401–1391 BC), the finely carved limestone stele depicts the pharaoh with arms extended bearing offerings of plants and sporting the uraeus serpent, symbol of sovereignty, on his brow. Receiving the offerings is the god Atum, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, or pschent, while holding an ankh and the was sceptre - symbols of life and divine authority. Atum's name is inscribed in hieroglyphs above him. Hieroglyphs record the king’s prenomen (throne name), Menkheperure, confirming the stele’s royal identity.

The remarkably well-preserved stele from the Pharaoh’s reign is rich in royal iconography and religious meaning, acting as a devotional monument to assert the pharaoh’s legitimacy and close relationship with the gods.

Thutmose IV, the eighth pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, is recognised for the restoration of the Great Sphinx of Giza and commissioning the iconic Dream Stele, a substantial monument which recounts how the Sphinx promised the prince kingship if he cleared the monument from the desert sands. Thutmose IV had not been the chosen successor of his father, Pharaoh Amenhotep II, and the Dream Stele served to legitimise the new Pharaoh’s right to rule and his connection to the gods.

This stele also carries a unique modern history. It belonged to Ben Weider (1923–2008), the pioneering Canadian co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders, and Napoleonic historian. The stele was presented to Weider in Cairo in 1964 by the United Arab Republic of Bodybuilding Federation in recognition of his ‘work in popularising bodybuilding in the Middle East’. The stele remained in Weider’s collection for decades and will be exhibited in New York with the original presentation plaque.

Salomon Aaron, Director, David Aaron, said: “This piece bridges three millennia of history. It was created to legitimise Pharoah Thutmose IV’s rule, rediscovered in the modern era, and remained preserved in the hands of a collector with a passion for history. This piece offers collectors a unique opportunity to acquire a significant piece of ancient history that is accompanied by a fascinating provenance’.

Weider rose to prominence alongside his brother Joe, building a fitness and publishing empire which led to the establishment of the Mr Olympia bodybuilding competition, and lobbying for the sport to be recognised as professional. In a stroke of genius, in 1968 Weider brought the then-unknown Austrian bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger to the United States to compete in Mr Olympia, propelling both Schwarzenegger, and Mr Olympia, into the spotlight.