Male Figure Standing

Statues such as these were placed inside the tomb, sometimes adjacent to the coffin, to provide an additional home for the "ka" of the deceased individual to reside in. This statue represents a man, who wears a short pleated kilt and a short wig made up of rows of rectangles. His left leg is advanced, his right arm is at his side, and his right hand is clenched and pierced. His left arm is positioned forward, joined at the elbow, with his left hand pierced and holding a fragment of a dowel. His hair consists of tile-like curls arranged radially, leaving his neck and ears uncovered. He wears a short vertically pleated kilt, with a belt positioned below his navel. According to Steindorff, it is possible that a middle piece was originally fastened above and in front by means of wooden nails or pegs. The toes are deeply carved, and both the toenails and fingernails are carefully worked and articulated. The ears are carved, the nostrils are drilled, the eyes are painted, and the nipples are inlaid with small nails. The body was painted red to indicate the tanned skin color of a male. Despite excellent overall workmanship, the piece displays some unusual proportions: this statue has a long nose, big ears, a large upper body and head, and a small waist. His hair is painted black, his eyes black and white, his body red, his kilt white, and the base stands upon is black.

The left upper arm, the left lower arm, the right arm, the legs (below kilt), and the fronts of both feet were all made separately and attached to the body. The pegs in the rectangular base go through the prongs attached to the feet and anchor the statue to it. The bottom right edge of the base appears to be missing, but it may have been intentionally carved that way (as it does appear finished). It may have been carved that way to give the pegs access (it still has three peg holes and one peg preserved), and it may have also served to attach it to another base on its right, possibly a larger base, in order to form a group statue. There are vertical cracks in the statue's right hip and back. There are also cracks in the base, which has also been repaired (a split in the top of the base has been filled in with a plaster-like substance). There is overall loss of pigment from the surfaces of the statue and the base.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [as 12th Dynasty, Assiout]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1912, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.