This fine indurated limestone (marble) torso was uncovered during excavations conducted by Edouard Naville at the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahri. The color on the nemes headdress contrasts vividly with the shimmering white stone, left unpainted for the skin color. The face, removed in antiquity, was subsequently recovered and is now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, which has graciously provided a cast of the face; was painted to match the original by Donald Jensen.
