King Menkaure and a Queen. Giza; Fourth Dynasty, reign of Menkaure (ca. 2490–2472 B.C.E.). Graywacke; H. 54 3/4 in. (139 cm). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Harvard University–Museum of Fine Arts Expedition (11.1738).


Youthful vigor characterizes the figure of the king as he strides forward, protectively embraced by the queen. His head is turned slightly to the right, while the queen's face is fully frontal, as if she were presenting him to the world and endowing him with confidence and strength. While scholars may have gone too far in suggesting that this dominating female is a goddess, it is possible that we see not the king's consort but his mother. Such an image would have served as a potent guarantee of Menkaure's rebirth after death. The group was not finished, since the lower part has not been fully smoothed. Paint was applied, as seen in the traces of red on the king's ears, and sheet gold may once have covered the woman's wig and the king's headdress. The coverings would have incorporated a cobra above the king's forehead and, possibly, a vulture headdress above the queen's wig. For the first time in Egyptian art, both royal heads are not images of idealized royalty but portraits of specific holders of the offices. The king's bulbous eyes, hanging flesh on the cheeks, and drooping lower lip are unmistakably features of an individual, as are the queen's long full neck and small mouth. While the king's body is ideally youthful and athletic, one might see hints of maturity in the woman's breasts.