Queen Ankh-nes-meryre II and Her Son King Pepi II. Sixth Dynasty, reign of Pepi II (ca. 2246–2152 B.C.E.). Egyptian alabaster; H. 15 1/4 in. (38.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum of Art, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund (39.119).

In Egyptian art, the ruler is the dominant figure in any group statue, unless he is accompanied by a major deity, who takes precedence. This pair is exceptional for representing the king subordinate to another human being. The statue may be read in more than one way. On a ritual level, the queen may symbolize one of the great goddesses shown suckling kings in temple reliefs, or the pair may symbolize the child-god Horus with his mother and protector, the great goddess Isis. Since Pepi II ascended the throne as a young child, it is also possible that the statue symbolizes the influential role his mother played during his minority, but for this there is no written evidence.