Triad of King Menkaure. Giza; Fourth Dynasty, reign of Menkaure (ca. 2490–2472 B.C.E.). Graywacke; H. 37 7/8 in. (96 cm). Egyptian Museum, Cairo (JE 46499).

Six so-called triads have been found, either completely preserved or in fragments, in Menkaure's valley temple. They are variations on the theme showing the pharaoh accompanied by the goddess Hathor ("Lady of the Sycamore") and in each case a different guardian deity of an Upper Egyptian province. The theme is based on the old, possibly Predynastic, concept that Egyptian kings needed the periodically renewed pledges of protection from the country's gods. This triad shows the figure of Menkaure, Hathor (on his right), and the deity of the seventh Upper Egyptian nome (on his left) at almost the same height. The pharaoh is striding vigorously in front of the two goddesses, who turn slightly away from him. Thus the king appears to be at the apex of a crescent-shaped composition that can be likened to the prow of a ship. However, in typically Egyptian avoidance of full symmetry, the king holds hands only with Hathor. The three youthful bodies and their spare accoutrements are worked with an almost metallic precision. The two female faces are shaped according to a general ideal of the feminine beauty, while the king has the bulbous eyes and drooping lower lip known from his other images, though the individuality of these features is noticeably less pronounced in this more programmatic work.