Khnumu Seated
Middle Kingdom
When this figure was excavated, ink inscriptions on the belt and in front of the base were read as the name of the man, Khnumu, and the statement that he was the brother of a deceased woman called Henethotep. The ink has now faded. The piece was excavated below a burial in a tomb shaft. The excavators did not determine the sex of the buried person, making it impossible to say whether the small statue accompanied the body of Khnumu himself or that of his sister. Khnumu is depicted here seated with one hand holding a piece of cloth and the other flat on the knee.