This tiny quartzite statue represents Mersuptah, an overseer of works in the Temple of Ptah at Memphis. Given the figure's diminutive proportions, the sculptor has not striven to create a convincing portrait. Yet working within the constraints of size and medium,[1] he has nonetheless implied all the elements necessary for a distinctive Egyptian countenance: plastic brows, extended cosmetic lines rimming the eyes, a petite nose showing the wings of the nostrils and even a miniscule philtrum. Upper and lower lips are detailed; and the chin and beard are quite readable. The wig that the figure wears is curiously asymmetric, with the proper left side dropping more directly to the shoulder and the right flaring well out to meet the shoulder. On the right fold of the headdress, a thin line running from the temple out to the right shoulder confirms that Mersuptah wears a double wig.
Mersuptah's name—written for honorific reasons as Ptahmersu—is not attested elsewhere.[2] But an analogous form—Mersure'—occurs fairly often in New Kingdom contexts.[3] Both names are distinctive and are quite unlike the typical theophoric names of the late period.[4] The owner's title is substantial and suggests a high degree of responsibility for maintenance and construction at the Temple of Ptah in Memphis. Unfortunately, this name does not crop up among personnel known from that facility.[5]
It is not possible to confirm absolutely the date of the piece. However a number of arguments suggest it dates to the late Ramesside or early Third Intermediate Period. Already mentioned is the name and its New Kingdom associations. Alongside that is the material of which it is made. Quartzite, especially as used in block statues, has been carefully tracked by Regine Schulz.[6] The high point of its popularity was late Dynasty 12, where fully 38.5% of specimens are made from it. Again in late Dynasty 18 quartzite's popularity rebounded, composing 22.2% of block statues. Interestingly, fully 2/3 of these originated in the vicinity of Memphis, an area close to Gebel Ahmar, the principal source for much of this stone. Finally, in late Dynasty 19 (after Merenptah) and Dynasty 20, the use of quartzite falls to about 12%, but must still be considered significant. By contrast, in the Third Intermediate Period and Dynasties 25–26, quartzite is far less employed. Admittedly, selecting the evidence from a single site and time frequently skews the comparison. Nonetheless, the many statues from the Karnak Cachette that can be securely dated to the Third Intermediate Period[7] are made of granite or granodiorite. They are as well highly finished specimens, in which the facial details and lineaments are carefully executed to produce sleek, idealized countenances. They are also far larger than Mersuptah.
The hunt for parallels is always difficult. But I would offer for consideration one hard stone block figure possibly of late Ramesside date, also diminutive and also wearing a double wig: Yale University Art Gallery (YAG 1930.490).[8]
Ever since its acquisition, some uncertainty has attached to the piece, both regarding the medium and the date. The statue was included in the 1925 gift of 21 pieces from Mrs. S. W. Straus. The accompanying inventory, prepared not by an Egyptologist but by the donor's attorneys, lists Mersuptah as item number 5, describing it as "a brown stone seated figure with inscriptions." A handwritten pencil inventory prepared by Ludlow Bull of The Met's Egyptian Department records the same piece as item 14, characterizing it as brown granite, of Dynasty 22. In 1978, the work was reexamined by Yitzak Margowsky, who corrected the material identification. That same year the exhibition label was changed to acknowledge its "stylistic traits of the later Ramesside and Third Intermediate Period."[9] Within the last year Professor de Meulenaere expressed his doubts about a Dynasty 22 date, feeling the piece is earlier.[10]
The inscription on the front of the statue reads as follows:
Front: A royal offering of Ptah-Sokar, south of his wall, giving all that comes forth from upon his offering table—consisting of all the refreshing things from among the offerings that he makes on each sky or earth festival—to the ka of the Overseer of Works in the temple of Ptah, Mersuptah, justified
Endnotes [1] Quartzite does not encourage the carving of crisp detail. This was noted long ago by Bernard V. Bothmer, "Block Statues of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom: I. ‘Ipepy’s Funerary Monument,’"
Brooklyn Museum Bulletin 20, no. 4 (1959): 11, who commented on quartzite's granular nature and the consequent difficulty of creating a smooth polish or precise carving.
[2] Among all unprovenanced pieces from the Late Period, this is the only one with this name [Porter and Moss VIII, 743]. Additional support for its rarity, not to say uniqueness, comes from Professor Hermann de Meulenaere, who in a personal communication says the name does not seem to appear in other documents.
[3] Ranke [PN I, 157, 20], cites an alabaster canopic stopper published by Aylward M. Blackman in "The Nugent and Haggard Collections of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities,"
Journal of Egyptian Antiquities 4 (1917), 42. Other instances are an unassigned Apis stela now at the Oriental Institute [PM III, 816] and a Dynasty 18 account papyrus mentioning a standard bearer named Mersure' in Papyrus Petersburg/ Hermitage 1116B recto (Helck,
Materialen, 902).
[4] See, e.g.,
MMA 07.228.27. above. Djedkhonsuefankh, a typical name, means "Khonsu says, he shall live."
[5] One looks in vain for this office, or any holder of it, in Charles Maystre,
Les grands prêtres de Ptah de Memphis, Orbis biblicus et orientalis 113 (Freiburg, Schweiz, Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992).
[6] Regine Schulz, Die Entwicklung und Bedeutung des kuboiden Statuentypus: eine Untersuchung zu den sogenannten "Würfelhockern," Hildesheimer ägyptologische Beiträge (Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, 1992).
[7] The dated block statues are: CG 42210 (father of next), CG 42211 (Osorkon III), CG 42213 (Osorkon m, CG 42215 (Osorkon I), CG 42216 (Osorkon I), CG 42221 (Sheshonk III), CG 42222 (Sheshonk III), CG 42223 (Osorkon III), CG 42224 (Osorkon II), CG 42225 (Osorkon II, and CG 42232 (Sheshonk III). Datable pieces are CG 42209, CG 42218, CG 42219, CG 42220, CG 42226, CG 42227.
[8] See Gerry D. Scott,
Ancient Egyptian Art at Yale (New Haven, Conn: Yale University Art Galley, 1986).
[9] This opened the door to its being late Ramesside; the actual dates on the label were 1085 - 715 BCE, thus incorporating post Ramesses III portion of Dynasty 20. By contrast, in the Porter and Moss citation in Volume VIII of unprovenanced material, this statue is dated to Dynasty 22 or later.
[10] Personal communication, Hermann de Meulenaere
References Blackman, Aylward M.
The Funerary Papyrus of ʼEnkhefenkhons. London, 1917.
Bothmer, Bernard V. "Block Statues of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom: I. ‘Ipepy’s Funerary Monument.’"
Brooklyn Museum Bulletin 20, no. 4 (1959): 11–26.
Hofmann, Inge, and Hans Wolfgnag Helk. Indices Zu W. Helck,
Materialien Zur Wirtschaftsgeschichtedes Neuen Reiches. Akademie Der Wissenschaften Und Der Literatur. Abhandlungen Der Geistes- Und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Jahrg. 1969, Nr. 13. Mainz: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur; in Kommission bei F. Steiner, Wiesbaden, 1970.
Maystre, Charles.
Les grands prêtres de Ptah de Memphis. Orbis biblicus et orientalis. Freiburg, Schweiz, Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992.
Ranke, Hermann.
Die Ägyptischen Personennamen. Glückstadt: J. J. Augustin, 1935. [PN].
Schulz, Regine.
Die Entwicklung und Bedeutung des kuboiden Statuentypus: eine Untersuchung zu den sogenannten "Würfelhockern." Hildesheimer ägyptologische Beiträge Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, 1992.
Scott, Gerry D.
Ancient Egyptian Art at Yale. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Art Galley, 1986. [PM]
Inge Hofmann and Hans Wolfgnag Helk, Indices zu W. Helck,
Materialien zur Wirtschaftsgeschichtedes Neuen Reiches, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur. Abhandlungen der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Jahrg. 1969, Nr. 13 (Mainz: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur; in Kommission bei F. Steiner, Wiesbaden, 1970).
