Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Upper Part of a Statue of a Royal Woman or Goddess
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
Fragments of similar female statues were found in the Mentuhotep temple, all lacking divine or royal emblems or identifying inscriptions. The sculptures cannot originate from the interiors of the queens’ shrines because they were too small to accommodate them. Their date is also insecure; based on comparisons to other sculptures, they may be late Twelfth or even early Eighteenth Dynasty works. This woman’s left arm angles away from her body, suggesting she originally held hands with a divinity or the king.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
