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 Royal Statue Seated
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.
Historical records from the reigns of Amenemhat II and Senwosret II are scarce, and many artworks likely from these reigns lack inscriptions. It is clear, however, that significant artistic changes took place during this time. Faces have shed the abstract idealization of earlier works. The facial musculature is softly articulated, rounded eyes press against fleshy lids, and the mouth has lost its rigid edge. The face is not yet personalized, but it has come alive.
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