Only very occasionally do Egyptian statues seem to convey a mood of sadness or concern like this one. This statue has plausibly been dated to the post-Persian Period where such features seem to fit best. The position of the arms and the lack of a back pillar suggest the original statue represented a cross-legged sitting official; if so, it would then be one of the several revivals in the fourth century of features that had gone out of vogue in early Dynasty 26.
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Dimensions:H. 38.1 × W. 30.1 × D. 17.3 cm, 22.1 kg (15 × 11 7/8 × 6 13/16 in., 48.8 lb.)
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1925
Accession Number:25.2.1
Technical examinations of stone statues in the Egyptian collection sometimes reveal evidence for the use of modern coatings, usually applied in the early to middle 20th century, to "enhance" an uneven or damaged ancient surface. Though originally conceived as an improvement, today we recognize that these coatings are generally detrimental – concealing the original color, depth, and interest of the ancient worked stone surface.
This bust of an official had at least one such coating as well as a considerable layer of accumulated grease from handling. Analysis of the coating proved difficult and inconclusive though there was evidence of beeswax, another animal fat, and pigments. There was no question that this coating was applied in modern times since it clearly covered broken edges and damaged areas.
Although surfaces damages and marks from an aggressive over-cleaning are more visible after removal of the coating (see Conservation and Scientific Analysis Figure 1 to see the removal in process), cleaning also revealed the green color of the greywacke stone and a much more interesting and appealing surface befitting the official’s soulful, concerned expression.
Ann Heywood, Department of Objects Conservation 2016 Adriana Rizzo, Department of Scientific Research 2016
Purchased by the Museum from Khaouam Brothers, Cairo, 1925.
Winlock, Herbert E. 1937. Egyptian Statues and Statuettes. New York, fig. 22.
Scott, Nora E. 1945. Egyptian Statues. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, fig. 27.
Bothmer, Bernard V., Hans Wolfgang Müller, and Herman De Meulenaere 1960. Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period, 700 B.C. to A.D. 100. Brooklyn, cat. no. 21, pp. 24-5, 26, 32, 35; see also addenda and corrigenda to Arno edition for dating to Dynasty 30.
Bothmer, Bernard V. 1988. Quaderni de 'La ricerca scientifica', 116 (written 1984). Rome, p. 60, fig. 7.
Shubert, Steven Blake 1989. "Realistic Currents in Portrait Sculpture of the Saite and Persian Periods in Egypt." In Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, 19, p. 37.
Josephson, Jack A. 1997. "Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period Revisited." In Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 34, pp. 6-7, fig. 5.
Josephson, Jack A. 1997. Egyptian Royal Sculpture of the Late Period 400 - 246 BC. p. 11, pl. 4b.
Bothmer, Bernard V. 2004. "Egyptian antecedents of Roman Republican verism (reprint of an article in Quaderni de "la ricerca scientifica" 116 of 1988)." In Egyptian Art: Selected Writings of Bernard V. Bothmer.
Josephson, Jack A., Paul O'Rourke, and Richard Fazzini 2005. "The Doha Head: A Late Period Egyptian Portrait." In Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, 61, pp. 223ff, n31, pl. 38a.
Hill, Marsha and Deborah Schorsch 2021. "A Bird in Hand: the Miho God Reassessed." In Up and Down the Nile: ägyptologische Studien für Regine Schulz, edited by Martina Ullmann, Gabrielle Pieke, Friedhelm Hoffmann, and Christian Bayer. Münster, p. 173 n7.
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The Met's collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 26,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from the Paleolithic to the Roman period.
