Figure of a Man

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodOld Kingdom, late Dynasty 5 - Dynasty 6

Date2402-2152 BCE

MediumWood, gesso, pigment

Credit LineEgyptian Purchase Fund

Dimensions23 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (59.1 x 14 x 11.4 cm)

Object number2002.041.001

Label TextDuring the late Old Kingdom, a freer manneristic style developed along with the increasing popularity of wooden statuary. The example here, with its long, expressive face, typifies the best of this new artistic trend. One arm is preserved resting against his side while the other, now lost, would have been bent at the elbow, holding a walking stick, a symbol of his status. The white kilt has traces of paint representing beaded tassels hanging from his belt. This statue is very similar to a famous group of statues found in the Serdab of Metjetji at Saqqara.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2006 - August 15, 2011
Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old Kingdom Mummy, Michael C. Carlos Museum, September 10 - December 11, 2011
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, February 2012 - Present
Published ReferencesChristie's New York, Antiquities (June 12, 2002), 150-151, number 260.
MCCM Newsletter, March - May 2003.
Peter Lacovara, "Life and Death in the Pyramid Age," Minerva 22 (September/October 2011): 12-13.

ProvenancePurchased by MCCM from Christies New York, June 12, 2002, lot 260.

Status

On view

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