ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Relief Fragment with the Head of a Woman

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodMiddle Kingdom, Dynasty 11

Date2080-1940 BCE

MediumLimestone, pigment

Credit LineEgyptian Purchase Fund

Dimensions3 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. (9.5 x 14 cm)

Object number2008.061.001

Label TextWith Egypt reunified in the Middle Kingdom and returned to prosperity, tombs with sculpted chapels again are constructed. However, there is a new preference for sepulchres that are cut into the cliff face rather than built mastabas.|

This fragment of a relief could have come from either type tomb, and it depicts a woman, possibly an offering bearer, wearing a long, traditional wig. The relief still preserves some traces of paint and is carved in a delicate, low relief. Although beautifully done, the image still retains some vestiges of the First Intermediate Period style in her elongated arm and squared mouth.
Exhibition HistoryRecent Acquisitions, Michael C. Carlos Museum, March 31 - September 10, 2009
Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old Kingdom Mummy, Michael C. Carlos Museum, September 10 - December 11, 2011

ProvenanceEx private collection, Germany, acquired ca. 1970. Thence by descent. With Charles Ede Ltd., London, England, purchased from aforementioned private collection, May 10, 2008. Acquired by MCCM from Ede.

Status

Not on view

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