ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Upper Part of a Naophorus Statue

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodNew Kingdom, Dynasty 19 - Dynasty 20

Date1292-1077 BCE

MediumBlack granite

Credit LineGift of Sally and Joe Gladden in honor of Joop Bollen, 2014 Woolford B. Baker Service Award recipient

Dimensions8 x 7 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (20.3 x 19.1 x 16.5 cm)

Object number2014.020.001

Label TextThis imposing bust probably came from a naophorous statue from a temple that represented a man offering a shrine or naos to the gods. The style of the face, the elaborate wig, and the pleated sleeves on his garment identify the date of the sculpture as Ramesside Period (the 19th-20th Dynasty). Black granite is difficult to carve, but the sculptor managed to add a touch of personality into this engaging portrait.|

The name of the man is not preserved, but a hieroglyphic text on the back of the sculpture invokes "The God's Wife, the Great Royal Wife [Ahmost Nefertari]". Ahmose Nefertari was the daughter of one of Egypt's most revered queens, Ahhotep. She lived during a time when the Theban princes battled the Hyksos to regain control of Egypt and found the New Kingdom. Wife of king Ahmose, Ahmose Nefertari may also have served as regent for the young king Amenhotep I. Ahmose-Nefertari was deified after her death and worshipped in the Theban area along with Amenhotep I. She is depicted and mentioned in as many as 50 Theban tombs and invoked on at least 20 votive statues, such as this example.
Exhibition HistoryConnections: the Power of Objects, Schatten Corridor Gallery, Robert W. Woodruff Gallery, Emory University, October 20, 2022 - January 8, 2023.
Published ReferencesChristie's New York, Antiquities (December 18, 1997), 30, number 71.
Bertha Porter, Rosalind L.B. Moss, and Jaromir Malek, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Heiroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs, and Paintings. Volume VIII, Part 2, Private Statues (Dynasty XVIII to the Roman Period) (Oxford: Griffith Institute, 1999) 648, number 801-650-551.

ProvenanceProbably ex coll. Maurice Nahman (1868-1948), Cairo, Egypt and Paris, France, before 1939. With Christie's New York, Antiquities, December 18, 1997, lot 71. Purchased by MCCM from Mark Goodstein [Explorer Ancient Art], New York, New York.

Status

Not on view

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