Courtesy of the Georges Ricard Foundation and the California Institute of World Archaeology

ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Statuette of a Kneeling Worshipper

Possible OriginAswan, Egypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodLate Period

Date722-332 BCE

MediumBronze

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions2 1/2 x 1 1/16 x 1 1/2 in., 180 g (6.4 x 2.7 x 3.8 cm, 6 3/8 oz.)

Object number2018.010.775

Label TextThis bronze figurine represents a kneeling priest named Hapiu, resting on a small base and supported by a back pillar. Hapiu wears a belted, wrapped kilt and sits on the back of his heels with his arms stretched above his knees in a position of worship. The incised lines of his kilt indicate the pleating of fine linen. His smooth head indicates it was shaven or covered with a skull cap. The eyes may have once been inlaid with a lighter metal. The back pillar reads: “the lector-priest of the Osiris-Apis, given life, Hapiu…” The ancient Egyptian name Hapiu means “the Apis is Coming” (Hp-iw = tPN 237,5).

Hapiu was probably shown worshipping a bronze Apis bull, now lost. In ancient Egypt, the Apis bull was the living incarnation of the Egyptian creator god, Ptah, and a powerful entity who delivered oracles, made prophesies and told fortunes for the many pilgrims that visited his sanctuary. Upon the death of the Apis bull, lector priests would shave their bodies for rituals of mourning and embalming. Once transformed into the Osiris-Apis, the bull was buried in a huge stone sarcophagus in a religious complex known as the Serapeum in Memphis.

ProvenanceEx coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, possibly purchased from Jean-François Mignon, Aix-en Provence, France.

Status

Not on view

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