A study conducted by Dr. Zahi Havass and Dr. Sarah Abdo and published in Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Describes a unique statue of an Egyptian family.

As he writes Phys.orga statue from limestone was found in GISR El Muder (theThat is the name of the mysterious fence of clay and stone west of the Joser pyramid) in Sakkara. She depicts a noble man on the pedestal. The left leg forwarded forward is characteristic of the sculpture of the ancient kingdom, symbolizing youth, vitality and power.

It has a short wig and a male skirt-scent. The sculptor paid significant attention to the upper part of his body, especially the shoulders, the area of ​​the collarbone, the chest muscles and hands.

Next to him, a woman, much smaller in size. She stands on her knees and holds on his right leg. She wears a wig to her shoulders, a wide collar and a simple sheath dress. This figure probably depicts a man’s wife. Wives were often portrayed at this time sitting next to her husband, leaning his head against his leg. A similar image of a wife can be seen, for example, by the royal statue of Pharaoh Jedefra.

The third figure is the strangest. Unlike other family statues from Egypt, a young girl probably depicting the daughter of a noble man is carved in a bas -relief, and not in voluminous sculpture. She stands behind her father’s left foot, extending her right hand to hold on to her. In her right hand, she holds a goose, which, perhaps, served as a provisions for the afterlife.

“Since there are no surviving wall scenes in this tomb, the statue of the daughter holding the goose could perform the same function, representing the provisions for the afterlife,” Dr. Havass explains.

The statue was found without context in the sands of GISR El-Muder, perhaps it was dropped or thrown there. The lack of context makes it difficult to determine the time of creating a sculpture.

It was found that the work is very similar to other family statues created during the V dynasty (c. 2504–2347 BC). Especially on the statue of Irukaptach, which is stored in the Brooklyn Museum. She was also excavated in Sakkara and reliably belongs to the V dynasty.

The statues are almost identical, the pose of wives is somewhat different, as well as the son of Irukaptach is depicted in the form of a three -dimensional sculpture. The similarity of the anatomical proportions, the details of the face, the positions of the body, clothing and wigs all indicates that both statues were created at the same time and, probably, belonged to the same art “school”.

If so, a unique statue of GISR El Muder is probably dated to V dynasty and depicts the head of the family with his wife and daughter. The reasons that the daughter was carved in the bas -relief remain unclear – such a feature in the ancient Egyptian family statues has never met.

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This article is republished from naukatv.ru on 2025-09-26 07:21:00. Content and views belong to the original publisher, not UAE Today News.