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Statue bust of a man

20.jpg

Only the upper part of a standing statue of a man has been preserved: the head, shoulders and chest. The nose was broken off and has been repaired. Although this has been done in the same stone as the rest of the statue, the nose is probably not the original because the left nostril is too big at the point of transition to the face. It is likely that the nose was added during a modern restoration using some of the still extant fragments from the bottom part of the statue, or from the levelling of the broken surface below. The man is depicted with the bag-shaped wig characteristic of the Late Period. His clothes consist of a wrap-around cloak tied at the chest, and beneath it the so-called Persian garment which consists of a tunic with a V-shaped neck in which the round neckline of a vest can be discerned. One tip of the cloak hangs down on the right side of the chest, while the other tip has been rolled up, realistically represented with all its folds. Judging by the angle of the upper arm, the statue should be reconstructed as either naophorous or stelaphorous, i.e. as a statue holding a small god's shrine or a small divine figure. As is customary at this time, the statue has a back pillar which reaches up nearly to the middle of the head.

Present location

KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM [09/001] VIENNA

Inventory number

20

Dating

MACEDONIAN PERIOD (not before); PTOLEMAIC PERIOD (not after)

Archaeological Site

OUTSIDE EGYPT ?

Category

STATUE

Material

GABBRO

Technique

POLISHED

Height

26.6 cm

Translation

(1) The venerable with Ptah, South-of-his-Wall, the Lord of Ankhtawy, the Hereditary Prince, the Ruler, the Sealbearer of the King of Lower Egypt, the sole and beloved friend, who has an opinion, who is useful of council and wise of utterance [...]
(2) under the leadership of the gods who appear in jubilation. One acts according to what he says, the successful one, ..., who knows why he started (to do something). The Prophet of Amun of the highland (?) [...]
(3) ... your Ka. I was promoted only through your order according to your ..., while my heart aspired to the good. I was faithful to you, since I was a child. You gave favours ... [...]
(4) Now, at the moment of the Hau-nebu, I was called by the ruler of Egypt, because he loved me and he knew (my) being, (he) caused [...]

Bibliography