http://collections.mfa.org/collections/315168/objects/rdfENN.Egyptian Collection Highlightshttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1017845/resize%3Aformat%3Dfullhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/797938/resize%3Aformat%3DfullBust of Prince Ankhhaf2520–2494 B.C.Painted limestoneIn ancient Egypt, artists almost never created true portraits. This bust of Ankhhaf, therefore, breaks the rule. It is made of limestone covered with a thin layer of plaster, into which details have been modeled by the hand of a master. Rather than a stylized representation, the face is of an individual. From inscriptions in his tomb, we know that Ankhhaf was the son of a king, probably Sneferu, brother of another, Khufu, and that he served Khafre as vizier and overseer of works. In this last capacity, he may have overseen the building of the second pyramid and carving of the sphinx.Ankhhaf's features are those of a mature man. His skull shows a receding hairline. His eyelids droop slightly over eyes originally painted white with brown pupils. Puffy pouches are rendered underneath. Diagonal furrows set off a stern mouth. Apparently, he once had a short beard made from a separate piece of plaster. It was lost in antiquity, as were his ears. His gaze is that of a commanding and willful man, someone who was accustomed to having his orders obeyed. It was the way he wanted to be remembered for eternity.Ankhhaf's mastaba was the largest in the great Eastern Cemetery at Giza. His bust was installed in a mudbrick chapel attached to the east side of the tomb and oriented so that it faced the chapel's entryway. The chapel walls were covered in exquisitely modeled low relief. It has been suggested that Ankhhaf's arms were sculpted on the low pedestal on which he sat, thereby making him appear even more lifelike. Passersby left more than ninety models of food and drink for Ankhhaf to enjoy in the afterlife. Ankhhaf is unique, and by the terms of the Museum's contract with the Egyptian government, he should have gone to the Cairo Museum. However, he was awarded to Boston by the Antiquities Service in gratitude for the Harvard-Boston Expedition's painstaking work to excavate and restore objects from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/45982/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1062131/resize%3Aformat%3DfullFront side panel of outer coffin of Djehutynakht2010–1961 B.C.CedarThe outer coffin of the local governor Djehutynakht of Deir el-Bersha is perhaps the finest Middle Kingdom coffin in existence. Like the second coffin that once nested inside it, the rectangular outer coffin was made of massive planks of imported cedar, pegged together and decorated on both its inner and outer faces. The paintings and inscribed funerary texts were intended to facilitate Djehutynakht's passage to the afterlife and to sustain his ka in eternity. While coffins of later periods would feature elaborate exterior decoration, those of the early Middle Kingdom were relatively plain on the outside, but beautifully embellished inside, where the offering scenes often parallel those seen in painted tombs. The paintings on the interior of Djehutynakht's coffin are masterpieces, exquisitely detailed in thick, vividly colored paint. The artist's painstaking brush strokes and eloquent use of shading produced a level of realism rarely surpassed in Egyptian art. The primary scene is on the left side of the coffin at the location where Djehutynakht's head once faced. The focal point is an intricately decorated false door through which the ka could pass between the afterlife and the world of the living. Djehutynakht sits in front of the false door and receives an offering of incense. Before and beneath him is a vast wealth of neatly piled offerings, including an oversized ceremonial wine jar, sacred oils, the legs and heads of spotted cattle, tables laden with fruits, vegetables, meat, bread, and magnificently detailed geese. The two rows of large painted hieroglyphs above the scene contain a funerary prayer requesting offerings from the king and the funerary god Osiris on festival days. At the far right is the beginning of a menu giving a full list of desired offerings. Inscribed below in neat columns of tiny, cursive hieroglyphs are the Coffin Texts, a collection of funerary rituals and spells intended to protect and guide the dead on their way to the afterlife. These texts continue around the coffin's interior.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/142815/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1745857/resize%3Aformat%3DfullFunerary maskA.D. 1–50Painted and gilded cartonnage, inlaid glasshttp://collections.mfa.org/objects/155963/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/961559/resize%3Aformat%3DfullHead of an official (The Josephson Head)1878–1841 B.C.QuartziteReddish brown quartzite head of an official, with distinctive features of late dynasty 12, including large ears, heavily-lidded and sunken eyes, furrowed brow, hollow cheeks and downcurved mouth. Nose broken.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/402795/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1030855/resize%3Aformat%3DfullHead of a priest (The Boston Green Head)380–332 B.C.GreywackeThis head of a priest, called the Boston Green Head, is the best portrait sculpture known from the Late Period. The face is wonderfully lifelike and individual. Light wavy lines indicate the furrows of his brow, and crow’s feet radiate from the outer corners of his eyes. The top of his nose has a pronounced bony ridge. Deep creases run from the edges of his nose to the corners of his mouth. Thin lips and a downturned mouth impart an expression of strength and determination. The slight wart on his left cheek is unique in Egyptian art and also introduces an element of asymmetry dear to the artists of the Late Period. The head has an illustrious provenance. In the spring of 1857, Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, a cousin of Emperor Napoleon III known as Prince Plonplon, announced his intention to visit Egypt. Archduke Maximilian of Austria had recently returned from a Nile excursion with a handsome collection of Egyptian art, and the prince vowed to surpass him. Said Pasha, the passionately pro-French viceroy of Egypt, was determined to please his imperial guest. He charged Auguste Mariette, famed discoverer of the Serapeum, the burial place of the sacred Apis bulls, with the task of building a collection. To save time, Mariette was to explore the proposed itinerary, dig for antiquities, and then rebury them, thus facilitating their rediscovery by the prince. In the end, Plonplon canceled his reservations, but nonetheless received a selection of choice objects — including the Green Head as a souvenir of the trip that never was. Yet there were happy consequences, for as a result of his efforts and through the prince’s influence, Mariette was appointed Egypt’s first director of antiquities, a milestone in the care and protection of Egypt’s monuments.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/131018/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/898156/resize%3Aformat%3DfullKing Menkaura (Mycerinus) and queen2490–2472 B.C.GreywackeAt twilight on January 18, 1910, a young boy beckoned George Reisner to the Menkaura Valley Temple. There, emerging from a robbers' pit into which it had been discarded were the tops of two heads of a pair statue, perfectly preserved and nearly life-size. This was the modern world's first glimpse of one of humankind's artistic masterworks, the statue of Menkaura and queen.The two figures stand side-by-side, gazing into eternity. He represents the epitome of kingship and the ideal human male form. She is the ideal female. He wears the nemes on his head, a long artificial beard, and a wraparound kilt with central tab, all of which identify him as king. In his hand he clasps what may be abbreviated forms of the symbols of his office. His high cheekbones, bulbous nose, slight furrows running diagonally from his nose to the corners of his mouth, and lower lip thrust out in a slight pout, may be seen on her as well, although her face has a feminine fleshiness, which his lacks. Traces of red paint remain on his face and black paint on her wig.His broad shoulders, taut torso, and muscular arms and legs, all modeled with subtlety and restraint, convey a latent strength. In contrast, her narrow shoulders and slim body, whose contours are apparent under her tight-fitting sheath dress, represent the Egyptian ideal of femininity. As is standard for sculptures of Egyptian men, his left foot is advanced, although all his weight remains on the right foot. Typically, Egyptian females are shown with both feet together, but here, the left foot is shown slightly forward. Although they stand together sharing a common base and back slab, and she embraces him, they remain aloof and share no emotion, either with the viewer or each other.Who is represented here? The base of the statue which is usually inscribed with the names and titles of the subject represented, was left unfinished and never received the final polish of most of the rest of the statue. Because it was found in Menkaura's Valley Temple and because it resembles other statues from the same findspot bearing his name, there is no doubt that the male figure is King Menkaura. Reisner suggested that the woman was Queen Khamerernebty II, the only of Menkaura's queens known by name. She, however, had only a mastaba tomb, while two unidentified queens of Menkaura had small pyramids. Others have suggested that she represents the goddess Hathor, although she exhibits no divine attributes. Because later kings are often shown with their mothers, still other scholars have suggested that the woman by Menkaura's side may be his mother. However, in private sculptures when a man and woman are shown together and their relationship is indicated, they are most often husband and wife. Because private sculpture is modeled after royal examples, this suggests that she is indeed one of Menkaura's queens, but ultimately, the name of the woman represented in this splendid sculpture may never be known.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/230/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1086023/resize%3Aformat%3DfullKing Menkaura, the goddess Hathor, and the deified Hare nome2490–2472 B.C.Greywackehttp://collections.mfa.org/objects/138424/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1150663/resize%3Aformat%3DfullModel of a procession of offering bearers ("The Bersha Procession")2010–1961 B.C.WoodAmong the more than one hundred wooden models found scattered throughout the tomb of Djehutynakht, the quality of this procession of offering bearers stands out from the others. The skill and delicacy with which it was carved and painted rank it among the finest wooden models ever found in Egypt. It shows a man and three women bringing offerings to sustain the ka of Djehutynakht in the afterlife. Each figure advances with the left leg forward, following the convention of larger scale Egyptian sculpture and relief. A priest leads the way, carrying a ceremonial wine jar and incense burner for use in the burial rites. Two women follow with offerings of food and drink - the first carries a basket of bread and a duck, while the second brings another duck and a basket filled with beer jars. The third woman furnishes items for Djehutynakht's personal care, a small wooden cosmetic chest and a mirror, the latter slung over her shoulder in a case made of animal hide. This brief procession symbolically provides all that was essential to sustain Djehutynakht in eternity: food, drink, items of personal adornment, and the incense used to attract and appease divinities and the blessed dead. The procession was found overturned between Djehutynakht's coffin and the eastern wall of his burial chamber, in a pile of broken models that robbers had thrown aside. Although the four figures remained attached when the model was discovered, the two central offering bearers had lost their raised arms, and nearly all the offerings had come loose. Some pieces were found a considerable distance away. Since its discovery, the scene has been reconstructed twice. The first attempt, carried out in 1941 before all the elements had been identified, was incorrect. The current configuration was established in 1987.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/143592/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1017845/resize%3Aformat%3DfullPair statue of Ptahkhenuwy and his wife2465–2323 B.C.Painted limestonePrivate sculpture of the Old Kingdom copied royal sculpture: the poses, youthful body forms, and the wife's embrace of the husband in this private sculpture is the same as those of King Menkaura and his queen in their dyad. The man here is identified by an inscription painted on the base in black paint as Ptahkhenwy, supervisor of palace retainers. He stands with his left leg forward in the traditional male pose, and his partner, her name no longer legible in the inscription and identified now only as "his wife whom he loved," stands beside him with both feet together. Most Egyptian sculpture was painted, but all too often the paint has not survived. Fortunately, such is not the case with this statue. The husband's skin is red ochre, the traditional color for men, whose work outside would have left them sunburned. The wife's yellow-ochre skin reflects the traditional role of women inside the house. Both their facial features are the same. Neither is a true portrait, but rather an idealized likeness of how each wished to be remembered for eternity. Negative space between the couple and the base is painted dark gray. The garments of the pair are white, to reflect the color of the undyed linen from which they were made. She wears a V-neck sheath dress that was customary for a woman of the Old Kingdom. It clings so tightly here that it reveals every aspect of her body beneath. Walking would have been impossible. Surviving examples show that in reality, such garments were much looser. He wears a knee-length, wraparound kilt, the most common garment for men. Jewelry added bright splashes of color. Both wear broadcollars, brightly painted to imitate semiprecious stone or faience. She wears two anklets and a bracelet in addition, making up a parure that is strikingly similar to actual jewelry found in Old Kingdom tombs. His black wig is composed of curls cut in rows. Natural black hair peeks out from beneath her black wig, which is parted in the center and reaches to shoulder level. The statue was found in the serdab of the couple's tomb and was one of the first objects to be excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. The excitement of the Museum Trustees when it first arrived in Boston played a key role in their decision to commit to funding further excavations.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/137139/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1518557/resize%3Aformat%3DfullPendant on a chain1070–712 B.C.Gold, glass inlaysAccording to Egyptian mythology, the young sun god was borne up out of the primordial waters of chaos inside a blue lotus flower, which opened to reveal him on the first morning. The artist of this fine pendant characterized the god's tender age with the sidelock of youth. He is seated with knees drawn up as in a hieroglyph. The tiny uraeus on his brow proclaims him as royalty, illustrating the link between the king and the young sun god. Although the figure appears to be on top of a lotus blossom, we are meant to understand him as being inside the flower, in the same way as the contents of an open bowl in Egyptian art can be drawn standing up on its edge. Although the jewel was previously dated to the reign of Ramesses II, the closest parallels date to the Third Intermediate Period, when the motif of child god on the lotus enjoyed a great vogue.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/155962/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1030856/resize%3Aformat%3DfullPotrait head ("Reserve head")2551–2528 B.C.LimestoneThis striking head represents one of the rare instances in which Egyptian artists sculpted a partial figure. Slightly over life-size, it is noteworthy for its austere beauty and serene gaze. Although perhaps not a true portrait like that of Ankhhaf (p. 78), it nevertheless exhibits a number of distinctive traits. Because of its round face, pronounced cheekbones and full, sensuous lips, George Reisner called it a "Negroid princess." He found it at the bottom of a tomb shaft in the Western Cemetery at Giza, where robbers most likely tossed it after plundering the burial chamber. A second head with a much more elongated face and facial features was found beside it, and Reisner considered that to be her Egyptian husband. Unfortunately the tomb itself provides no clues as to the racial identity or sex of either head. However, a touch of red paint remaining on the ear of this head hints that the subject was male rather than female, because red is the traditional male skin color on sculptures. To further complicate matters, the tomb only contained space for a single burial, so exactly which head belonged there is not clear. The function of this piece also remains enigmatic. Just over thirty such heads have been found, mostly at Giza, and mostly datable to the brief period in Dynasty 4 spanning the reigns of Khufu and Khafre. Although all are approximately the same size, each is distinctive. All have been found either in the burial chamber or at the bottom of the shaft leading to it. In contrast, other types of Old Kingdom sculptures have most often been found in chapels above ground attached to tombs, where they could magically partake of food offerings. Upon excavating one of these heads at the beginning of the twentieth century, a German archaeologist postulated that its purpose was to replace the head of the deceased should anything happen to it. Since that time, these sculptures have been known as "reserve heads." Over the years others have suggested different functions for these heads. Several archaeologists believe that they served as models or molds for other sculptures. The fact that many, excepting the present example, show signs of deliberate mutilation, led another scholar to theorize that they served a magical function during the burial ceremonies but were ritually "killed" to prevent them from subsequently harming the deceased. Whatever their purpose, they were in vogue for a very brief period, until they were superseded by face and body coverings in plaster and then cartonnage, a material consisting of layers of linen stiffened with gesso.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/141966/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/743686/resize%3Aformat%3DfullRelief of Akhenaten as a sphinx1349–1336 B.C.LimestoneAlthough Akhenaten's religious reforms purged Egyptian art of many of its most familiar manifestations, the king remained fond of the sphinx and often had himself depicted as that fantastic creature - part man, part lion. In Old Kingdom times, the Great Sphinx at Giza probably stood for the king presenting offerings to the sun god, while in the Eighteenth Dynasty the mighty monument was reinterpreted as the sun god Horemakhet, or Horus in the Horizon. Its impeccable solar credentials therefore made the sphinx an appropriate image for Akhenaten at el-Amarna, the city he called Akhetaten, "Horizon of the Sun Disk."This relief was one of a pair flanking a temple doorway. The sphinx on it rests on a plinth, suggesting that it represents a statue. A pair of such reliefs flanking the doorway of a small temple would have evoked the grand avenues of sphinxes that traditionally led up to the entrance pylons of larger Egyptian sanctuaries. Here the sphinx is equipped with human arms and hands to enable him to make offerings to his god, the sun disk, Aten, who appears at the upper left. He wears the uraeus of kingship while behind him (to the left) are two cartouches containing his lengthy official name. The sun's life-giving rays end in so many hands, some holding ankh-signs. Below are three offering stands. To the right, Akhenaten as sphinx raises one hand in adoration while in the other he holds a neb sign, a basket signifying lordship, holding Aten's cartouches. These same cartouches appear a third time in the upper right where they are joined with the cartouches of Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, who is thus present in name if not in image. The rest of the inscription describes the "great, living Aten" as "dwelling in the Sunshade temple [called] Creator of the Horizon [which is] in Akhetaten." The temple named here, yet to be located, must be the one for which this block was carved. Akhenaten's religious revolution was accompanied by a change in the way pharaoh was depicted, showing a marked departure from the idealized images favored by his predecessors. Even though the king's face has been sadly hacked away, one can still discern his characteristic slanted eyes, long nose,hollow cheeks, drooping lower lip, and pendulous chin.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/46197/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1030854/resize%3Aformat%3DfullRelief of Nofer2551–2494 B.C.LimestoneWe may not know exactly what Nofer looked like, but we can be sure that he had a large aquiline nose. This aspect is featured prominently on the north doorjamb from his chapel as well as on the reserve head found at the bottom of the tomb's shaft. The scale with which Nofer is represented on the walls - three times bigger than other figures - and the fourteen different offices enumerated there demonstrate that he was a prominent official in Dynasty 4. Among his titles, both real and honorary, were overseer of the treasury, overseer of the king's regalia, overseer of the arsenal, secretary of all the secrets of the king, estate manager, and royal scribe.The exquisitely carved relief figure of Nofer on the doorjamb exhibits the traditional combination of profile and frontal views. Subtle modeling calls attention to the area under the eye and the bridge of the nose. Each individual curl of the wig is cut with precision. He wears a conventional kilt and holds a walking stick and baton of office as he faces out from inside the tomb toward the entrance. A row of scribes carrying the tools of their trade face into the tomb to meet him. George Reisner was not the first to enter Nofer's tomb in modern times when he excavated it in 1905. August Mariette, the first director of antiquities, found the tomb in 1857, and in the following year he presented the other (southern) doorjamb of the tomb chapel to the viceroy of Egypt, who, in turn, presented it to Prince Napoleon of France. From there it entered another French collection before it was purchased by the Louvre in 1868. Other relief-decorated blocks were plundered from the tomb prior to the MFA excavations and are currently in Rome, Copenhagen, and Birmingham (England).http://collections.mfa.org/objects/136183/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/797939/resize%3Aformat%3DfullSarcophagus of Queen Hatshepsut, recut for her father, Thutmose I (box)1473–1458 B.C.Painted quartzitehttp://collections.mfa.org/objects/130720/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/927799/resize%3Aformat%3DfullStatue of Lady Sennuwy1971–1926 B.C.GranodioriteEgyptian officials of the Middle Kingdom continued the practice of equipping their tombs with statues to house the ka of the tomb owner and to provide a focal point for the offering cult. Highly ranked officials also dedicated statues of themselves at sanctuaries of gods and deified ancestors. Following the experimental and idiosyncratic interlude of the First Intermediate Period, sculptors once again produced large-scale stone statues, returning to the basic forms and poses established in the Old Kingdom.This elegant seated statue of Lady Sennuwy of Asyut is one of the most superbly carved and beautifully proportioned sculptures from the Middle Kingdom. The unknown artist shaped and polished the hard, gray granodiorite with extraordinary skill, suggesting that he was trained in a royal workshop. He has portrayed Sennuwy as a slender, graceful young woman, dressed in the tightly fitting sheath dress that was fashionable at the time. The carefully modeled planes of the face, framed by a long, thick, striated wig, convey a serene confidence and timeless beauty. Such idealized, youthful, and placid images characterize the first half of Dynasty 12 and hark back to the art of the Old Kingdom. Sennuwy sits poised and attentive on a solid, blocklike chair, with her left hand resting flat on her lap and her right hand holding a lotus blossom, a symbol of rebirth. Inscribed on the sides and base of the chair are hieroglyphic texts declaring that she is venerated in the presence of Osiris and other deities associated with the afterlife.Sennuwy was the wife of a powerful provincial governor, Djefaihapi of Asyut, whose rock-cut tomb is the largest nonroyal tomb of the Middle Kingdom. Clearly, the couple had access to the finest artists and materials available. It is likely that this statue, along with a similar sculpture of Djefaihapi, was originally set up in the tomb chapel, although they may also have stood in a sanctuary. Both statues were discovered, however, far to the south at Kerma in Nubia, where they had been buried in the royal tumulus of a Nubian king who lived generations after Sennuwy's death. They must have been removed from their original location and exported to Nubia some three hundred years after they were made. Exactly how, why, and when these pieces of sculpture, along with numerous other Egyptian statues, found their way to Kerma, however, is still unknown.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/141967/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1086020/resize%3Aformat%3DfullStatue of Wepwawetemhat2140–1991 B.C.WoodThis masterful wooden statue, made for the tomb of a minor official who lived at the end of the First Intermediate Period or early in the Middle Kingdom, represents the culmination of the style that emerged in the late Old Kingdom. A brief text on the base identifies the figure as "the venerated one, Wepwawetemhat," who is shown as a slender, idealized young man striding forward with his left foot - the traditional pose for a sculpture of an Egyptian dignitary. The head, torso, and legs were carved from a single piece of wood, while the arms and the base of the figure were made separately. The entire statue was then coated with gesso and brightly painted and the eyes were inlaid with black and white stones. The features of the face, including the slightly arched eyebrows and well-preserved eyes, impart a youthful intensity and energy. This statue is among the best-preserved wooden sculptures of its time. Its style retains certain features of the First Intermediate Period, including the wide, staring eyes, long limbs and fingers, and angular lines of the face and collarbone. The date of the unplundered rock-cut tomb in which this figure was discovered, however, remains uncertain. It was long thought to predate the reunification of Egypt in Dynasty 11, but a number of scholars now suggest that it and contemporary tombs may date from as late as Dynasty 12.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/130761/rdf