Old kingdom statues

The Statue of Zoser
Life-size about 142cm, painted Limestone, Excavations of the Egyptians Antiquities Service. 1924-25.
Found in the Serdab of his pyramid complex, now in Cairo Museum it was the oldest royal sculpture of this scale known from Egypt it represents the king closely wrapped in along white cloak probably that used in the king's jubilee or heb-sed festival. He seated on the throne with a high back. On its base engarved hieroglyphic inscription mentions the royal Horus name Netjer-khet, he wears his royal nemes head cloth over a heavy wig. Only the damage to the head caused by tomb robbers who tore out the eyes of inlaid rock crystal, alabaster and obsidian.
The right hand clenched beneath the chest and the left flat on the thigh.

The Statue of Cheops
Ivory, found by F.Petrie at Abydos in a temple of Khentamentiu now in Cairo Museum, 7.5cm. ht.
He seated on a throne holding a flail in his right hand and wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt but the upper part of it was broken and short shendit-kilt.
The Statue of Chephren
Life-size diorite statue of Chephren (168 cm. ht.) Found in his valley temple in 1860 by Mariette's workmen. Now in Cairo Museum. He wears the nemes head dress, ceremonial beard and the kilt "shendit", he holds in the right hand a folded piece of material, the god Horus enfolding the back of the king's head with its wings-the king represents Horus on the earth "The living Horus". The throne is supported by two lions as power and protection to the king and on each side of the throne there is a symbol of union of the two land "sematawy".
The Statue of Mycerinus
Greywacke (schist). 92cm.ht, Giza, valley temple of Mycerinus Harvard/Boston expedition.1908.
Here, the king wearing the white crown of upper Egypt, ceremonial beard and a shendit kilt, he holds in his hands a folded piece.
Hathor standing to the right of the king. On her head, there is her symbol "The solar disk between two cow's horns". She holds in right hand a symbol "shen" while with her left arm she embraces the king. On the other side, there is the personification of the Cynopolite Nome (the 17th nome of Upper Egypt) on her head the symbol of nome the jackal-god also she embraces the king by her right hand.

The statue of Rahotep and his wife Nofret
Rahotep was the son of Sneferu. Painted limestone, Mariette found it in their Mastaba at Meidum, now in Cairo Museum. He is 121 cm.ht., while his wife is 122 cm.ht. Rahotep sits and his right hand is below his breast and his left closed on his knee. he wears a short kilt, a short wig like the natural hair and an amulet around his neck he has a thin moustache and beside him his wife whose name means "the beautiful one". Her hands folded across her torso and she wears a white long transparent dress and a wide necklace. Beneath her wig, her fore lock appears. her wig is fixed with a diadem ornamented with rosettes. Their eyes are pieces of rock crystal with the iris and white rendered. So their eyes look like the living eye that within metal frames.
The statue of the Dwarf Seneb and his family
Painted Limestone, 33cm.ht., excavated by H.Junker in 1926-27 from his tomb at Giza.
Seneb means "the healthy one", he was attached in a priestly function to the funerary cults of kings Cheops and Djedefre of the IVth dynasty. He seated in the position of a scribe, cross-legged on a bench and his hands cross on his chest beside him his wife seated embraces her husband with her arms in protective gesture. She wears a black wig. There is also the children of Seneb- a girl and a boy, each one put finger in the mouth and the boy has a plaited of hair on one side of the head and he has the same colour of his body like his father but the girl like her mother. The pose of his wife here seems as much protective as affectionate.

The Double Statue of Nimaatsed
Painted limestone, 57cm.ht., Mariette excavated it at mastaba D56 at Saqqara, Vth dynasty, now in Cairo Museum.
He was a judge and prophet in the pyramids of Neferirakare, Neferefre and Niuserre, he wears a wide wig, short kilt and a polychrome necklace.
This kind of the sculpture known as "pseudo-groups" but his important isn't clear may be to represent the person at different ages or the person with his ka.

The Statue of Ka-aper "Sheikh el-Baled"
Sycamore wood, 110cm.ht., discovered by Mariette in 1860 at mastaba c8 at Saqqara, now in Cairo Museum.
It was a chief lector-priest, his name Sheikh el-Baled come from the Egyptian workmen of Mariette because he looks like his headman of their village.
He represents with natural hair but he wears longish kilt, his eyes are inlaid in copper frames, the white made of opaque quartz. He holds an official baton in his right hand and in his left a tall walking stick which is modern now because it had disappeared.

The statue of Ranofer
Painted limestone, 178cmht. Mariette excavated it, mastaba 40 at Saqqara, Vth dynasty. Now in Cairo Museum.
He was the high priest of Ptah and of Sokar. This statue has a back slab.
The two statues represent the same person, in one of them he wears a wide wig and a short kilt while in the other he depicts with his natural hair and a medium skirt. He holds a small staff in each hand.

The statue of a scribe
Painted limestone, 51 cm.ht., excavated by Egyptian Antiquities of service, 1893 at Saqqara, beginning of Vth dynasty, now in Cairo Museum.
It represents an unknown scribe seated with crossed legs and on his knees there is a unrolled a papyrus which he holds it by left hand while he begins to write with a quill pen in his right hand but it disappeared. The eyes are inlaid and held them with copper bands.
The Hawk's head
Gold and obsidian, 37.5cm.ht., Quibell discovered it in 1897-98 at Hierakonpolis, now in Cairo Museum, VIth dynasty.
It was certainly the cult statue of the ancient temple. This head surmounted by the diadem which is fixed with uraeus and supports two tall feathers.
The eyes here are inlaid in obsidian. In the lower part of the head, there are the copper nails where the head was attached to the body probably it was a wooden body.

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