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The image depicts an elite member of Egyptian
society who was the owner of the tomb from
which this forceful vignette came. The owner is
represented seated on a luxurious chair,
designed with a curvilinear bolster-like back,
and feline feet themselves resting upon inverted
conical casters decorated with a series of
concentric rings. In keeping with ancient
Egyptian conventions, the tomb owner is bare-
chested and, presumably, bare footed. He wears
a simple, undecorated linen kilt, wrapped around
his waist and secured into place with a belt. His
accessories are limited to a broad collar, its
multiple strands symbolically representing floral
forms from which such attributes were originally
crafted. He wears a short, bobbed wig arranged
with parallel rows of short, tightly styled
curls.
The tomb owner is shown facing to the left and is
holding one attribute in each hand. In general,
only depictions of standing tomb owners
represent them holding an object in each hand;
seated depictions are generally shown holding
only one attribute, and that attribute is usually a
staff traditionally held in the hand of the
elevated far arm, as it is indeed held in our
relief. Our tomb owner appears to be holding a
second attribute in his lowered hand as well. This
attribute may perhaps to be identified as a
shorter baton. The staff and baton are standard
attributes for elite male members of Egyptian
society during the Old Kingdom. Although rare,
there are parallels for seated tomb owners
holding a baton in one hand and a staff in the
other from this period.
This vignette is executed in sunk relief, whereby
the images are sculpted into the stone at a depth
below the horizontal plane of the surface of the
block. Such a technique was commonly
employed for the decoration of exterior walls so
that the rays of the sun would be “caught” in the
depths of the sculpting, thereby enabling the
relief to be seen more clearly.
The consummate manner in which the details of
the face are executed deserves mention,
particularly since the expression is forceful and
somewhat realistic in its appearance. This
departure from the expected idealism of the
facial features together with the unusual, and
extremely interesting, appearance of an attribute
in each hand of the tomb owner, suggests a
dating for this uncommon depiction in Dynasty
VI or somewhat later.
References:
Yvonne Harpur, Decoration in Egyptian Tombs of
the Old Kingdom (London 1987), page 448, a
depiction of Ku-en-uha, seated with his wife on
a similarly designed chair. Here this seated tomb
owner holds scepter in his lowered hand and a
staff in his elevated hand, exactly paralleling the
two attributed held in the hands of our figure.
This magnificent limestone wall panel originally
decorated a 6th Dynasty temple or palace
structure. It is even possible that this panel once
stood inside the shafts of a royal pyramid.
Depicted is a dignitary seated upon a seat,
holding a sekhem scepter in his left hand, an
Ancient Egyptian symbol of power. While a
hieroglyphic character in the form of a sekhem
was often included in the names of pharaohs
from the 3rd Dynasty onwards, officials in the
court of the pharaoh were traditionally depicted
carrying this staff. The scepter was also utilized
by priest presiding over religious ceremonies.
However, in this context, the staff is held in the
right hand. Thus, it is likely that this seated man
represents a dignitary who was a high-ranking
member of the royal court. His hair is closely
cropped. He wears a broad beaded collar and a
short skirt. His body has been represented in a
fashion characteristic of Egyptian art with profile
views of the head and legs and a frontal view of
the upper torso.
- (X.0373)
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