Furniture Leg

Art Historical Context

This delicate furniture leg, carved from elephant ivory around 3100–2900 B.C., hails from Egypt's Early Dynastic Period Dynasty 1—the formative era when the Nile Valley's kingdoms unified under the first pharaoh, like Narmer. just 6 cm tall, it likely supported a stool or chair belonging to an elite figure, perhaps placed in a to serve in the afterlife. Such furnishings symbolized status and continuity between earthly life and eternity, reflecting the period's emerging monumental architecture and complex society. Crafted from prized elephant ivory, a luxury import from sub-Saharan Africa, the...