Head of an Official
Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 13 (about 1773–1650 BCE)
Medium
Granite
Dimensions
33.8 × 46.3 × 26 cm (13 3/4 × 18 1/4 × 10 1/4 in.)
Classification
statue
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
121767
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This head of an official, with his striped wig tucked behind his ears, comes from a larger statue that was likely once displayed in a tomb chapel. Such sculptures served as receptacles for the ka (soul). To animate statues, priests performed a ceremony called the Opening of the Mouth so that the individual represented could benefit from offerings left by the living and breathe, eat, hear, and see in the afterlife. Although this man’s name, which would have been written on the statue, is now lost...
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....