Statue of a Group of Priests Standing in a Devotional Attitude
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
Inscriptions identify the two men depicted here as priests of the creator god Ptah, whose cult was centered in Memphis. They wear distinctive garments related to the god’s cult: collars with zigzag elements, diagonal sashes, and beaded aprons. The figures adopt a gesture of prayer or reverence, with arms stretched over stiff kilts, which is assumed by kings and nonroyal individuals from the late Twelfth Dynasty onward. The statue was commissioned by Nebpu (right) for his father Sehetepibreankhnedjem (left) and the "child Sehetepibre," who was originally depicted to the right of Nebpu.
Inscriptions identify the two men depicted here as priests of the creator god Ptah, whose cult was centered in Memphis. They wear distinctive garments related to the god’s cult: collars with zigzag elements, diagonal sashes, and beaded aprons. The figures adopt a gesture of prayer or reverence, with arms stretched over stiff kilts, which is assumed by kings and nonroyal individuals from the late Twelfth Dynasty onward. The statue was commissioned by Nebpu (right) for his father Sehetepibreankhnedjem (left) and the "child Sehetepibre," who was originally depicted to the right of Nebpu.
Artwork Details
- Title: Statue of a Group of Priests Standing in a Devotional Attitude
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty: Dynasty 12
- Date: ca. 1981-1802 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt; Probably from Memphite Region, Memphis
- Medium: Sandstone
- Dimensions: 36 1/4 × 21 5/8 × 11 13/16 in. (92 × 55 × 30 cm)
- Credit Line: Paris, Louvre Museum, Departement des Antiquités égyptiennes
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art