Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Monument of Sihathor
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
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.
During a pilgrimage to the holy city of Abydos, an assistant treasurer named Sihathor commissioned this unusual monument composed of a stela with a niche containing a block statue. A new type of sculpture developed in the early Twelfth Dynasty, block statues show the owner in a long cloak, squatting on the ground with knees drawn up and arms crossed in a gesture of devotion. The body is reduced to a cubic form with projecting head and feet. The statue transformed the official into a permanent spectator of the ritual processions that honored the god Osiris in Abydos.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
