Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Statue of a Group of Priests Standing in a Devotional Attitude
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.
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.
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