They were perfectly preserved and nearly life-size. This was the modern world's first glimpse of one of humankind's artistic masterworks, the statue of Menkaura and queen.
FORM
Carved greywacke figures
Depicts Egyptian King Menkaure & wife (disputed)
Approximately life-sized
Both extend one foot forward & maintain erect posture
Menkaure’s fists are clenched and hold ritual cloth rolls
Wears traditional false beard & headdress
Backed into stone wall
No rear detail
Both are nude in the upper body
Menkaure wears a wrapped kilt
Wife wears an obscure, flat skirt
Menkaure is barely taller than wife
Without headdress they are around the same height
Menkaure protrudes further from the rock than his wife
Both have individualized & youthful features
Unfinished
Area around legs remains unpolished
Statue lacks an inscription
FUNCTION
Communicates the divinity & absolute power of the ruler
Likely emerged from a niche in a memorial structure
Made them seem as if they were striding out of the building
Highlights enduring power & influence of pharaohs
Hierarchy of scale further emphasizes his power over the Egyptian people
Paint may have been intended to slowly wear away, gradually revealing the black stone and their ultimate transformation into Osiris
Although queen is an essential figure of the structure, its purpose was to ensure that Menkaure would successfully reach the afterlife
CONTENT
Greywacke was difficult to carve
Commitment to carving shows devotion to ruler
Tough stone lasts/doesn’t erode
Demonstrates enduring influence/importance
Pharaoh’s left feet were typically extended in traditional Egyptian art
Striding towards the afterlife
Unusual for woman to be doing the same
Many women were depicted with their legs together
Slight hierarchy of scale, but Menkaure’s wife is almost his height
This lead some to believe that she could be his mother, or the goddess Hathor
Displays no divine symbols
Statue imitates structure of many other royal votive statues
Likely confirms the theory that the woman is Menkaure’s wife, and not his mother
She is standing slightly behind him, showing that she is below him in status but still has importance
Idealized musculature and youth highlight the divine perfection of royalty
Individualized features balance their divine destination with their human identities
Their gaze into space intimates their superiority over earthly beings
The woman’s femininity, highlighted by her perfect proportions and clinging garment, balance Menkaure’s masculine virility
Menkaure wears the traditional headdress and false beard, marking him as a pharaoh
However, he is not portrayed with the typical protective cobra on his forehead
The absence of this cobra leads some to surmise that his headdress and the queen’s hair were once covered in precious metals, a decoration that would have included the cobra
CONTEXT
Geography allowed for them to flourish
Some desert, but also lush land around the Nile River
Empire lasted 3000 years
Culture rooted in the Nile, which flooded predictably & frequently
Seasons and concept of time that was built around the seasons and the floods
World based on duality and predictable cycles
A significant part of their system of belief
Strongly defined social/political structure
Pharaoh = absolute ruler
Seen as divine & on the path to becoming a god
Authority & divinity emphasized through hierarchy of scale
Conventions such as this one thus remained constant throughout the Egyptian Empire
Menkaure was the son of Khafre, and the smallest pyramid was built in his name
This statue of him & his wife was found in an abandoned robber’s pit in the Menkaure Valley Temple on the Giza Plateau
Many similar statues depict a triad of a pharaoh alongside the guardian goddess Hathor and a personification of a region
Hathor was connected to the wife of the current king and the mother of the future one
This statue is unique in its dual composition & apparent lack of Hathor
Menkaure’s stature likely would have been situated in an architectural niche in a memorial temple courtyard
Would have been vividly painted
People connected happenings with gods
THEMES
Sacred Space
Power & authority
Ritual belief & the afterlife
Gender roles
Symbolism of materials
Idealism & individuality
The human body
Divine vs. earthly influence
Depiction of royalty
Stylistic convention
CROSS-CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
Tamati Waka Nene
Demonstrates a traditional depiction of a leader that endures beyond changing surroundings
Wall Plaque from Oba’s Palace
Utilizes hierarchy of scale to highlight leader among multiple individuals
