Statue of a Priest, Wen-amun Son of Nes-ba-neb-dedet and Ta-sherit-Khonsu

This private male figure in a short kilt, his left leg advanced in a pose between rest and action, is a statue type that was common in several periods of ancient Egyptian history, beginning with the Old Kingdom. The pose is related to a hieroglyph used in writing men's names. The texts here invoke for the owner eternal life and, probably, the statue's continued survival in his Theban tomb.

• Medium: Limestone
• Geographical Location: Thebes, Egypt
• Dates: ca. 50 B.C.E.
• Period: Ptolemaic Period
• Dimensions: 15 3/8 x 3 1/16 x 7 1/16 in. (39 x 7.7 x 18 cm)
• Collection: Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
• Exhibitions:
  • To Live Forever: Art and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt (February 12, 2010 through May 2, 2010)
• Accession Number: 36.834
• Image: 36.834_threequarter_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, Nov 30, 2006

Catalogue Description:
Statue of a standing man in hard crystalline limestone. Conventional composition, frontal. Arms at sides, left leg advanced. Headless. Rear pillar carelessly inscribed for Wn-nfr, son of Ns’-b3-nb-dd.t and the sistrum player T3-sry.t-hnsw. Condition: Head missing. Body assembled from two pieces. Scattered chips. Portions of surface seem to have been cleaned with an abrasive to remove incrustations.