Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Statue of a Priest of Amun

18:49 08/14/2008

pretty cool.

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Statue of a Priest of Amun

The statue of a priest of Amun shown here has an idealizing face in the style of the fourth century B.C. yet wears a Twenty-sixth Dynasty version of an Old Kingdom wig and is based typologically on Twenty-sixth Dynasty sculptures inspired by much earlier works. Despite these archaizing tendencies, it also displays a Thirtieth Dynasty innovation in statuary: the depiction of gods (here Amun, Mut, and Khonsu) on the top of the back pillar. Idealization is equally apparent in the two heads and the small statuette of Hor. The latter has some distinction. It is the earliest reasonably well dated sculpture with an egg-shaped cranium, an artistic detail that became common in the fourth century B.C.

Medium: Diorite
Place Made: Thebes, Egypt
Dates: 381-362 B.C.E.
Dynasty: XXX Dynasty
Period: Late Period
Dimensions: 20 1/16 x 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. (51 x 15.9 x 14 cm)
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 52.89
Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Image: Overall, 52.89_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Statue of a Priest of Amun