Head of Wesirwer, Priest of the God Montu
- Medium: Schist
- Place Found: Karnak, Egypt
- Dates: ca. 380-342 B.C.E.
- Dynasty: XXX Dynasty
- Period: Late Period
- Dimensions: 6 x 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (15.2 x 8.9 x 11.4 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: 55.175
- Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
- Image: 3/4 front, 55.175_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
The fragmentary inscription on the dorsal pillar of this head contains a rebus that reveals the owner's name—Wesirwer ("Osiris Is Great")—and part of his title. An inscription on a statue in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to which the head was originally attached (see photo) reveals that Wesirwer was a priest of the Theban god Montu. On the Cairo statue, Wesirwer holds figures of the Theban divine triad—Amun, king of the gods; Mut, his consort; and Khonsu, their child, a god of the moon. He sports an Achaemenid-, or Persian-, style garment, which had been introduced before Dynasty XXVII (circa 525–404 B.C.), a period of foreign occupation.
The Brooklyn fragment belongs to a group of green-stone heads that combine both conventional and naturalistic facial details. Wesirwer's egg-shaped skull and almond eyes are standard elements of fourth-century works, but the serene gaze is a naturalizing element perhaps evocative of Wesirwer's piety.
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Head of Wesirwer
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