Kneeling Statuette of Pepy I
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Object Label
This statuette depicts King Pepy I kneeling and offering nu-pots, ritual vessels that held milk or wine. A king would kneel only before a god, so this statuette must have been placed before the statue of a deity in a temple. Inlaid eyes of black and white stone set in copper rims enhance the finely carved figure. The hole above Pepy’s forehead originally held a uraeus-cobra, probably metal, signifying royalty.
Caption
Kneeling Statuette of Pepy I, ca. 2338–2298 B.C.E.. Greywacke, Egyptian alabaster (calcite), obsidian, copper, 6 x 1 13/16 x 3 9/16 in. (15.2 x 4.6 x 9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 39.121. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.121_front_PS6.jpg)
Title
Kneeling Statuette of Pepy I
Date
ca. 2338–2298 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 6
Period
Old Kingdom
Geography
Possible place collected: Upper Egypt, Egypt
Medium
Greywacke, Egyptian alabaster (calcite), obsidian, copper
Classification
Dimensions
6 x 1 13/16 x 3 9/16 in. (15.2 x 4.6 x 9 cm)
Inscriptions
“Pepi, son of Hathor, Lady of Dendera, given life and power, Mry-Re..."
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
39.121
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Tell me about this statue's headdress.
A king's headdress was called a "nemes headdress" and would have shown a cobra, or the "uraeus". The "uraeus" was a protective goddess who took the form of the cobra and the image is seen primarily on royal headwear.Is it typical that women had vultures and men cobras?Yes, typically, the nemes headdress was reserved for men/pharaohs.Hatshepsut (a female pharaoh from ancient Egypt) is often seen wearing this nemes-headdress which scholars believed was so that she could solidify her power and be seen on par with a male pharaoh.Who is this?
This kneeling statue depicts the pharaoh Pepy I of Egypt's Old Kingdom. In his hands, Pepy I offers pots to the gods. The hole in his headdress would have once held a uraeus cobra, a symbol of the protective goddess worn by royalty in ancient Egypt.If you look closely, you may notice that his eyes are inlayed! I'm always fascinated by inlayed eyes because it makes the person in the sculpture seem so much more lifelike!Were all these Egyptian statues originally painted?
A number of them would have been, yes. Limestone, or lighter colored sculpture might have been painted. But dark stone, like this greywacke, was actually valued for the way details would show up on the dark surface. There may have been painted accents, however.Tell me more.
If you look closely at this statue you see two different techniques used to carve the stone. The smooth, rounded areas, seen on the figure, were created with abrasives much the way we use sandpaper today. In contrast, the inscription was chiseled into the surface.If you look at the inscription on the king's right side you'll see the cartouche that helped scholars to identify him. Within the oval are signs Re, mr, and y--usually read as Meryre--the throne name of Pepy I.I was wondering when and where it was found. Also is Charles Edwin Wilbur Fund the person who found it?
We aren’t sure where exactly in Egypt this statue was found. It entered the museum’s collection in 1939. Based on the sculpture itself we assume it was created for a temple. You may have read in the label that a king, like Pepy I, would only kneel before a god.Charles Edwin Wilbour did not find this particular object. He did donate his personal collection of ancient Egyptian art to this museum and created a tremendous fund that still contributes to the operation of the department today. His name appearing on this label indicates that money from that fund went toward the acquisition of this object.Wow! Thank you sooo much!
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