Torso of a Saite King

The idealized modeling of this torso harks back to royal sculpture of Dynasty IV (circa 2600–2475 B.C.). Art historians use the term "archaism" to describe such a conscious evocation of earlier models in art. Archaism played a dominant role in the creative achievements of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, perhaps in an effort to legitimize royal claims by linking the dynasty to Egypt's glorious past.