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Source Description

Copper figures were rare in the 3rd millennium BCE, and the few examples represent kings and, during the Middle Kingdom, also some high officials. However, this statuette of a private man dates as early as the Old Kingdom and is, therefore, unique. It has lost its original base and, wit it, the name and title of the owner, but the material itself indicates that he must have been an important person. The figure was solid case and may have been placed in the tomb of its owner.The man stands with the right leg forward and clenched fists. He wears a short kilt and a very simple wig, which does not show evidence of any decoration. The smoothed surface reveals the delicate and careful modeling of the thick lips and wide open eyes, with the head placed on a short stubby neck. The torso has a bipartite division. The feet have stubs with a sign of breakage. The stubs originally held the statuette in place on its base.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
9731
label
Striding Male Figure
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
9731
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Striding Male Figure
description
Copper figures were rare in the 3rd millennium BCE, and the few examples represent kings and, during the Middle Kingdom, also some high officials. However, this statuette of a private man dates as early as the Old Kingdom and is, therefore, unique. It has lost its original base and, wit it, the name and title of the owner, but the material itself indicates that he must have been an important person. The figure was solid case and may have been placed in the tomb of its owner.The man stands with the right leg forward and clenched fists. He wears a short kilt and a very simple wig, which does not show evidence of any decoration. The smoothed surface reveals the delicate and careful modeling of the thick lips and wide open eyes, with the head placed on a short stubby neck. The torso has a bipartite division. The feet have stubs with a sign of breakage. The stubs originally held the statuette in place on its base.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1924, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
2134-1778 BCE (Middle Kingdom)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
statuettes (statues)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
14.8
height
4.5
depth
6.1
dimensionsRaw
H: 5 13/16 x W: 1 3/4 x D: 2 3/8 in. (14.8 x 4.5 x 6.1 cm)
Source extras
cul
Egyptian
dynasty
early 12th Dynasty (?)
med
arsenical copper
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
exhibition_ids
335
2033
2174
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
69fe7dd7fc3845f7