Scribe bookends

Statue of a Seated Man

This small statuette is of a man seated, his knees drawn in front of him, his hands crossed over them. He is placed on a base and leans against a dorsal pillar with a rounded top. He is completely wrapped up in a long mantle from which only his feet and hands emerge. He is holding an ear of wheat in his right hand. He is wearing a wig of thick wavy locks of hair, arranged in layers and parted into two bunches falling on his shoulders. He has a small square beard on his chin.

A cartouche, inscribed with the name of Ramses, is engraved on his left arm. Most of the hieroglyphics engraved on the pillar and base have been erased. This personage was called Hor, and among his functions, he seems to have been a Priest and Intendant of Ptah.

This sculpture belongs to the cubic type of statues that appeared during the Middle Empire and were highly appreciated until the Late Period. The first examples were highly simplified volumes, really giving the impression of a cube. Over time, however, the shape of the body and arms became more apparent, as in this statue.