Through the Eras

Visual ArtsStatuette of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and her son Pepi II.BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART, 39.119, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOURFUND. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.standing royal sculpture. The sculptor placed Menkaureon the viewer’s left and the queen on the right. The ancientviewer would have recognized immediately thatMenkaure was the more important figure of this pair.The viewer’s left is always the place of honor in Egyptianrepresentations. The king and queen were also conventionallydressed to communicate their rank in Egyptiansociety. Menkaure wears the Nemes kerchief, worn onlyby the king. This headdress was made from cloth, foldedto form triangular shapes framing the king’s face. Twolappets hang from the triangles over the king’s chest. Theback of the cloth was twisted around a braid of hair.Though the headdress covered most of the king’s hairand head, his sideburns and ears are visible. In exampleswhere the artist used color, the Nemes is striped blueand gold. The king also wears a rectangular false beard.The false beard was leather, attached by straps that wouldhave tied under the Nemes. This beard, worn only bythe king, contrasts with the longer beard that ended inan upward twist worn only by the gods. The king’s chestis bare. He wears a distinctive kilt called the shendjet,worn only by kings. The kilt features a belt and a flapthat was placed centrally between his legs. The king holdsa cylinder in each hand, usually identified as a documentcase. The case held the deed to Egypt, thought to be inthe king’s possession. This statue also shows some conventionsof representing the male figure used for bothnobles and kings. The king strides forward on his leftleg, a pose typical for all standing, male Egyptian statues.The traces of red paint on the king’s ears, face, andneck show that the skin was originally painted red-ochre.This was the conventional male skin color in statuary,probably associating the deceased king or nobleman withthe sun god Re. The statue of Queen Kha-merer-nebuII also exhibits the conventions for presenting women inEgyptian sculpture. Unlike kings, queens did not havetheir own conventions separate from other noblewomen.The queen’s wig is divided into three hanks, two drapedover her shoulders and one flowing down her back.There is a central part. The queen’s natural hair is visibleon her forehead and at the sideburns, another commonconvention. The queen wears a long, form-fittingdress. The fabric appears to be stretched so tightly thatit reveals her breasts, navel, the pubic triangle, and knees.Yet the length is quite modest with a hem visible justabove the ankles. The queen’s arms are arranged conventionallywith one arm passing across the back of theking and the hand appearing at his waist. The queen’sother hand passes across her own abdomen and rests onthe king’s arm. This pose indicated the queen’s dependenceon the king for her position in society. In pairstatues that show men who were dependent upon theirwives for their status, the men embrace the women.STYLE AND MOTION. The conventions of Egyptianart make it easy to stress the similarity of Egyptian sculpturesto each other in the Old Kingdom. Yet details ofthe style of sculptures such as the Menkaure statue oftenmake it possible to identify specific royal figures suchas the king. All of his sculptures show distinctive facialfeatures. His face has full cheeks. His eyes bulge slightly.The chin is knobby while the nose is bulbous. His wiferesembles him, probably because the king’s face in anyreign became the ideal of beauty. In almost every period,everyone seems to resemble the reigning king. Anotheraspect of style that remained constant through much ofOld Kingdom art was the purposeful avoidance of portrayingmotion. Unlike ancient Greek sculptors, Egyptiansculptors aimed for a timelessness that excluded thetransience of motion. Thus even though Menkaure andArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 283