Place of discovery: Thebes East, Karnak Temple (Ipet-Isut) Precinct of Amun, Court of the Cachette, Karnak Cachette.
Size: H. 51 cm
Material: Greywacke
This block statue is an example of a reintroduction of Middle Kingdom stylistic features, which is a characteristic element of the 25th Dynasty art. These statues depict their owners with their legs drawn tightly up against their chests and their arms folded on top of their knees. This block form would have protected them from damage since they were placed in temple gateways to ensure that the deceased would stay forever near the god and receive a part of the divine offerings and prayers. The head of the statue is projected from the body, probably to indicate the soul emerging from a mound in the underworld at the moment of rebirth.
This block statue depicts Hor, who was the son of Ankh-khonsu and a Prophet of Montu, and was dedicated to him by his grandson, also called Hor. His family was part of the Theban clergy for over five generations. It represents him seated on a low cushion with his legs drawn tightly up against his torso and his right forearm crossed over the left, where his hands hold rolls of cloth or papyri. He is wearing a beautifully engraved double wig, a long kilt and an inscribed belt. His face is thin with almond-shaped eyes, a hollow nose and big ears projecting from the double wig. The chin is supported and attached to the cubed body.
Six horizontal lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions are incised on his kilt together with one vertical line between his feet and one horizontal line goes around the base of the statue.
Dynasty: 21th Dynasty, Reign of Psusennes I (1047-996 BC)
Size: Height: 48 cm, Width: 38 cm
Place of discovery: Tanis – Nile Delta
Material: Gold, lapis lazuli, glass paste
This gold funerary mask, found by the French archeologist Pierre Montet in 1940, is one of the masterpieces of the Egyptian Museum and the most beautiful artefacts coming from the excavations at Tanis (now Tell San el-Hagar). The king is portrayed with the nemes-headdress with a uraeus (the holy cobra protector of royalty) and idealized features and usekh necklace.