Statue of Ka-aper

Artefact Details

Gallery number: 42 – Ground Floor

Period: Old Kingdom

Dynasty: Dynasty 5, Reign of Userkaf (ca. 2435-2429 BC)

Size: Height 112 cm

Place of discovery: Saqqara, Mastaba of Ka-aper

Material: Wood; Eyes: Rock crystal, calcite, copper, black stone

This is one of the very few wooden statues survived to the present day. Found by Auguste Mariette in 1870 the statue, originally covered by a coat of painted plaster, represent with extreme realism the corpulent chief lector priest Ka-aper with his left foot forward, and holding a staff (now substituted with a copy) in his left hand. His eyes are inlaid with calcite, quartz, and black stone to make a like-life model.