Nothing to See Here

Statue of King Khafre Enthroned

This perfectly modeled and well-polished life-size funerary statue depicts king Khafre, the builder of the second largest pyramid at Giza. It was found in a pit in the antechamber of his Valley Temple at Giza. The construction is made of anorthosite gneiss, a valuable, extremely hard, and dark stone brought 400 miles down the Nile River from royal quarries.

The king is seated on a throne flanked by lion heads. The two sides of the throne are decorated with the sema-tawy, symbol of the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt. Khafre wears the nemes headdress, surmounted by the uraeus, or rearing cobra. He wears the royal shyndt kilt, attached to his chin is an artificial ceremonial sacred false beard. The king is protected by the god Horus, represented as a falcon, perched at the back of his neck. 

Close Helmet with Falling Buffe by Pompeo della Cesa, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Arms and Armor

Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Steel, gold

Endwalker

Model of Ancient Egyptian Infantry

This group of statues of ancient Egyptian pikemen was found in the tomb of Mesehti, a nomarch of the 13th nomos of Upper Egypt, seal-bearer and Overseer of the Priests of Wepwawet.

The group consists of forty soldiers arranged in ten lines. They are colored reddish brown, their strong tan indicating their continuous and elaborate open-air training. They have a tidy hair cut which covers their ears and a very short kilt to facilitate movement, and they carry lances and shields.

The artist varied the decorations on the shields to add interest and break up the monotony of the group, and also portrayed them with different facial features and heights to create liveliness. This further accentuated by the eyes which show their alertness and strength. while their representation in parallel lines and advancing their left legs creates a rhythm that imbues the group with still more animation.

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Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus) Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria

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“The princess can only thrive out here in the wild”