Male Head, Probably from a Serving Statue

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Based on the its size, lack of a back support, and short, close fitting hair, this lively head likely originates from a serving statue, a type of Old Kingdom funerary figure that most often showed men and women engaged in food production, as well as playing musical instruments. They were deposited either in serdabs, secluded rooms in the superstructures of Old Kingdom mastaba tombs, or within burial chambers. Although they have been generally thought to represent anonymous workers, some figures bear the names of the tomb owner’s family members, suggesting that they may have been intended to represent relatives or other household staff performing essential tasks. Serving figures are first attested in the later Fourth Dynasty, and they reach their peak during the mid-Fifth Dynasty, before gradually being replaced by other types of funerary figures and models.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art