Head and Upper Torso of a Seated Official

Head and Upper Torso of a Seated Official

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although broken just above the waist, enough remains of this statue to indicate that it depicted a seated official in a high-waisted kilt, hands resting on his lap. The full wig with pointed lappets is of a type seen most often in the later Middle Kingdom. The nose and mouth have been deliberately damaged, removing the subject’s ability to talk and breathe, and thus to function. It is difficult to date this type of mutilation, which could have been carried out in antiquity or in more modern times.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head and Upper Torso of a Seated OfficialHead and Upper Torso of a Seated OfficialHead and Upper Torso of a Seated OfficialHead and Upper Torso of a Seated OfficialHead and Upper Torso of a Seated Official

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.