Fragmentary Head of a Man, Belonging to a Block Statue

Fragmentary Head of a Man, Belonging to a Block Statue

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Despite the fact that upper part is now missing and the facial features are altered, details suggest this fragmentary head was part of a block statue, a common statue type for non-royal persons where the sitter was sculpted in a squatting posture. Block statues were essentially temple statues, being deposited in temple precincts and forecourts. It is possible to perceive the original quality of the sculpture, like the finely carved strands on the wig or the modelling of the cheeks, leading to date it on stylistic grounds to the New Kingdom.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fragmentary Head of a Man, Belonging to a Block StatueFragmentary Head of a Man, Belonging to a Block StatueFragmentary Head of a Man, Belonging to a Block StatueFragmentary Head of a Man, Belonging to a Block StatueFragmentary Head of a Man, Belonging to a Block Statue

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.