Statue of Kneeling Captive

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Beginning at least in the mid-Fifth Dynasty, large sculptures of bound foreign captives appeared in the pharaoh's pyramid complex. Pepi I and Pepi II had great numbers of them. This piece and the associated piece 64.260 can be dated to the reign of Pepi II for stylistic reasons. Statues of prisoners were presumably placed in areas where battle and triumph scenes occurred. The consistency of the breaks on these figures at the neck or shoulder and midtorso argue strongly that the statues were ritually executed, presumably to mark some event in the history of the pyramid complex. Although stereotypes of foreign physiognomies clearly existed during the Old Kingdom, they do not correspond well with those known and identified by ethnicity from the New Kingdom. This man may represent an enemy from adjacent lands in the north or a Near Easterner. The muscles of his upper body have been stretched out of shape by lashing his elbows behind his back, and he wears an expression that seems to convey profound resignation.

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